A Craft from the Past

A long time ago, in a fabric shop far, far, away…

I can’t remember why I got interested in needlework, although I vaguely remember embroidering the “Now I lay me down to sleep” prayer on a small piece of fabric when I was pretty young (a terrible prayer for a young child, by the way… fortunately, I don’t think I paid any attention to the words). I’m not sure that project ever got finished. I must have enjoyed it, though, because many years later I drove out to the local fabric store and purchased this:

I remember thinking how beautiful the picture on the package looked–six colorful bouquets of flowers surrounded by an intricately patterned frame. This was a real embroidery project! Now, almost 20 years later, I’ve liberated it from its plastic grocery bag (poor thing, doesn’t even have a proper storage basket) and am continuing the craft. Actually, the grocery bag performed quite well–keeping it clean and intact over years of neglect. As you can see, it’s just a bit wrinkly. But the hunt is on for a beautiful new sewing basket!

It wasn’t just embroidery that kept me busy all those years ago. I crocheted myself a Dr. Who scarf in high school (sadly, I unravelled it for other projects… what was I thinking?) and even did a bit of knitting. However, since I could never figure out how to make anything other than a flat rectangular item, I lost interest.

I think I enjoy embroidery for the same reason that I like coloring books and painting–it’s a chance to bring a picture or a scene to life. What begins as a black and white (or tan and white), lifeless sketch is slowly transformed into a warm, colorful picture that is almost alive with depth and texture. When I was younger, I always imagined I was bringing the coloring book scenes to life. I also had a cross stitch project way back then, and it, too, has survived the many years spent stuffed in a plastic bag. For some reason, cross stitch doesn’t “speak to me” the way that embroidery does. Maybe it’s the linear flatness that doesn’t appeal; maybe it’s the incessant counting. At any rate, I think this is about as far as this project will go:

But I make no promises 😉 because I do like the colors, and I hate to abandon a project.  On the other hand, as I look at it now, I’m amused by the “ghostly” figure standing in front of the school building. It’s supposed to be (when finished) a young student–or teacher, perhaps–on her way to school. Now it looks more like the “Ghost of Teachers Past,” a pale, forlorn figure gazing wistfully at this old schoolhouse… wondering how teaching and education got into the mess it’s in today–fodder for another post, certainly. Not sure yet, but I kinda like it.