February TIF - Initial Thoughts

For the key concept in February’s Take it Further challenge, Sharon has posed a question, "What are old enough to remember?"

Many of the things that Sharon mentions stirred fit easily on my own list. Although we have always had an indoor bathroom, I remember a time when we had no television, telephone or car, in the UK today, living without any of these is a life style choice in most cases. I’m old enough to remember when no one I know even considered taking a holiday abroad. I’m old enough to remember when children played with toys and each other, rather than computer games and virtual opponents. I’m old enough to remember when family outings were to the local park rather than to a Theme Park and we went swimming in the river instead of Waterworld. I remember when the only labels on our clothes with the name labels our mother stitched into our PE kit and we all wore black plimsolls for games, rather than the latest fashion designer trainers. I think childhood was more fun when I was growing up and I considered doing a piece about that but as of yet don’t know how I would convey that.

When I started thinking about historic events, it occurred to that most of the things I remember are not really ‘my’ memories at all. I was not actually present at these events; indeed, some of the things I remember actually took place before I was born or while I was too young to have taken notice. Things from recent history that I have learnt about at school, or are revisited so often in the media that they have transplanted themselves in my memory.

I looked up the key events for the year I was born and some of those gave me plenty of inspiration to work with. One in particular caused me to think and research a little more. It was not the first event of it’s kind by any means, nor sadly the last and although it did not have any direct impact on my life, in some ways it has always been there, like a cloud on a distant horizon. This event conjures up a very powerful image and one that I think I can translate into embroidery.

I feel like it would be cheating to go with a concept that has come me so easily to but the image I have in mind is so powerful I feel compelled attempt it.

Happy Stitching