It’s about time

~ Liz A

It started out carefully, small spirals that gradually got larger …

But the thought occurred to me that if a spiral represented time, as it did in Moon Myth …

then it might make sense to show how time varies, sometimes flying by and other times slowing to a crawl. At which point my spirals got wonkier …

I worked them in Jude’s split backstitch using 4-ply silk/cotton floss gifted by Deb, a perfect match for the colors of the beach …

And when it was finished, I was in a rush to remove the erasable marker, so I used just enough water to soak it out.

But … I didn’t rinse it thoroughly, nor did I use a dye catching cloth. And I knew better, but all I could think about was seeing the cloth dry.

Dry it was soon enough, which is when I realized the error of my ways …

Fortunately, this turned out to be a happy accident, one that was meant to be.

I dug through the pictures I took at the beach, looking for two that made absolutely no sense at the time I took them … pictures of rusted nails in the siding of the house we rented, a perfect match for the dye stained linen …

So I took one last picture of the other side …

and finally stitched together the two pillow tops, The Edge of Heaven and The Golden Hours …

making them The Beach Pillow …

just in time for a nap 😉

25 thoughts on “It’s about time”

  1. LA – how perfectly imperfect – like time and places and people – a beautiful functional restful memory piece. B

    Like

    Reply

  2. You are such an inspiration .. I have pillows on my mind. I hesitate cuz I’m a bit intimidated by zippers .. I’ve made quite a few pouches and I will say that only half of the zippers turn out. But like I said you’ve inspired me .. and pillows are at the very top of my to do list. Hope you’re all doing ok with all the hot 🥵 days you’ve been having.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Here’s my “secret” … I don’t do zippers! If a pillow needs to be washed, I cut the binding on one edge, take out the pillow form, wash, dry and then stitch it back together!

      Like

      Reply

  3. Spirals are perfect for the gathering of images, memories and associations that your pillow embodies, and rust shadows are the coup de grace. I would like to take a nap with that pillow. It will conjure lovely dreams.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Don reports this pillow was just right (I overstuffed the Analogous Red pillow so I went with less stuffing this time around) … one more to go

      Like

      Reply

  5. Your beach pillow spirals got me thinking of the sands of time and I have no idea why except that whenever we went to the beach, we loved to make swirls and spirals in the sand and then watch the waves erase them…napping on this wonderful pillow, I’m sure brings dreams of the sea, the sand, seabirds and I’m sure gives a soothing nap!.

    Like

    Reply

  6. Liz~ What a glorious pillow to dream away with! When I first saw all of the spirals, it looked like a party! Deb’s threads are perfection and that bit of shell in the swell fish dish…why I’d carry that in my pocket as a worry shell every day! It is so fine. I love coming here 🙂

    Like

    Reply

    1. that bit of clam shell … oh my goodness, I have a basket full of them and still I can’t help picking them up on the beach … and the “shell sand” in the bowl is from Avon … a wondrous assortment of shell chips that accumulate when the waves wash just so … I gathered a gallon jug-full of it once upon a time and keep a bowl of it out on my bureau to remind me of the edge of heaven

      Like

      Reply

  8. Those whirls and swirls, wonky time as they are, feel like they reflective these times as well – lockdown times, times before, wondering where our time-markers went…

    Like

    Reply

  10. It’s beautiful Liz! The variety of spirals are just how time feels these days… going and wavering, knowing it will keep moving forward, but in myriad ways. It must be wonderful to run one’s fingers along the lines.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment