Back in July on my other blog, The Island of Misfit Toys, I discussed how I thought it was inappropriate to celebrate July 4th when 130,000 people had died at that point in the pandemic. I talked about the book This Republic of Suffering by historian and the first female president of Harvard, Drew Gilpin Faust. In the book Gilpin Faust examines how mourning practices in the US changed dramatically as a result of the Civil War. The overwhelming loss of life during and after the war impacted funeral practices and the way in which we process grief.
The pandemic has done the same thing. Funerals, mourning customs, grieving - all of these things have been forever changed by COVID, and not just for those who died from the virus. We won't be able to continue to mourn and celebrate the dead as we have before. I don't know what that means exactly, but I know it's going to change.
Today we hit another grim statistic: 400,000 Americans have died as a result of the virus. Almost a quarter of a million people are gone. I don't know how to process this. I don't know how we mourn for all those who are gone.
As part of the Inauguration ceremonies, the Inaugural Committee organized a memorial to honor those we have lost and to serve as a moment of unity for the country. I may be mistaken, but other than Biden's ask for a moment of silence during his speech at the DNC, this is the first time we're coming together as a nation to mourn. (Yes, there have been local/state/city memorials and the installation in DC in the fall.)
I created today's piece in honor of those we have lost.
Details:
Stitches: stem, satin, and back stitches. I considered using the long and short stitch for the candle, but I'm not a huge fan of that stitch, so I did a back stitch, but vertically instead of filling it in a circular pattern.
Thread palette: DMC 310 (4 strands), C444, Blanc (6 strands) - the Etoile didn't photograph well, but it sparkles a bit in person.
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