Works In (Various Stages of) Progress

This started out as an essay about Works In Progress, because of a post I saw on Tumblr this morning:

It got me thinking about what all is lying around here, visibly awaiting completion. There are sewing and knitting and crochet and drawing and writing projects scattered all over the place, numbering around a dozen.

Or so.

But because yesterday marked 9 years since Asa died, it put me in mind of something else.

About a week before his death, which was terrible - something else happened. On the evening of February 27th or the early morning hours of February 28th of 2014, a person or persons unknown picked the lock of our used book store and stole some stuff, most notably the entire contents of the Gift Cabinet – which was all my original beadwork.*

Each and every piece that was taken (and none of it was recovered) was like a knife to my soul, but one piece in particular was taken that came close to destroying me. I had worked on it, back in 2007, for hours and hours as I sat beside Asa, painstakingly sewing every bead into place as he read to me, or we watched some movie, or we just talked. When I beaded her face, Asa said I should give her freckles, and I did - though they don't show up very well in this photo.**

My Dragon Rider

Trust me, this all relates back to my initial theme - that of works in progress. Now, when the theft happened, I hadn't gotten very far on this project, a dragon for that rider:

I had made and stuffed all the pieces (except for the wings), and had managed to bead its forearms/claws, but that was it. The work was sooo time intense, and time had become a rather precious commodity. Then, when my doll was stolen, something in me just shattered. I boxed up the dragon and put it away. I couldn't bear to look at it. From time to time I'd come across the box, but I just couldn't make myself open it. Years passed.

Now we come to today, nine years later, and seeing that post on Tumblr, and remembering Asa's passing and everything all at once, I wondered. Where did I put my longest languishing WIP, that dragon? I checked in the basement, and there it was on a storage rack, in a clearly marked box. Without a moment's hesitation, I opened it.

I forgot how much I loved this silly thing. I could finally look at it, and remember, and smile. I think I'm ready to put it back on the WIP list now.

And I still want my dragon rider back.

Next time: More doll stuff. Probably.

---------------------------------------------

*If you're curious about what all was taken, here's a link to the blog entry, What Was Stolen

**Also: here's a link to when I actually started the dragon, back in 2011, and a better photo of Valeria Gloria: The Dragon