In memory of ...

Aunt Mary.

Aunt Mary
(October 15, 1944 - February 20, 2009)

This blog wouldn't be here today if it weren't for my Aunt Mary.

You see, my Aunt Mary, who had always been a cool aunt in my opinion, helped get me starting on my crafting addiction! When I had my first little girl I commented to a few people how I wanted to learn to sew to make her pretty dresses. Most people smiled and politely commented along the lines of "That's nice. So, how's the weather?" But not Aunt Mary. Oh no. When I mentioned it to her she told me she had a sewing machine I could borrow, so I wouldn't have to go out and buy my own in case I tried it and never liked it. Well, since I know have 4 machines in my possession, that clearly never happened. But that first stitch I took was on Aunt Mary's machine.

And then a few years later I started talking about wanting to knit. Again, most people politely smiled and commented that that was nice and moved on. But nope, not Aunt Mary. She came over to my house, helped me learn to knit. And after I made my little practice square, she didn't even bash an eyelash when I showed her the first thing I wanted to make was some baby booties and by the way, could she help me figure out how to knit with 4 needles at a time? She never tried to tell me to pick something easier, but she showed me how to do it!

When I went to her house, she would show me her projects - the finished ones, the ones in progress. She always asked what I was working on and sometimes I would bring them with, knowing I would see her and knowing that I could whip it out and show it to her and she would ohh and ahh with me.

I told my husband this morning that it's all Aunt Mary's fault that I know have an enitre crafting room, a few sewing machines, more needles than one person needs and a bit of a yarn stash! Because, well, she helped me take the plunge and learn those skills. She was one of the people who understood why I just had to buy more yarn and needles and patterns and fabric and all the other fun stuff that I buy too much of!

But it didn't stop there. Aunt Mary was a reader. So when the yarn talk was out of the way, we'd talk books. What have you read lately? Was it good? Should I get it? If I was really lucky, she'd say hold on a second and go grab the book and lend it to me to read. And I knew that if Aunt Mary liked it, I would like it too! Her daughter (who is my age and was my barbie playing partner for quite some years) is a reader too. So get the three of us together and there was always book talk involved! I loved it.

But even before I fell in love with all things crafty and with books, she was a fun aunt. I LOVED going to her house. Heck, as an adult I loved going to her house. She was always upbeat, happy, and laughing. She would always welcome us into her house. And if you stopped by to say hi, well, my husband knew you could never just stop by. It always turned into long visits! I loved it.

My Aunt Mary, in a word, rocked. And every time I sit down to sew something up, or pick up needles and begin to knit, I will remember her. And when I read a great book, I will think of her and how much she would have loved it. Because even though she is not with us anymore, she will still be with me. And I'm so glad I have so many great memories of her to carry around in my heart.

Good-bye Aunt Mary. You were well loved. And you will be greatly missed. Thank you for all you have taught me and shown me. Thank you for always supporting me and being there for me.