its a lovely feeling when a thing comes together…. folding, rolling, holding, wrapping, hugging, cuddling, securing, caring and comforting a precious creation. I’ve been working on this piece for some time now, twenty one years it appears though i didn’t know it at the time.
![Image 11](http://www.mariathomastextiles.co.uk/content/uploads/2016/05/Image-11-2-1024x729.jpg)
My eldest boy leaving home has created a void I didn’t see coming. Though I felt it months before as his independence grew, its only now as I reflect that it becomes crystal clear. Mending, fixing, parenting the cloth to be fit for the child – making good for them, then letting go for their independence to grow – how much is enough? The essence of him lurks everywhere in residual memories, even the laundry bin contains a void. He’s not gone in the forever sense, but freed himself of his childhood island, gone to find his adult being, leaving me (the parent) suspended or paused..
![IMG_1058](http://www.mariathomastextiles.co.uk/content/uploads/2016/05/IMG_1058-1024x647.jpg)
So I’ve taken to my work using some of the clothes and paper ephemera he left behind – indigo dyeing, Kantha stitching, applique with organdy and quilted collage.
![Image 7](http://www.mariathomastextiles.co.uk/content/uploads/2016/05/Image-7-2-768x1024.jpg)