Lilian Crossley

Hi! My name is Lilian Crossley. I have been married (to the same lovely man, Bryan!) for nearly 32 years – obviously I was a child bride – and we have two wonderful children, Nicola Jane (29) and Graeme (25). Nikki married Marc on 27th August last year and on their return from honeymoon in China they started their own ski holiday company (m2o Holidays) in Tignes Les Brevieres. Graeme works in London as a trainee account manager on the BP Global Team – the major perk of which so far has been tickets to see England v Trinidad/Tobago in the World Cup!

I have lived in Abu Dhabi for three and a half years and I learned to quilt here, much against my will. The lovely ladies at the Monday Group (a sewing/gossip group) persuaded me that it really would be a good idea to learn how to cut up big pieces of cloth into little pieces of cloth and, using very hard sums and geometry, sew them back into big pieces of cloth. Louise Monty and Catherine Simone from the Abu Dhabi Quilting Guild were starting to teach a beginners’ course and so . . . you get the picture! (Strangely enough, not long after teaching me the basics they both left Abu Dhabi to return to Canada and France respectively . . . hmmm.) Last year very little quilting was done because I was occupied with making my daughter’s wedding dress, veil and train – though the ring cushion was sort of quilted.

I am on this year’s committee for the Abu Dhabi Quilting Guild with responsibility for the Newsletter. My week dashes past in a blur – Monday sewing group, teaching children to do pottery, learning pottery myself, volunteering at the Rehab Unit (with disabled children whose company is an absolute delight – very mischievous and full of fun – I love them!), drawing classes, yoga, tai chi, Pilates, spinning classes, gym . . . oh, and quilting! And occasionally looking after my wonderful , understanding (and thankfully at the moment, football-mad) husband. Don’t know how I ever had the time to work before we moved here.

This summer, after a brief visit to France to attend our son-in-law’s sister’s wedding in the Auvergne, and finally getting everyone in the same place at the same time, we will show off to Nikki, Marc and Graeme their inheritance - our country pile (of ruins) in the Haute Vienne. Then its back here to complete the summer challenges from the Monday Group and the Quilting Guild, and several quilts I intend to make after my husband asked me (again) was I ever going to use any of the huge stash of fabric I keep buying. Little does he know we will be trawling the street markets in France for some Toile de Nimes fabric this summer!

I feel very blessed to enjoy such a peaceful, happy life in beautiful Abu Dhabi with family whom I would choose as friends, and friends in my life, here and in UK, whom I would choose as family.

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