Haunted

[kambriel]

The boxes of Laura's unfinished projects arrived the other day. When the boxes were first opened, I had chills wash over me that were so strong, I didn't know if I'd be able to work through them. I sat and had some tea, trying to bring about a feeling of peace and centeredness so I could manage to get through it all. I think it took me about 4 hours just to do an initial going through of all the bags ~ careful not to separate any loose pieces that might be clues later for how things go together, catching loose pins as they fell... I actually worked for 15 hours straight the first day; sorting through everything, putting them in big ziplock bags, keeping various pieces safely organized.

Looking over a few pieces, I can sometimes feel her frustration... it's like I can intuit on some of them why they were never finished. Little problems encountered along the way that would have frustrated her. A piece of velvet sewn with the nap going the opposite way, a backwards cuff... I feel in certain moments like she is sitting beside me, and I am going to help her pass over these obstacles, showing Laura, "don't worry, see, this can be fixed...".

~ Kambriel

[Kambriel.com ~ Etsy ~ Bluesky ~ Twitter ~ Tumblr ~ Facebook ~ Instagram]

Comments

[desecration.livejournal.com]

I saw that you had offered to take on this task and I wish you the best with completing her pieces.

I think it took me about 4 hours just to do an initial going through of all the bags ~ careful not to separate any loose pieces that might be clues later for how things go together,

I have been encountering this when I go through my Mom's jewelry, crafts, and such. She had a ton of precut crafts (teddy bears) but I am not sure if I am even going to attempt to try and complete any of them for numerous reasons. And the jewelry-I cam across pieces which have been within my family for a while and I am left wondering what the story was behind each piece. One of those should, could of, but didn't... I hope to set these pieces aside and perhaps find an jewelry appraiser who can perhaps tell me things about pieces.

[kambriel.livejournal.com]

It is sad that once a person dies, all of those answers to questions you may have disappear. It really makes you want to talk more to the people in your life, to learn more about them and their memories while we can. A jewelry appraiser can say certain factual things about a piece ~ the age, the materials used, but they can't say who gave it to whom, etc... It's beautiful when we can actually know these inside stories as they add an extra level of sentimentality to the object, but you may have to just focus on adding your own new chapter to the history of these jewelry pieces.

No need to rush to any decisions on whether or not to complete your mother's projects. Perhaps you will want to try to complete some, and leave some as they are... Perhaps you will want to donate some of the projects to other people who need crafts to fill their days (I know there are certain organizations like this for the elderly, retired vets, etc...).