In Memoriam - Aunt Fran

My Aunt Fran passed away a bit ago. I was to go over and sit with her today while my cousin Jim did some errands. Her cancer progressed very quickly, last week the doctors said 6 months or less and hospice was called in - I received the phone call this morning at 2:45am.  Fran was the real reason why I started weaving. Before we moved to Oregon we came out (from DC area) in 1986 to buy property and Fran was involved in a loom exchange where members of the guild put something on their table looms and passed them around during the summer to weave all the different samples. She had to pass the loom she had along to Phyllis (whom later became one of my great weaving friends) so as we drove to town to go shopping I was in the back seat with this table loom on my lap. Although always involved in the arts and an art major back in college other than some tapestry weaving I had steered clear of the fiber arts concentrating instead on printmaking (and tapestry weaving just wasn't my thing). That day, with the table loom sitting on my lap, I thought weaving looked like a wonderful thing to try so once back home I found myself a teacher and took off on an adventure I never thought would be my calling. Fran had an interest in all kinds of crafts but her real love was cross-stitch. Every year at Christmas time I put out all the holiday cards she has cross-stitched over the years - they are wonderful. Sitting here at the computer I'm looking up at a small print box my Uncle Dave made that she cross-stitched little pillows to sit in. The cross-stitch projects she had been    working on most recently were little lavendar sachets that were left on the pillows at the Family House of our local hospital for those staying there while visiting loved ones or while going through medical crisis of their own. Thank you Aunt Fran for all you added to my life........