There is an old Chinese saying that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, but in my case, the journey of a quilt begins with a single stitch. My mother-in-law Betty took that first stitch in her iris quilt about 50 years ago, but she asked me to finish the journey.

My daughter Jenny and I will take it to the hospice facility tomorrow to show Betty that all the applique work is done, and so is the embroidery embellishment. The next step will be to assemble the frame and put together the quilt sandwich -- quilt top, batting and backing -- something I've never done and was hoping she'd be able to help me with.

That will not be, but I have a wonderful best friend and an equally wonderful cousin, women clever with a needle, who will offer advice and moral support, one long-distance from Texas, one just a few blocks away.

Thankfully the quilting lines already have been marked, part of the kit. The pieces of the wooden frame are in the basement here, and as soon as they quilt is in place, I will sit as thousands of women have before me, head bowed beneath the lamplight, praying the psalm of the needle and thread, continuing the story my mother-in-law began.