finished

Finally, a finished piece. This is my donation to the Muse07 silent art auction (frankly, I need deadlines to get me working). I struggled with knowing when to stop, but now that the binding is sewn and the piece is set in a frame I'm starting to believe that it reached its' proper ending. Jay finds that the piece makes him quite sad; part of me meant that I'm sure, but there is much more behind this story, and I hope the simple choice of materials adds warmth to that emotional expression. I have been working on cross-stitch samplers for a while (with only glimpses left here) so it is really rewarding to add this new element to my staples of embroidery and hand stitching. Actually, this is really the first piece of mine that doesn't rely on photography as the figural element, though that is partly why it felt unfinished for so long. With Sadie in my life and working space at a minimum (both physically and mentally) the intimate and immediate nature of fabric and thread just works best. Hopefully the things I'm trying to say can be captured in such limited materials.

And now to start sleeve number two of my sweater. Knitting class is tomorrow and I really need a respite from thinking. Oh, and if you're in Toronto, Haley is having a big sale this weekend at Knitomatic. Bank account be warned.