Mother's Quilt

My mother passed away in January after a battle with cancer. During her 81 years on this earth she embroidered and made over 600 quilts. Each child, stepchild, grandchild, great grandchild,brother, sister,inlaw, close friend, or friend of a family member has one of her quilts. The grand and great grandchildren have two as she always made a baby quilt before they were born and then when they were older she made a big quilt. The first one she made me was dolls of the world. Each square had a doll dressed in the country costume. And each and every stitch was neatly placed with lots of love. That quilt was a cover on the bed that my first exchange student from Japan slept under. Tamako loved that quilt so when it was time for her to go back home I called my mother and ask if I could give the quilt a new home. Mother was so happy to have one of her quilts going to Japan and with a girl that she loved like a granddaughter. She promised to make me another to replace it. She had a few more to make so all the family would have a quilt so I would have to wait awhile. Mother never got to mine. She had lived 2 years longer than doctors predicted but the cancer finally won. My brothers and I were with her at the end and it was a perfect passing (another story I will share one day) but I had no quilt. I had not even thought about not having one but when we set up a quilt rack on each side of the coffin to show her handy work for her loved ones my brother Don handed me a quilt and said this is for you. He had a quilt mother had made him of all the states with state bird,flower,tree and year it came into the union and he had this quilt of all the presidents heads with their signature and years they served. Mother had made it when Reagan was president and gave it to him to go with his other quilt. He kept his favorite one but parted with the other one so I would have a quilt made by mother. The circle was unbroken... All family members had a piece of mother to keep them warm,keep memories close by, and keep us all together with neat little stitches of love.