My friend Carol Rogers has a place in Corolla, on the northern Outer Banks of North Carolina. When our book club has visited her there, we have taken trips to see the wild horses.

Carol said she had a surprise for me – a puzzle quilt that she had designed and bought fabric for. She brought me a basket with fabric grouped into blue, white, tan, brown, dark brown, reddish brown and grey. Plus a yard or more of brown fringe. And about 100 sheets of printed paper for paper piecing. I had no idea. I put the few pieces with applique aside to do last and happily did paper piecing for quite a few days. When I started trying to put the pieces together, I found it was a horse – galloping on the beach with water and waves behind him.

Carol eventually showed me the picture she had started with and we worked out that the mane and tail would look better if I took the fringe apart and used the yarn from it.

Now that she knows how to design quilts from photos, I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!