hey there, little red riding hood...

i think that this moment just about sums up my thoughts on dqs9...



do you see that twinkle in eme's eyes?
well, that was just serendipity.

as i was waiting for my doll quilt to arrive, i keep peeking into the flickr group, watching as some of my most favorites were delievered one by one to other people's doorsteps. i wasn't worried, though, thanks to the most wonderful swapmamas...i was especially lucky to have tacha (the paper-pieced fox quilt she made is so, so good!), who assured me that mine was traveling on its long, long way.

so, when this arrived at the front door,



i almost could not contain my excitement!!! i didn't know it at the time, but a comment that i left on a simply marvelous w.i.p. doll quilt was about to become a reality. when i began to unfold it and saw one of the treetops, i *knew* which quilt had been oh-so-lovingly folded and sent on to our home! after all of the rushing to get to this point, i became a snail as i continued to open it. really, some silly part of me was afraid that this precious quilt was going to morph into something else right before my eyes. of course, it did not (but i held my breath anyway!).



ohhhh, the happiness!



and then i read louise's lovely note. she had my heart at the first sentence. by the time i made it to the p.s., i was ridiculously teary. crazy, i know, but i also know that so many of you absolutely get it.



louise (aka, lululollylegs) is totally made of awesome, you understand.
she braved tendonitis for me.
seriously. can you imagine?
*everything* is hand-quilted.
oh my goodness.



cate was with me when i opened it, and i couldn't stop smiling as she danced back and forth singing, "i so happy, momma! i so happy!". that child is fearless. she cannot get enough of the big bad wolf (she really likes his tongue!). she alternately fusses him for being bad and then "picks" apples from the tree to feed him. vegan wolf? hmmmm.



when cate and i went to pick up eme from school, we brought the quilt. cate talked and played with it the entire time. still smiling, i listened to her and eme telling me stories of little red, wolfie, the sleeping owl and grandma's house.



the quilt took a second trip to school when we picked up lily. of course, there was much discovering to be done with the quilt...the fabric louise choose for the back is so sweet. remember when i used to wish for time in car-rider line? not so much anymore since neither girlie wants to nap, and now cate wants to get out of her seat. *not* good times. anyway, telling stories with the quilt helped to make the time tolerable.





lily's favorite bit is on grandmother's house. she loves the climbing roses. the extra fabric that louise sent along are much adored, too.



so after a whole afternoon with this incredible little quilt stitched from bits of favorite fabrics, luscious linen, and love, wade walks in the door and says the words that bring it all home..."hey there little red riding hood, you sure are looking good..." (this song gets played almost nightly... sam the sham knew what he was up to with this one. this is wade's and my favorite version, and the girls are partial to betty boop.)



you see, this quilt could not be any more fitting for us.
all 5 of us.
now i'll bet that louise never expected that.
in fact, i would venture to say that in the whole of the flickr doll quilt swap (200-something quilts sent), no one else received a quilt that spoke special words to each person in the family.
had i mentioned previously that louise was made of awesome?



of course, words can never fully express the feelings that i have when i look at this quilt (which is still clipped to the shutters in the kitchen window, low enough for cate to play...even though in the photo it is not). you all understand, though. from one momma who is a maker of things to another, i know that louise understands the depth of my thanks.



and in a lucky twist (or actually, a very well thought out matching-up of participants), the quilt that i made (and loved oh so much!) went to a star amongst stars in the doll quilting realm (and a supremely lovely lady, too!)...lucinda!!!

i must say that this is the one and only swap on flickr that i have done more than once, 5 times, actually. to say that it is special is such an understatement. really, everyone puts his and her absolute best out there, and in the instances when there is an extraordinary connection between the one making the quilt and the one receiving it, well...that is just magic, my friends.