This is one of the hardest things I've ever had to write. When I read on my friend Lynn's blog that she was fighting cancer, I was concerned. When I got in touch, I discovered that I was, in fact, too late; Lynn had died and her funeral was to be a couple of days later. I was stunned; Lynn was bright, breezy, full of life and creativity. Her Christmas card said we'd definitely get together this year. Sadly, that wasn' t to be.

I met Lynn Bunis when I was still living in Scotland. I got an email from her, saying that she was coming to live in Scotland from the US, was trying to get in touch with art quilters and could she come and visit my studio? Of course, I said, and she and husband Don arrived one afternoon. We all hit it off immediately, and it was to be the start of a fast friendship. When she finally did move over here, I donated some of my fabric to her stash, as any quilter would. And besides, I was moving myself, to Norfolk, and it was a good way of trimming down the amount I had to move...

I went up to see Don last week in Comrie, where he and Lynn had built a home together. The house is full of her art quilts, and they look stunning. Don had invited me to come and take some of her stash and bring it back to Norfolk. I was, of course, honoured to do so. Those of you who know me as a fabric junkie may rest assured that I did leave some behind for the rest of Lynn's quilting friends, though perhaps not as much as I might have done... I hope Lynn would have approved. Other people's stashes are always so much better than one's own; but on this occasion, I found fabric of mine still interwoven amongst her own hand dyes and some gorgeous commercial prints. I took fabrics that I thought would stretch me a bit, as well as things that I felt really comfortable with. It will be interesting to see what comes of using this new source of inspiration.

There was rather too much fabric to take back with me on the train, so most of it is now stored in my sister's house, waiting for transfer in October, when we will meet in York for the weekend. But I did take a small bag of scraps with me, and I have begun making collages for next year's Collage Mania. Collage Mania is being headed up by Karen Stiehl Osborn this year, and, as always, is in aid of the American Cancer Society. It seemed like a great idea to use some of Lynn's stash to support a cancer charity. I hope many other artists will take part; it's a wonderful cause.