The system, if you are not versed in it, involves x-ray vision, thinking backwards and unforgiving sequence. I have heard that husbands of quilters are especially fond of it, since it can keep a quilter occupied for hours to create a masterpiece the size of a potholder.1 The savings over a wife bent on Quilt in a Day projects is substantial. 

 

The toucan Hope had chosen was easier. I had a pattern in one of my books. But Aurelle wanted to make a tree kangaroo. We tried to adapt the beaver pattern and spent the next few hours cutting, pinning, sewing and snipping.

 

I thought we were successful, and went on to other pursuits. Yet when Aurelle realized that it still looked like a beaver she silently slid into tears. Hope, too, was unhappy with hers, and was afraid to tell me. I found them in a pretzel of arms, crying, and begged them to tell me what was wrong.

 

"We are grateful that you worked to help us do it, but can we start over?"

 

I shrugged, but at the same time admired their perseverance. I glanced at the clock which was nipping at the heels of bedtime, and agreed to jump in.

 

We went back to the sewing room, and recruited Dad to design a pattern from photos on the internet. They followed my instructions carefully, sometimes choosing to do a seam over several times to get it right. Foundation piecing necessitates chopping a picture into puzzle pieces, with snippets of fabric no bigger than a thumbnail. At any point along the way it looked less like a toucan than it did a Picasso. 

 

Then they began to sing phrases from the musical they saw a few days ago.

 

When they finished I clicked a picture and posted in on Facebook. I did not expect much response. But by the next day eighty one friends had liked it and commented. Our little project had brought a measure of joy to a forest of people.

 

Marriage is often a struggle too. Things do not usually work the first time, and it can feel frustrating to have to start again. What a miracle to be able to post our small successes, and watch the joy ricochet around our friends.