World Embroidery Day

Today is apparently World Embroidery Day, and its being celebrated by All One Thread with tales from around the world.

This was my submission (with a new photo):

I am from Ireland and this is my favorite embroidery that I have ever done. It is wool crewel based on a design by Inspirations Magazine. However, that's not why I love it.

I love this embroidery because it reminds me of so much that I've lost and how much I still have. The day I started this piece, my home town was in the middle of a massive forest fire that burned 48,000 acres in Northern New Mexico. I was half a world away in my new home of Ireland and an emotional wreck, worried about my family, my home, the beautiful forests I grew up in.

I worked on the blanket for the entire time that the fire was burning and then put it away. For a while I didn't think I could finish it because every time I picked it up it reminded me of the fire and how much we had lost in it. I considered giving it away to someone else so I wouldn't have to see it and the memories that it brought back.

Eventually, I picked it back up and finished it and realised there was no way I could give it away. I may have started this embroidery during one of the worst weeks of my life, but the embroidery also brought me back from those depths. Now, I see the warmth it gives me, the relief that everyone was all right, and all the work I did to get back from the dark places that fire took my mind.

I love this blanket. I use it almost every day. It reminds me to be strong, and that good times will come once again.

Comments

  1. There is always more to embroidery than meets the eye!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts