At the end of July, a friend of mine from graduate school was rushed to the hospital. It was very sudden. A few days later she passed away…she was younger than I am.

I hadn’t seen Meredith much in the last couple of years, but I was rooting for her from the sidelines. Which these days means from Facebook. She’d survived a lot, and rather than let it turn her into an angry and frightened person, she became a fierce advocate and protector of others. I may not have seen her much, but I did get to tell her how ballsy and brave I thought she was.

Her death rattled me. Obviously, of course it did. She was 32. She was a firebrand. And then she was gone. I am grateful that I wrote her that note a few years ago in her Christmas card, telling her she was awesome. We don’t always think to tell the people around us that they’re amazing, but we should. We really should remember to do it. And frequently. Because that cliche about life being short is TRUE. Maybe we should all filter less and say more, and that’s a lesson Meredith certainly taught me. In so many ways.

So, I made this quilt for her. I actually did start it thinking it would be for her. I pulled this fabric and started cutting the same day her husband Dylan posted that she had suddenly taken ill. I thought she’d pull through and could use a bright, feisty quilt while she was in the hospital. This Tula Pink collection seemed pretty perfect for that.

I finished the top a few days later, the same day that Meredith passed away. It sat in my fabric piles for a while I figured out what to do with it now. Then I decided to finish it, and send it to her husband, so that someone close to her could have it. This quilt was made with love and good wishes, and with my old school friend’s personality in mind. I think it’s beautiful, and I hope it ends up in a Meredith-loving home.