“Jigsaw Falling into Place”

Kate crocheted me the most magnificent chuppah in the history of Judaism. To express my endless gratitude, I’ve sewn her this quilt. I call it Jigsaw Falling Into Place. I keep thinking back to one afternoon in her apartment before a Close-Knit Gators meeting we ran together. We had macaroni and cheese bubbling on the stove when this Radiohead song came on and without a word, we both stood up and started grooving in her living room.

That moment has come to define the nearly twenty years I’ve had with Kate: moving through life together, everything somehow eventually falling into place, our friendship in lockstep.

This is a courthouse steps quilt, fitting for Kate, who thrives in her work as a lawyer. Every block on the top is made entirely from hand‑dyed fabric, except for the central batik I found in a tiny shop in North Carolina. The back is Very Hungry Caterpillar fabric. Her family calls me Kelly the Caterpillar because I went deep in my homage to Eric Carle when we were art majors together.

This is the first quilt I’ve ever hand‑quilted in full. I used a fan pattern, and I love the movement it creates - like we’re stepping up, over, and around courthouse steps; into the clouds; into the woods where we searched for Lady Slipper orchids on horseback; into the Everglades where we’ve had close encounters with alligators; into the garden where we’re sitting in wild native plants snapping a Polaroid.

I love Kate into the sunset. I hope that as this quilt hangs on her wall, she knows I am always here for a dance, and that everything always comes together.

This quilt measures 44 × 48.