Blue Jay

When I started this project, I asked friends and family for ideas around specific days or themes they'd like to see during the year. Some of the suggestions I had already planned, or at least I was considering including. Today's piece is one of those pieces; I was trying to figure out how to include this person in this project and his sister offered a suggestion for how to do so. 

A little back story: In April 2020, I started sending postcards to people. I love getting mail and I love sending mail, specifically postcards, to people. I had quite the postcard collection, so I decided to start randomly sending postcards to everyone in my address book. It was all about sending random happiness out into the world. In addition to the 100 or so postcards I had, I ended up making postcards too. Most of them were embroidered; I love embroidering on paper. You can see some of them in this blog post from my other blog. The postcard I want to tell you about is in the second photo - puzzle pieces (second one down on the right, above the dinosaur). 

I made this postcard for someone I never met. His name was Stu, and his sister, Soozi, is colleague turned friend who I've known since my days as an admissions counselor (we met in 2004). When I posted about the postcards, she messaged me about her brother. Stu cross stitched, and was self-taught like me. He learned to cross stitch while recovering from back surgery. She thought he would like an embroidered card, so I made him the puzzle piece card (another hobby). I don't remember what I wrote on the card, but I'm sure it was terribly awkward, but also completely heartfelt. Stu was the exact reason I was sending postcards, and I was so excited when we ended up exchanging emails not too long after he received my card. He shared some of his work, and I shared mine. I don't know very many men who cross stitch or embroider, so it was interesting to hear about his process and take on needle crafts. 

We exchanged emails, and he shared photos of some of his cross stitch work, including an in-progress portrait of his parents (hard to work on for many reasons). We talked about making sure the back of the piece was neat, and he sent me some recommendations for paper to stitch on. He complimented the work I shared with him, and encouraged me to keep up the good work. My work tends to be a little less traditional, but that didn't bother Stu. My favorite piece he shared was of state birds and flowers based on postage stamps. It was beautiful. We emailed a few more times before I heard from Soozi that Stu's health was declining and he was in hospice care. He passed away last July, not too long after his birthday. Today would have been Stu's 83rd birthday. I hope he enjoys this blue jay, and one of the neatest backs I've ever done. 

Thank you to Soozi for introducing us!

I did start to outline the various sections with black thread, but didn't like the way it looked, so I took it out. It looked good on the tail. 

Details:
Stitches: satin, straight, back stitches
Thread palette: DM B5200 (2 strands), 710 (2, 3 strands), 310 (2 strands), 415 (2 strands), SS 115 (3 strands)