I Have the Best Friend in the World!

Sometimes a friend comes into you life that really changes things!
About 15 years ago I met my friend Carmen and my life has been so much richer than it ever could have been without her.

Today she asked me if I would mind taking her to Roberts Crafts (which is our local Hobby Lobby or Michaels) and I told her no problem as I needed to make a trip to Office Max for some ink and Big Lots for something for MR Creative.
I knew that she had been on the look-out for black yarn. When her friend passed away she "inherited" a big huge supply of granny squares that needed to be made into afghans. Carmen really enjoys the simplicity of sitting and crocheting using odds and ends and bits and pieces to make beautiful blankets that she then gifts to family and friends or most often donates to charities such as Project Linus and other groups that cater to adults and teens who are in need of comfort and care.
Yep, Roberts had the yarn she needed and then as she was checking out she added a Cricut "bundle" to her cart. It included an Expression machine, a Jukebox and a Design Studio program at a special price. She had mentioned that she had been watching the infomercial on TV and how much fun it would be to play with it. The checker asked if she knew what everything did and I smiled and said, "I will help her out with it".

After I put it in the trunk and got in the car she said "you just put your birthday and Christmas present in the trunk"
OH, MY! I first really told her that I didn't deserve such a gift and even after she explained I still don't think I deserve it, but she told me that she wanted to show her appreciation for helping her out for the past 5 years and she knew it would be something I would love and use forever (or as long as the machine lasted! LOL)
I just can't get over the love and generosity she showed me with this gift. I am boo-hooing as I type this.

I found Carmen when I was a beginning quilter and she urged me to join the local quilting group, New Friends but it took me a couple of years to finally take her up on it.
I got to know her a bit more a couple of years later when I joined in a round robin with the Utah County Quilt Guild and she was the leader. I had a month when I was behind and called her to ask if I could take an extra few days and she was so kind and told me that it would be just fine.
She reminded me of New Friends and before I knew it I was a member of the Night group and soon became president LOL
Carmen always guided and kept our groups going with lots of ideas, classes and suggestions. She encouraged me to design and teach my first group class, a simple Christmas sampler that is filled with good memories of her ability to help without taking over.

Over the years Carmen has been a friend and mentor to soooo many quiltmakers to-be and she has produced students who are wonderful quilters now. She never stops learning and exploring the world of quilts and has taken me to so many new experiences such as hand dying and painting fabrics, using templates on occasion, trying all kinds of new patterns and teaching me more than I can ever mention in one post.

Unfortunately Carmen and I share something not so good. We are diabetic. She and I have discussed many of the difficulties and unfortunately she began to have some real trouble with her eyes. Suffering many problems that have affected her vision and ability to drive. Because I am a homemaker and don't work outside my home I have been available to take her to many appointments over the past few years when she knew that it wouldn't be a good thing to be driving. She also had other things when I would give her a helping hand with the driving. We often used this time as an excuse to "have lunch" and do some JoAnn's or quilt shop visiting and it was so much fun. I loved my time with Carmen as we could talk about almost anything because she is so well read and keeps up with current events like me. She is sort of like an older sister or maybe a cousin that lives near me. My own family is so far away and unlike so many of my friends, I didn't get to have sister days or lunch with my Mom or a cousin and I have been blessed to have her in my life.
I still feel like I have been given much more than I have given to her but as she once said about a different friend...
"If she wants me to be her friend so badly, I can be bought with a Featherweight, or in my case an Expression gift. I still would always be her friend with out it but I am sooo lucky and blessed.

Thanks to my dear friend Carmen!