My last post shared that I had spent last weekend watching my son play baseball. I do not regret giving myself the time off from this project as I know that one on one time I get with him is special and something that I need to cherish as they grow up way too fast. This is my BeReal snapshot from last Sunday, June 4.
As I posted at the end of last week I have 17 of the 26 hands completed. Well, now that is 18.
Instead of focusing on getting this done, I have gone down a creative rabbit hole to see what else I could possibly embroider. I have looked at a few pairs of canvas shoes and am sketching ideas of what I could add to them. I then saw a video of someone embroidering some cute flowers and a vine on a pair of jean shorts. I also saw how if you had a hole in a piece of clothing you can add some embroidery details to hide the hole and in many ways save and prolong the life of the piece of clothing.
Embroidery idea for a pair of shoes.
All things needed to embroider a pair of shoes.
How to finish off the inside of the shoes.
Needles to say this rabbit hole of videos has me sketching ideas and putting my hands on a brief hold. I think it is using the same stitch over and over again that has me in a bit of a slump. I need to buckle down and finish off the last of the hands as I am so close and I know that once this is done it is onto the fun stuff but sometimes that is what makes it so difficult.
Tonight I have a baseball game to go to and watch and I plan on taking my embroidery along with me so that I can sit and work on it while the game is going on. I now only have 5 hands left.
I am going to set a goal of having the hands done by the end of Saturday. I should be able to get this done as I will be sitting outside on Saturday at my Garage Sale. I think by setting a goal for myself it will make me more accountable at getting this portion of my project completed. I know that we always tell our students to look at a project and break it into pieces and set goals for themselves. I now need to take my own advice.
Well, I had my Garage Sale and I managed to get all of the hands competed. I had been at Track & Field the day before and it was hot and sunny and although I applied sunscreen many times I had a slight burn. The day started out cloudy for the Garage Sale so I applied my sunscreen and thought I would be ok. I did reapply a number of times but when you are outside from before 10 until after 4 you are bound to get a burn. Needless to say today I am taking a bit of a break from the great outdoors. 
While I was embroidering my niece Aspen’s handprint I was filled with emotion. She is the youngest of the grandkids and one of only two that never got to meet my Dad. Both of which are sisters and daughters of my youngest brother. I noticed how small her hand is and how it could fit almost perfectly in my palm. I then remembered a verse from the bible. This had me think that all though my Dad is gone he is still holding onto each of us and if we share memories of him with my nieces and my son who was not 2 when he passed his memory will live on. This was the intent of this blanket I was making all along but its full meaning didn’t hit me until I was almost done the hand portion of the project. To say that this realization didn’t fill me with emotion would be a lie. I knew when I started this project that it was one that was going to be filled with love, joy, tears and memories and it has brought all of these along the way.
I managed to capture the final stitch of the hand and it is fitting that it is on my niece Sterling’s hand as she is Aspen’s sister and one of the two that never met my Dad.
After I completed the final stitch in Aspen’s hand I took a video showing the entire blanket so you would be able to see a close up of the hands and see the work that has gone into this project. I am now going to start on adding some details to the hearts that surround each families Surname. I will pick a thread color and will use a variation of this for all 6 of the hearts. I plan on drawing lines on each heart so I am able to follow these and do a different stitch pattern for each.
To end the day off with my family we cooked steak, peppers & feta cheese over the open fire. We even had my in-laws over. It was a great way to finish off a productive day.
So, I started the week off going down and rabbit hole and I am still on that trail but am looking for the perfect items to add a little flare to. I was going to use a pair of my canvas shoes or a pair of my shorts and I might still do this but think first I need to get some of the backing material that I can first put my design onto.
Around the time that my Dad passed away I had taught myself how to crochet using YouTube. (8 years ago) This is a hobby that I do often but it takes up space. Where as embroidery takes up little space. I have made countless numbers of blankets, reusable water balloons, a few stuffies and other items by crocheting. I do this hobby when we are traveling, at the rink watching hockey or relaxing and watching TV. (You can’t be eating and crocheting at the same time so I choose to crochet). I figure now that I am enjoying embroidery and my oldest son is playing AAA U15 ball all summer it gives me a hobby to take along with me.
Has your Learning Project had an emotional impact on your life?
Is it something that you can see yourself using in the future?
Are you grateful to have been given the opportunity and that little extra push to have done it?
I know that I am very grateful to have been given this opportunity as it is a project that I will not soon forget. It is also one that I know when I am old and have grey hair I will look back on and will share with my children and their children.