the ripple...

this past november, i received an order for one of my quilts. kate, the young woman purchasing it, explained that she had chosen one before realizing that it shared the date of her mother's birthday. she told me that her mother was a quilter and that she was giving to her for christmas.

the day after christmas i received a lovely email from her mother, anne, who graciously allowed me to share it with you:

I received your quilt dated 9/13/2012 from my daughter Kate for Christmas. I wanted you to know I went to   Japan for the memorial service for the victims of the tsunami. For two weeks when i got home I dreamed of the Nori gates and hundreds of people walking thru them. I am also a quilter, Kate got me the quilt you made on my birthday 9/13 the gates at the threshold of my dream. We are all so connected. Thank You. Anne 

Here is the quilt she given and wrote about:

9.13.2012

she dreamt of an asian garden that welcomed her with a magnificent gate. 

she stepped across the threshold into a magical world that took her 

breath away with its beauty. "i don't want to wake up," she whispered in her sleep...

i love the whole story, don't you? and i absolutely agree with her; we are all so connected - and in ways we can't even imagine.

when i wrote her to thank her for telling me her story and asking if i could post i here, she responded with: 

Of course you can and I want you to know, I love your art and it has touched the way I look at creating now also. The ripple. Anne

i've been thinking about her words for several days and it came through in today's quilt:

1.2.2013

toss the pebble in
ripples pass in the distance
embrace those that come

the ripple...

we put things out there, dropping them into a vast pool without ever really thinking the ripples they make will reach another shore. 

but sometimes they do. 

and sometimes we're lucky enough to hear from the person who embraced the one that came her way.

thank you, anne. and kate, too!

: : karen anne