Patchwork

If you know me at all then you know my driving desire for a good deal. My husband Caleb said of me a couple weeks ago, “It’s really probably a good thing we don’t have a lot of money because if we did, I don’t think shopping would be nearly as fun for you!” I think he’s probably quite right. I love the thrill of a good bargain. The moment when the racks part at the Goodwill and “ahhhh!!!” (that’s heavenly choruses) the perfect pair of Gap khakis in your exact fit appears, on 99 cent day none the less…
However, despite my oversized zeal for a deal, there was one time I broke down for the perfect pair of jeans. You laugh, but I have seriously never NEVER dropped more than a $20 for a pair of jeans, until I found these…

It happened my Junior year of college and we have been best buds for going on 5 years this fall. Yes, I know but these are just that grand. Let me explain…my junior year the jeans that were “in” were the stretch fit. And by stretch fit I mean, painted to your thighs look. My thighs do not look good painted. Furthermore, I was starting a job with the football team and really didn’t want to stand out any more on the sidelines than my then 2 foot ponytail would already ensure. So my friend Donya and I spent a day at the mall searching out the perfect jeans. And I found them at AE. And I for the first time in my life dropped more than a 20 on them--$50 dollars (which was probably at LEAST half of my checkbook balance and probably the cause of the trip home for gas that didn’t quite work out…I got so close though!). So yes, I once spent $50 on jeans. 5 years ago. Let me tell you where all those friends have been…
First, they served their original purpose as my uniform for EVERY football game (including the 2 national playoff games!) that year. But during those weeks I fell in love with these jeans and generally have worn them 2-3 times a week during the fall and winter. I was wearing these jeans when I went on the mission trip that I met my husband on, I wore them even after I dropped a lot of weight playing soccer my senior year, I wore them when I moved into my very first own place outside of college, they made an appearance on normal days and abnormal days and made gloomy days feel better. This past year I was actually able to wear them until around my 7th month of pregnancy with Newell but alas all this wearing was well…wearing. But frugality in my life once again overcame common sense and rather than retiring these dear old friends, a few Saturdays ago I broke down and busted out my random fabric scraps to patch my old pals. It was while I patched these jeans that I started seeing the beauty in all the colors of scraps that I’ve collected (yes, in addition to being unbelievably tight I also have a difficulty parting with things that I have forked over even a quarter for, especially in the name of creativity). It was during this revelation that I decided to put together a few jewelry pieces with found scraps of fabric. With that, I unveil the Spring 2010 Fabric Sandcastle Collection, although a name for these pieces is still in the works, I thought I’d give you a sneak peek!

Garnet in the Rough

Shortly before I got married, a dear friend told me that being married was like constantly looking at yourself in the mirror—you quickly become aware of all your imperfections as you constantly have someone else to live life with. If that statement was true, having a baby is like having that mirror and a parrot. A really smart parrot that does all that good mimicking stuff.

And at some point in time during my pregnancy with Newell, it occurred to me that I was going to have a parrot. After all, aren’t we all parrots for a while? Think about this--at the beginning of your life, everything you have ever known or learned you’ve learned from someone else. You learn to copy, mimic and mock the sounds and actions of those around you. And as I thought about this little baby-to-be I realized that I wasn’t sure I was ready for a parrot…

When you think about having a little someone with you almost 24-7 watching everything you do and say knowing that these are the things they will someday do and say, you suddenly remember all the flaws in that mirror! As I thought on these things the old “diamond in the rough” expression came to mind. And as I became growingly aware of my own flaws and this perfect little moldable child Caleb and I were bringing into the world, no expression seemed more appropriate. Here I was, flawed and imperfect, yet, getting ready to be given one of the greatest gifts possible, pure and perfect (or stinking close to it :) ).

It was somewhere in the midst of all these random thoughts of motherhood that made me create the piece “A Garnet in the Rough.” The low grade turquoise disc holds a 5mm cut and polished Garnet (Newell’s birth stone) while his name “Newell Simeon Marsh” is hand hammered into the silver bezel holding everything together. In short, it symbolizes my time preparing for the unknown blessing and the impact he’s had on my life thus far. And perhaps the most promising hope I found in my thoughts and ramblings was Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train a child in the way he should go and he will not turn from it.”