My Good Friend, Jim

I have a very good friend named Jim. I first met him in 1994 or 1995. Time has dimmed my memory of the exact date, but I could never forget our first meeting. He came to a meeting of our quilt guild...I saw him and thought he was a professor. If you knew the both of us, you would know how ridiculous that thought was. The very instant we talked to each other, we became fast friends. And through thick and thin, joy and sorrow, laughter and tears, work and play, trials and tribulation (you know - LIFE!), we have remained the very best of friends.

We are much alike and nothing alike. Sometimes we get really fed up with each other. However, calmer heads tend to prevail as some say, so as luck would have it...we continue to stick together! I like to think of us as the dynamic duo......both working toward the same goal....creating our art, sharing it with others, and making the best of each day. Hopefully laughing while we do so. You can bet that if he's in the room, there will be laughter. However, my husband, who has witnessed lots of our shenanigans, says we are more like Laurel & Hardy or Abbott & Costello.

While Jim does love to clown around...he has his serious side..not always evident. In this post, I wanted to show you his great face - can you tell from his impish look that he's fun? In one photo he has Melanie in stitches...we see this a lot when he's around. In another photo he is clowning around with a painting he did, which by the way, he brought to our last Knot meeting and forgot to show for Show and Tell. It's a "first" that he forgot, as he loves to show and show and show! That week had been tough for him as one of his very best friends had passed away the Sunday before. I can guarantee that he will have twice as much to show next month, as he is the "over-achiever" of the group. He's very inspiring, so we let him get away with hamming it up when showing his work. (Incidentally, our June Knot meeting is at his place...I will be posting photos of his studio, etc., in June!)

I have also included a photo of another painting he brought to show....by the way, I discovered he had forgotten to show these things when he was packing up to go home and I found these on top of the tv in the Nest. I just loved this painting, so Jim being Jim....he left it here for me. There are some buttons that Jim drew on fabric for me several years ago. I beaded the edges. We had a long conversation about these at the last meeting and he doesn't know it yet (but will after reading this) that I am bringing these to him in June for his wonderful, (and trust me...very extensive), button collection.

Lastly, you will see a small quilt Jim made for me on my 55th birthday. (He calls me the "Queen of Everything!" unless I make him angry, then I'm sure it's something else. Once when we were both teaching quilt classes in another town...he brought me a tiara!! How funny is that!) What gave him this particular quilt idea, I do not know, but it gives everyone, including me, a good laugh. Many don't realize it's us until they look very closely. Like I said, he's my good friend, in sunshine and in shadow. Thanks, Jim, for being YOU! Pat