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Melissa and Kate are inseparable best friends, which is pretty amazing because they’re also sisters! At this point in time however, they are both in big trouble.

They had slung their mother’s treasured quilt over the backs of four chairs to make a roof for their makeshift playhouse. Both girls loved the quilt with all the pretty images that told the story of their mother’s earlier life. Grandma had stitched each piece carefully and lovingly by hand for her daughter. But now there was a big tear in the corner where Scruffy II, their little Scotch terrier, had grabbed it.

It had been a fun game at first. The girls put the “roof” up over the chairs and Scruffy jumped up, nipped at the quilt and pulled it down on himself. Kate and Melissa giggled as Scruffy tried to find his way out from under the big quilt. They would put it up again and the game would start all over. But now the quilt was ripped and the pretty pink flower that graced each of the corners was dangling from the torn one by a few threads.

There was only one thing to do. The girls had to get the quilt over to Grandma before Mom found out. They carefully folded it up, put it in a big plastic bag and set out on the 4 block trek to Grandma’s house.

Kate and Melissa entered Grandma’s front garden, passing under the rose covered trellis. In fact, it was these pink, wild roses that their mother loved so much and that Grandma had stitched on the quilt for her. Tearfully the girls presented their plight to Grandma. With a shake of the head and after a long and thoughtful silence, Grandma said she would see what she could do. The girls, somewhat heartened, watched as Grandma put on her glasses, took the lid off the sewing box and threaded her needle. They already knew most of the stories behind each picture on the quilt, so they asked Grandma to tell them how she had made the quilt.

“Well,” she said as she began sewing, “A quilt takes some planning. First, you need to collect pieces of fabric to make the patches. I had already decided that this quilt would be like a scrapbook of memories, a reminder of the happy and important times in your mother’s life. For instance, I needed some pink fabric for the roses your mother likes so much and of course there were the black pieces for the patch that shows your mom’s favorite sidekick, Scruffy; the one you named your Scruffy after. Whenever I could, I used fabric from your mom’s favorite old clothes, or from an old apron of mine, or even from Grandpa’s worn work shirt, if I thought it would bring back pleasant memories.

“It took quite some time to accumulate all the materials, cut the fabric and sew all the pieces to make the picture for each patch. When all of the patches were finished, they all had to be sewn together to make the quilt. Then I called some friends together to help finish. We stretched a big piece of fabric that would be the backside of the quilt, onto a frame. We needed a frame because it was way too large for us to work on in our laps. Next we spread padding over the bottom layer, placed the actual quilt on top of the padding and began stitching it in place. Kind of like a sandwich. See here, where the padding is showing? I used cotton filling instead of wool so that it would be a lighter weight. Anyway, the gals and I reminisced about our own lives, laughed a lot and generally had a good time stitching it all together. Which is your favorite patch Melissa?”

Melissa didn’t have to think hard. She immediately pointed to the center patch with its two gold wedding rings intertwined and the date June 7, 1990. It was bordered with delicate flowers. Each of the patches on either side of the center had a dove in it.

“Ah, yes,” Grandma said. “Your mom and dad made a beautiful couple walking down the aisle on their wedding day. And you Kate, which is your favorite?”

Kate thought a moment because she loved the whole quilt and it was hard to choose. “I like this one with the baby in the cradle,” she declared emphatically and pointed to the second of two baby cradles on the quilt.

“Of course,” Grandma laughed. The date on that patch, August 12, 1994, was Kate’s birthday. “You and your sister there,” Grandma pointed to the other cradle with the date July 16, 1992, “are very precious indeed.” She gave them both a great big hug.

“Ok, now, the quilt is mended, but you’ll have to tell your mother all about it. She may be angry and rightly so. You shouldn’t be so careless, girls.” After some cookies and milk to shore up their courage, the girls returned home.

Melissa did the talking and Kate nodded agreement as the story of the torn quilt was bravely told. Mom asked if the girls had learned to take better care of what was such a precious work of love. “Oh, yes!” they cried in unison.

She went on to say, “The quilt is not only a reminder of the best times of my life, but also of Grandma’s deep love for us all, the same kind of love I feel for you two. You know, love can mend a heart the same way Grandma’s hands can mend a quilt.” Mom gave the two girls extra big hugs and Melissa and Kate knew that what she said was true.