Thoughts of Emma:
It was just about two weeks ago that I called Emma and asked her if she would help me alter some clothing. I had found some cute things at the thrift store and needed to have them taken in but couldn't do it myself. She said of course she would help me and to come over right away. So I packed up several things and brought them over to her. I tried things on and she would tell me how to make them fit better. Or tell me what to take apart so I could alter them properly. While I was there she showed me her latest project. A quilt that she was making that replicated a picture she had chosen. Her ideas were so clever and her work so perfect. Then several days later I heard from Shenna that her Mom was ill.
This knowledge that her time with us might be very short made me look back at all the time I have spent with her. It was amazing to me that it meant I would have to go back over forty years ago.
When the Allebes' moved to Fair Oaks, Shenna was in my school and young women's classes. I would go to their home and soon became aware of Emma's amazing skill with sewing and creating masterpieces with fabric and thread. I would look at her work and feel so inspired to try and create something beautiful myself. When Emma became aware of my interest in sewing and handwork she became a wonderful mentor to me. She would show me how she had made her work be so perfect. Teaching me about exactness and working "clean". Working "clean" meant to take the time to trim the threads and to press the work after each step. It also was to sew with exactness and to carefully mark and cut each piece.
She taught me how to look at fabrics and notions: seeing how the colors and textures could change the overall appearance of my work. She taught me how to manipulate fabrics to create new textures. And she was always encouraging me to keep being creative. Sometimes I would feel the desire to create but not know quite what I wanted to do but just spending a little time with her would help me get so many fun ideas. I would go home and sketch and think about all the possibilities. One of the really great lessons I learned from her was not only to do the best work you could but to put something of yourself in your work. And I learned that to be creative you should be around other creative people. She could inspire me every time I spent time with her.
I moved to Utah and married Dan Freed. When Dan and I moved back to Fair Oaks from Utah with two little ones, I was looking for a part time job. Emma had bought the store in Fair Oaks and asked if I wanted to sew the button collection she had bought onto the ends of the boxes she would use to store and display them. When I finished the buttons then she let me put the notions away and straighten the fabric and displays. Sometimes I even got to create the displays myself. She let me take the classes there for free and always helped me get my supplies without straining our small income. I learned how to piece quilts, quilt, and improve my overall sewing. I learned to make dolls, upholster furniture, and make slipcovers. I learned to make curtains and things for my children. And so many other things I can't put them all here. French hand sewing, appliqué, etc. All of these things have come in handy throughout my life. I could make our home beautiful on our small budget and even bring in some income by doing this for others as well. She also let me teach a few classes which was a compliment to me as she only offered the best in her store. One Christmas we were so broke that every present was something created by either Dan or myself. Without the skills she taught me it would have been a bleak Christmas.
When we moved to Utah so that Dan could finish his schooling it was her recommendation that helped me get a good job managing a fabric store there. And many of the skills I had learned from her I could now teach others with confidence because I had learned from the very best.
When Dan and I divorced and I moved back to Fair Oaks it was Emma who was the first to offer help. She let me work in the store again and let me clean her house as well. This made it possible to be with my children when I needed to and still make some money. She also helped me find other clients. She would listen as talked of my pain in the divorce and gave me encouragement in my efforts to improve my work. Having the chance to be creative would help me take my mind off the heartache and made me feel useful and of worth.
I owe Emma a great deal of thanks. She was a friend to me always. And she encouraged and mentored me throughout our friendship. I would not have had the joy of creating beautiful things without her help. And the ability to provide for my family when it was necessary. And her most recent contribution was to help me alter clothes bought at a small price to look expensive. She showed me over and over how life could be made better by using my talents and improving my skills.
Shenna told me that her Mom had mentioned that we shared a "special connection". I really feel this was true. She understood me and knew how to support me. And I feel that in me she had a friend who truly admired and appreciated her incredible talents and skills.
I will miss her so much but I know there will come a day when we will again be able to use our talents to create beauty and fulfill needs. I look forward to the inspiration she will give me at that time.
She had been a true friend and inspiration and I love her.
Jean Freed
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