The Last Christmas Sweater

For many years, my friend Bonnie sent me a Christmas sweater every November. I still have them all in a basket in my crafts room waiting to be made into a quilt or throw.

As far as I can tell, she sewed all of the decorations onto the sweatshirts. Each one was unique and beautifully stitched, carefully wrapped, and mailed to me in The Netherlands. Bonnie and her dear husband lived in Pennsylvania where winters can be beastly cold and snowy. Our winters in Louisiana have very few cold days.

Ten years ago Bonnie passed away with breast cancer. She fought the disease for many years, but finally the cancer won the fight. The last Christmas sweater I received from her was "store bought," since Bonnie was too ill to be crafty. The white fleecy sweatshirt is much too warm for Louisiana temps, but it is snuggly warm here in The Netherlands. And the cute design on the front isn't too Christmassy, since it depicts cute birds enjoying the last of the winter snow.

Let's hope I won't have many more days to wear this shirt and can wash it and store it away for next winter.