Serendipity rules. Last evening I was reading, and noticed for the umpteenth time the holes and busted sleeve seams on my jacket.
It's cashmere, used to be a v-neck sweater till I cut down the front to make it a jacket and get a lot more use from it. And I scored it about fifteen years ago at the thriftie.
So I thought, well I fancy a couple of minutes stitching, why not do an embroidered wabi-sabi repair? Where the idea is a lovely obvious repair celebrating the passage of time and wear on this favorite piece. Two minutes to find a big needle and a bit of crewel yarn.
A bit hinky but best I could do last night. Now it's something I like to put on instead of sighing about the holey bits.
And this morning I noticed another nice cashmere cardi in need of tlc.
A glance at the label tells you it's not in my retail range. A thriftie find, as all my cashmere is. So that will happen today.
And here's where the serendipitous part comes in. I discovered this online magazine of thoughtful essays, this morning, the first being a long and enlightening musing on the holes in life and what they reveal.
From the pinpricks in the paper drawing used in Renaissance and medieval frescoes, to transfer the image to the wall surface, a technique still used in tailoring to this day, to the deliberate omission of whole groups of people from the dominant arc of history - white, straight, male. Holes are significant and meaningful. And they lead you to find what's missing and honor it.
It's all noted in a great narrative flow well worth your reading. Free subscription. I've signed up. So much to digest here.
And when people ask why you decided to embroider that odd place on your sleeve, you explain: it's where the holes were!
