Yesterday an icon in the fiber world and a good friend passed. Anne Field lost a very long battle with stomach cancer. Anne literally wrote “the book” when it came to spinning and weaving. Hers was the first spinning how-to book that I purchased and from which I eventually taught myself to spin. I “met” her on the Spin-List. We corresponded off list and I ended up booking her to come to Heritage to teach. She was our first visiting teacher. And a great sport — on that first visit we took her out on the lake and she hopped into an inner tube and we towed her around for a bit! Not long after she was here teaching spinning, Mariah and I (Mariah was 9 at the time) traveled to Christchurch, NZ, to visit her and Edward. It was a thoroughly wonderful visit. Ann was a wonderful tour guide, taking me to Margaret Stove’s home for tea, to Ashburton to visit Ashford Handicrafts and even a guild meeting at the Art Centre (which suffered greatly in the recent earthquakes). So many memories over the years, even though New Zealand is far away.
The picture above is my favorite picture of Anne. She’s the one NOT in a costume (and Mariah is the one with pink hair).
Anne will be missed, for she positively touched the lives of thousands.