I had a kindred spirit, a soulmate, a very good friend in Cheryl Hughes. We met over 30 years ago when she came to live in Halifax with her husband Peter. They were posted here on a transfer with the British Navy for a few years and Cheryl wanted to learn how to quilt - she came to a Mayflower Quilters Guild meeting and thus began a 30+ year friendship.
Cheryl, Peter, Rebecca and Ian (2006) at Fox Point
While Cheryl was here she became a wonderful quilter, a stab stitch quilter and a respected member of our Guild. She jumped in and volunteered at every chance she could. When she moved back to England she was instrumental in starting a Guild there near where she lived. It is still going strong today. She has taught at many Guilds in England, a teacher by training she excelled at teaching patchwork and quilting.
We visited back and forth over the years, we mourned together the loss of our parents, we celebrated the birth of her two children and our 5 grandchildren, we mourned the loss of our grandson, we celebrated the wonderful accomplishments of all our children. We have been through a lot together but the last 3 years and her battle with breast cancer showed me a courageous side of her that I will admire for the rest of my life. She fought this disease with strength, courage and dignity but she left far too soon. I wrote a bit about our last visit together here. I will miss her immensely, I will cherish the memories.
"Friends are like stars, you don't have to see them to know they are there".