I have always enjoyed being creative with embroidery and counted cross-stitch. And I have won several blue ribbons at our Goodhue County Fair in Minnesota over the last four years. Recently I started tea-dying flour-sack towels to make them look aged. And then embroider my own designs for special gifts.
This pillow is the first one I've made which says, "Home is where your story begins". It represents the childhood home I lived in from age 4-16 years of age. There are several symbols of faith, as I grew up in a Christian home. The open book in the center is God's story and shows a tear drop (He cried) and blood drop (He died) for us. It also represents my own faith story and how I shared those same tears and sacrifices of being misunderstood by others when suffering from PTSD in March 2002.
The names on the pillow include my dad, mom, brother and myself. I chose green for my name as it is my favorite color. And the butterfly flying upwards is "me" being transformed! How I became free to be me! Skillful Butterfly was also the Indian name I chose in Camp Fire Girls when young. The purple flower has blue stitches in it (thorns) which represents the hidden abuse I had lived through during my childhood. The sun is Jesus shining into my life. As without Him, I would have taken my own life at the age of 12 when I had my first serious struggle with major depression.
Since January 2007 I have also lead a NAMI C.A.R.E. support group in the Goodhue County area to help others and myself through the daily rigors of living with mental illness. And recently I had my first radio interview on KCUE, representing NAMI Goodhue County, in Red Wing Minnesota to help spread the news of Hope and Recovery for those living with mental illness.
