I'm having a great time doing my studio purge. It feels good to organize what I need and use, and to get rid of what I haven't used for years. It's rather alarming how much I have to donate, but it makes me happy to know my things can be put to good use by my friends and in area schools.
There are other things, though, that I'm very happy to find and keep. My old embroidery, for example. I started doing embroidery when I was fairly young and whiled away countless free hours in my backyard stitching all sorts of projects. I made lots of presents; I discovered this partially stitched picture that was intended to be a companion piece to something I'd already made for my mom.
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| A UFO from my early days |
I'd forgotten the joy I'd felt at the start of each project, separating colors and labeling them with homemade tags according to the pattern color schematic.
I also found this, a graduation announcement I had originally stitched for my sister's college graduation.
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| Karen's graduation announcement |
I didn't complete it because Karen went on to graduate school and she couldn't decide which school she wanted me to put in. I waited and waited, and then eventually put it away in a drawer. It's bittersweet to find it now; I wish I had uncovered years ago so I could have finished it for her. Still, I'm glad to have found it. I often look longingly at artwork that includes embroidery and wonder if I can include it in my own work. Because I haven't embroidered in so long -- and I never did it without a pattern -- I've lacked the confidence to do it. Maybe seeing this will give me the confidence to try some hand stitching in my work some day. But for now, I think I'll set this aside for a couple of years until my eldest graduates from college.
And so, the purge continues. Discoveries and organized shelves await!
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