dear wee pyjama girl

this little girl is my first attempt at what i think could be considered embroidery! she was inspired by the amazing work of Jenny Hart, founder of Sublime Stitching. although trying my hand at embroidery was fun and i think i could do it again sometime, that time will not be soon. just a dabbling i believe. i am currently into dalliances with lots of little bits and pieces. for the moment, i like it this way - testing the waters here and there.

i've inherited this tendency most definitely from my father. my childhood is filled with memories of his various exploits - wood turning, decoy carving, gem faceting. some of my most vivid recollections involve sitting pyjama-clad on the steps to his downstairs workshop watching and smelling the wood burning tool, hypnotised, as he gave loon decoys feather texture. joining him at the lapidary club and making cabochons. asking questions about all the tools and what they might be used for. the suspense and intrigue at being sent upstairs to wait while a noxious glue was being applied. the thrill of being allowed to paint part of a duck's bill. many a cosy winter sunday was spent absorbing his projects with much interest.

today, my workspace is not a basement full of lathes, drills, wood burning tools and gem faceting machines. we live in a rather small unit - luckily we are in possession of a rather large table upon which my crafty little corner usually overflows. i will have to be satisfied with this space for now, but i would like more room someday. at the moment you will find porcelain paint, felt pieces, balls of yarn, spools of silver wire and stacks of fat quarters. the sound of a sewing machine humming along instead of the squeals and screeches of saws and drills - or the even quieter, almost inaudible sound of a rotary cutter slicing through fabric.

i feel happy to have inherited a love of making things with my hands - it feels meditative, fulfilling and motivating. when i see my little 3 year old daughter making 'quilts' from scraps i've given her and pretending to knit with some spare yarn and needles, i think she too someday will want to make things with her hands, and recall my little workspace and the fun we had there.