I started this panel in August 2023. I can remember how quiet the house was. With Dave and both cats gone, there seemed to be so much space both physically and mentally. I wasn't quite certain what to do with it all. So I stitched.
One evening I thought to myself - what haven't I been doing that I have wanted time for? Well, so many things. But one of them was making. Crafting, creating, playing with color. Sewing seemed like such a big undertaking, I didn't want to work on any of the knits in progress I had, so this needlepoint kit felt right. It was self contained, did not seem to require much brainpower, and would set me on the path to filling time with more than my circular thoughts about how much had changed and whether it would be for the better.
I got this from DMC as part of a tranche of goodies I got to order on their dime after my 2020 National Embroider Month project won a contest. It's funny that I can so vividly remember working on that project - it was February 2020 and a time that felt so unaware of what was to come next. Despite the retrospective poignancy, it was also a project that helped me settle a then-anxious mind and accomplish something I never imagined I could. And so perhaps this needlepoint was more than appropriate for the moment given that connection.
It took much longer than I thought it would, but I did enjoy the making. Once I got to the flower petals, it was absorbing and enjoyable, and filling in that deep dark brown was especially satisfying. It is quite large and is intended to be a pillow. I'm not quite certain how to get it from this to pillow cover yet. It seems to me that the canvas would be gnarly for a needle to work through? Will puzzle it out at some point! If not, it would make a fine framed piece of art.
