Almost a year ago, my friends, Saadia and David, brought our “dragon” down from the US. The dragon isn’t really anything special in and of itself. However, it was the centerpiece of our home decor in Boise.
I purchased the dragon from a friend (Ton) who worked in a Thai restaurant. The restaurant had two of them on the walls, and I immediately fell in love. Ton had her sister ship one from Laos for me. It took me a while to get it framed, and it wasn’t cheap. But after that, the dragon hung proudly on our living room wall and was the first thing you saw when you entered the house.
When we moved to Mexico ten years later, we weren’t able to bring it with us as it was too big and heavy. We actually tried to sell it, but it had no takers. So, I asked my friend Karen in Boise to see if she could get it back from the consignment store where it was on display.
She did! She was able to get the dragon, which is made of quilted fabric with sequins and glass beads, out of the frame.
Not long after that, Saadia and David came to visit us here in Querétaro, and with them they brought the dragon in a duffle bag. We were getting ready to move into a new home. While it was new to us, it was actually a very old house — a colonial more than 200 years old, with 20-foot ceilings and exposed wood beams. The rooms and walls are very large, making it a perfect place for our dragon.
Since that visit, I have been looking for a way to get the dragon framed and back up on the wall. It turns out that it is not an easy task here. First, I had to find a place that does framing. After going to several places, it became obvious that a frame like the one we had before was not an option.
After a year of searching, I decided to take radical action: I am going to make a backing that could support the dragon so that I could hang it on the wall! The first step was buying a sewing machine. Lyn has fought me on this idea for a long time, but recently, I was in Costco without him and, lo and behold, they had sewing machines for sale and, I bought one!
Where’s the joy?
You are probably wondering how this ties in with the title of this post. So, here goes.
Today I went to Nuevo Mundo, a department store near my house, to look for materials to make my backing. Standing in the fabric section I was nearly overcome with joy! I hadn’t realized how much I missed sewing and crafting!
I was fortunate enough to find the materials — some stiff interfacing and black felt, along with heavy duty thread and needles. And now I am ready to get started.
Honestly, I didn’t realize how important having a hobby/project was to my happiness. Who knew that something so simple could bring such elation?
I have always been crafty and have sewn things since I was 8 years old. In Boise, I made window treatments, recovered the patio furniture, and made a valence for our home and our rental house. I know how to macrame, knit, crochet, embroider and, of course, sew.
And now, I can do it all again! How fun!
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