+ Her Barefoot Heart

It’s Not Exactly an Encore, but It Kinda’ Helps to Think of It That Way . . . Kinda’.

Iool3wyellowbackingd

I ran out of drawings before I ran out of fabric.
I considered just stopping, letting that be that.
I considered cutting off the blank bottom and going with a flat tire look.
I considered stitching some of the drawings a second time – maybe as a mirror image – but none of those ideas felt right, so I waited.

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Then one day I considered taking out the stitcherings nearest the border of the fabric, giving the cloth an extra wider border that just might be visually pleasing and might also come in quite handy when hanging it for viewing.

Threads

Tis an idea that that felt right – quite right – even though it meant spending 23 hours (yes, I counted) removing the stitcherings then re-stitching some 53 of the drawings a second time.

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It may not be fun, but it is the right thing to do. Isn’t that usually the way?

~~~~~~~

I came across this bit by Mary Oliver, and it seems to fit Nancy quite nicely: “Someone I knew once gave me a box of darkness. It took me a while to realize that this was a gift, too.”

3 Comments

  1. moondrop

    If it makes you happy, and pleased with your work..
    then nothing else matters.
    ~love it~

  2. judy martin

    I do love that Mary Oliver quote.

    And your piece still looks fantastic.
    xx

    • whollyjeanne

      I can just imagine that Nancy’s mother must’ve felt like she’d been given a box of darkness when it was undeniable that Nancy had developmental/mental issues, but what a gift she is to me. And I thank you again for the suggestion to just stitch the drawings onto the fabric without worrying about shapes and “gimmicky” borders (my term, not yours). I really like this one, and I’m planning to find a way to display it so that the back is visible, too.

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