Timeline

"A graphical representation of a period of time, on which important events are marked." I get what a timeline is. But in fabric? Stephanie/@spontaneousthreads's Bee Sewcial prompt was intriguing, challenging, and a thoughtful stroll down memory lane.



In Stephanie's words, "Start[ing] with the day you were born mark the moments in segments, thick or thin, short, long, tapered, connected or interrupted.... Colors: BACKGROUND in a range of neutrals.... MOMENTS: everyday ones in black, very dark gray, navy, Kona pepper.... SUPER SPECIAL MOMENTS: (marriage/ birth of a child/ huge life changes/ death) should be represented in a color that means something to you."

With those instructions, it seemed that first off I needed to construct a rough life-map to guide me, and also, a color key. Those steps took more than a bit of reflection, counting back the years, etc.



Of course, piecing was a whole 'nother thing. Though the fabric placement and sizes were definitely improvisational, I did use my ruler often to make sure the 'event markers' fit in their appropriate 'years' and that the years added up relatively straight.

The colored markers all represent people, the yellow either a marriage or a special anniversary celebration trip. The little "-" bits on the left are significant family deaths; the bars of gray on the right, the homes hubby and I have shared together. What the photos don't reflect well is all the purple - the color I chose for myself - but it's there.



And as a nod to the sewing that brought me to a place where I would ever make my life's timeline out of fabric.... are those bits indicated by the arrow below. There are seven of them, beginning when I learned to sew at age 10 to my own first sewing machine at 21 and on through the beginning of blogging, new machine(s), joining Seattle MQG, and Bee Sewcial itself.... not THE most important things along life's journey maybe, but key nonetheless.



So that was one interesting odyssey. I'm so curious how my bee mates will interpret the theme. At the very least, at approximately 14" x 30", this simple fabric strip holds alot of meaning. I kinda like that.