I have been thinking about the different times in my life that were painful and yet, refining- things I have gone through that on the surface seemed like I came out a tangled mess but, in time, I found that I was made better, softer...made 'less.' And how many times have I said, 'Less is more!'
I have been thinking a lot about my work and what exactly it is I want it to be. I want it to be considered, 'less.' 'Less' meaning truly authentic and simple. Just simple. No bells, no whistles, nothing loud or ostentatious. Just true. And being 'true' is being vulnerable because it is the stuff of the heart. Have you ever had a rejected heart? I have discovered that rejection, if you let if make you better and not bitter, leads to more refinement- it makes you 'less' in a 'more' sort of way.
When you are 'less', you 'see' more- I see how much my husband adores me. I see that he is the love of my life. I see the stars in the night sky because I am looking up to God for answers and consolation. I see my own father's face as my children look at me. I can do this because of the refining and uncluttered 'quiet' in my heart.It makes me realize just what this life is- it really is so simple and wonderful and painfully.........refining.
"God, thank you for the refinement you have brought to my life. May it be expressed in all I do and all I am.
Yours truly, Yvonne"
The last month I have been working on punch needle designs as requested! Now! Nothing can captivate me like rug hooking but I will create some punch needle designs. I started using the DMC flosses but have noticed (and how I have noticed!) the striking difference between the DMC and Valdani. So, now I am waiting for my Valdani to arrive and then I have a design that I am very exited to begin.
In the meantime, I have been reproducing a rug that I have so admired. I do not know what it is called- all I know is I see a sweet lady , a dress, a handsome man and possibly cupid or a jealous man and I am mush- where is my hook? My basket of dyes? This design, I just found out this morning, was part of a series commissioned by James and Mercedes Hutchinson between the years of 1925-1945. Authentic and true and refined- and is admired still today!
