I see and use my handmade quilt every day. It was created especially for me by more than 20 talented friends who crafted the lavender, pale green, and white patches into a flowered work of beauty and serenity and warmth. It sits at the end of my bed -- folded neatly and by coincidence matching the color scheme of my room -- until the time at which I turn in for the night and I spread it out and allow it to comfort me and warm me. It has covered me every night since the night it was delivered to my doorstep by a few of the friends who helped make it -- and the peace it brings me today is no less than the peace it brought me the first night I used it -- the night when I was weak and sick and struggling with breast cancer.

The peaceful feelings that stir in me might be connected to the compelling words that are written on my quilt. Each friend signed her name and many wrote personal messages on the fabric of this masterpiece -- and the words speak loudly. One message reads, Before flowers grow, there must be rain. You will get a whole garden and Friends are always there and We are thinking about you today and Love Life. Live Strong. I can't pass by my quilt without seeing these powerful words and when this blanket covers me at night and I wrap up and snuggle in it, I know I am cushioned in love.

I am not only the happy recipient of this hand-crafted gift -- I also got a turn playing seamstress when this same group of women gathered to make a quilt for a friend who was diagnosed with kidney cancer shortly after I rebounded from my own cancer treatment. This quilt -- in shades of blue and green -- is also covered with personal signatures and messages. I got to autograph this quilt -- and the only thing better than receiving such a special gift is the chance at crafting one for someone else and knowing exactly how it feels to be on the receiving end of such love and kindness and support.