The Sounds In Silence

Hello all and welcome back to another day! Market prep for this Saturday’s show has been in full force for the past month and I have the sweetest creations to show for it. The most important market prep creation has taken a life of its own. That creation is a mermaid.

Take her in, she’s so beautiful! I’m deeply in love! The reason she is so important may seem odd to some, and it will make perfect sense to others.

How She Came To Be

I was gifted a Magical Creatures pattern book by Drew Hill recently and decided I wanted to see what I could make in time for this upcoming show. I love fantasy novels, so it made perfect sense to make a mystical creature to get a fun visual side of the craft. I was flipping through the pages and landed on a mermaid. I thought ‘It’s the last show of the summer, I should make her as a last summer market show stopper!’ And so, I began. I was having a lot of fun building her, then I noticed each piece was crocheted separately and then you had to sew them all together at the end. Now this, I don’t love. Ideally there would be no sewing with a darning needle involved, but a few attachments typically won’t make me turn away from a project. But y’all… The project had 10 separate pieces! For me, that’s quite a few. I powered through to stick to my summer show stopper plan. Once I began assembling the pieces, I saw that for the hair, I needed to attach each individual strand… WHAT?! At this point, I realized I can’t sell this mermaid. The amount of work it requires cannot match an appropriate price point for the type of fair I am vending. I still wanted to complete the project since I was almost done-no point in giving up so close to the finish line. I stayed up until 3am attaching her hair strand by strand. I denied myself rest until I finished her. Once the hair was finished and I felt accomplished, I went to bed and planned on embroidering her face the next morning.

The sun rose again and I woke up giddy! I was so excited to put her face on and see my handy work in all its glory! I was going to finish her in time for the show!!! Her eyes went on seamlessly. Her nose and mouth went on without a hitch. And before I knew it, she was complete! I looked at her and I swore she winked at me! That’s how real she felt in that moment.
I knew she needed a name. I had never named one of my pieces, so this was an oddity for me. Since this was such a unique desire, I put all my focus on what her name should be and went within.

I closed my eyes, breathed in, and listened. Immediately, I heard a gentle voice, clear as day, say the word “shanti.” I opened my eyes and looked at my newest creation and… She! Was! Shanti! I didn’t recognize that word, so I looked it up and you won’t believe what shanti means… Shanti in Sanskrit means peace, rest, or calm. REST?! SHANTI MEANS REST?!?!?! And that’s what listening to your intuition can bring you! How perfect is the name Shanti for the center piece of Rest Now! She also reminds me of sailing. Being on a sailboat, feeling the waves crash and the sun shine down, is where I find the most calm. It’s an all around perfect name for her. You can’t make this stuff up! Plus, she is a reminder to rest. If it’s midnight and you’re still working, rest and come back later. No need to rush. So now Shanti will be joining me at every market reminding us of the beauty in the rest, if you want to come say hello!

This experience reminded me to always listen to my intuition and to trust the process.

You never know what beauty is heading your way.

Until next time,

Stay well out there,

xoxo Grace