Endings and Beginnings

Happy 2016!  I can't believe I pretty much missed all of Fall posting here on the blog.  The end of 2015 / start of 2016 has been a rocky road for sure.  On December 29th, I lost one of the most important people in my life, my grandmother, Lillie Belle Franklin.  She's always been known to me as Mamie.  The best Mamie anyone could ask for.  She was a very spiritual, sweet, kind and soft spoken woman.  She was the peace-keeper in the family.  Or always tried to be.  She always saw the good in everyone.  I was always close to her and my grandfather growing up but over the past 29 years since he passed, I became very close to her.  As an adult, I grew to appreciate her more and more and craved all that she could teach me before she departed this earth.

She taught me to sew when I was about 7.  Started out with the most important thing, Quilting!  She loved to make quilts and I loved spending time with her doing that.  The first quilt I ever made was for her. I wanted her to know how important she was to me and to thank her for teaching me her beautiful gift. 

She was also an excellent cook!  Her chocolate pies, fried potatoes, meatloaf and pinto beans were legendary.  Luckily she shared those recipes with me before she passed and I have since mastered them as well so that her legacy continues on for many more years to come.

 The love she and my grandfather shared for 44 years was the most pure I've ever seen.  You don't see alot of that these days.  Once she went into the nursing home almost 7 years ago, I started cutting squares for her to hand piece together into quilt tops.  It was still her favorite pastime even at 90 years young.  The quilts she made are now my most treasured possessions.

So now that she's gone, I will also hold her strongly in my heart for all the rest of my days.  I'm so honored that my children had as many years with her as they did.  She will always hold a special place in their heart too.

 

Four Generations - with Emma about 2 months old.

This is the last picture I have of us together from Thanksgiving a few months back.

This is a rose from the bush outside her house - 30 degrees in Texas and it's still blooming! No filter taken with my phone camera - even matches my sneakers!

 

Here she is with my grandfather whom she married at 16.  This was probably taken sometime in the early 40's.

  

This is now one of my most precious photos - two quilter's hands locked together forever.

Love them while they are here..........

Jenn