Browsing through the images on a textile group I came across a post about how difficult it is to give away (or sell) one's work. The author told how she can't bear to part with things after putting her all into making them. Each to their own of course, but I really enjoy the gift of giving whether as a gift or a commission. When someone tells me how much they love what I've made for them it makes me so happy but in the wider context, giving a gift is a way of telling someone how much you love them.
Over the last year the pandemic has separated us from each other, from family and friends. Some like that isolation - more time to craft. Others struggle with all that alone time and while phone calls and video chat provide some opportunities to connect not everyone is comfortable saying what they feel in person, let alone to a face on a screen. Sometimes the words are left unsaid because the person on the receiving end would feel awkward if you were to "go all mushy" on them. Sometimes you just get distracted and instead of telling someone how much they mean to you (or whatever else it was you wanted to say) you blether on about everything but the one thing you rang them to say. Trust me - I know. It's like the more important something is to say the more often I put the phone down and then think "Darn! I didn't tell them..."
It can be easier to communicate love and affection physically - a hug, a kiss, holding a rigorously sanitised hand, but that isn't always an option during lockdown. Sometimes it is easier to let something else speak for you. There is that saying, "when words fail, music speaks." Is it any wonder mix tapes, or their modern equivalent the play list, are so popular? (If you're interested the saying is a paraphrase of "where words fail, sounds can often speak" from "What the Moon Saw" by Hans Christian Anderson. Available from Project Gutenberg here). Another variation is that "a picture paints a thousand words." Again saying the unsayable through one of the arts. And that takes me back to the textile group post and why we should give things to others.
Choosing and sending a gift to someone is a way to support artists and artisans, but also a way to say the unsayable - to say "I care about you; I love you; I value you; thank you for being a part of my life; my life is better for you being in it." You get the idea. Giving another person that carefully chosen gift is a way to say "I love you" when the words are hard to speak for whatever reason.
And because today's theme is gifting and love I've chosen an image of a lavender pillow I made. The machine embroidery is the chemical compound oxytocin. Among other things oxytocin is the hormone most associated with bonding and relationships. It's what makes you want to cuddle when you drift off to sleep after intimacy and also contributes to the feeling of contentment within a relationship, romantic or otherwise. I could have let the pillow go to a new owner, but I decided to keep it for myself, to remind me that I am loved, even by those who might not be able to say it. It is a gift I have given to myself.
What do you think? Do you have difficulties letting go of your creations? What gift would you give to say "I love you"?
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