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https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/07/25/1189872837/when-illness-or-death-leave-craft-projects-unfinished-these-strangers-step-in-to>
'The rug is small, what you might call a throw rug. An intricate pattern in red
and blue pops off a gold background.
Donna Savastio started this rug, as a gift for her sister, about five years
ago. She invested more than 100 hours in cutting wool strips and pulling them
through a linen canvas to make thousands of tiny, tight loops. Savastio is an
artist. Rug hooking was her refuge.
"You can sit here for hours if you want to," said Savastio, looking at the rug
she spent so much time on at home in Framingham, Massachusetts. "I mean it's
like wow, but I love it."
Savastio kept hooking until she couldn't. She left just a few unfinished rows
along a navy border.
The rug maps the progression of her disease: Alzheimer's. One effect, for
Savastio, is that she can no longer follow the precise set of steps that
rug-hooking demands. In one section, repeating thin red scrolls grow into solid
blocks of color. The final loops dangle loose and twisted.
John Shambroom, Savastio's husband, put the rug away more than a year ago
assuming it would never be finished. But on a gray April morning a rug hooker
the couple had never met, Jan Rohwetter, volunteered to collect and complete
Savastio's treasure.
"This is the most wonderful thing that you're willing to do this," said
Shambroom, shaking his head. "You're a godsend," said Savastio.
This is Rohwetter's first assignment through Loose Ends, a program that matches
volunteer knitters, quilters and other crafters with projects left unfinished
when a person dies or becomes disabled. It's the brainchild of two long-time
friends and knitters, Masey Kaplan and Jen Simonic.'
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
