When I shared the draw up and beginning stitches of this piece on facebook, the topic arose whether I was stitching a man for the first time. I agree my draw up felt strong and slightly androgynous and it immediately created so much chatter at home. I loved that. The way we all saw something so different.

And of course, it immediately made me excited to see who would appear.

For the record, I only ever saw a lady because I was using one of my charcoal drawings for a reference.

The pretty roses and collar were an intuitive add on.

This time, I was focused so much on the front that I didn’t once look at the back. When I flipped it over at the end, the reverse took my breath away. I’m so emotionally moved by it. The story happening at the back in contrast to the neatness of the front… personally there is so much symbolism there and perhaps sort of a reflection of my own story.