My Husband Thinks I'm Crazy

I recently spotted this old folk art needlework piece at a local antique show and just couldn't get it out of my head. I walked away three times because it really doesn't match the rest of my decor that well. Our house is full of samplers, rustic farmhouse frontier type architecture and oil lamps, with lots of wood and metal accents.

But this... folky, whimsical, lots of greens with pops of aqua and red, and that wonky black cat!

The dealer I bought it from got it from the son of the woman that made it. She was a knitter, and her son guessed that she made it in the early 50's. There is no way under the sun that she made it from a pattern, in my opinion, leaving me to believe that it is truly a piece of folk art, a self-portrait of a little girl with her kitty, doll under her arm, and ball of yarn hanging from a spinner.

I snapped a picture on my phone and kept looking at it while I walked the floor of the show looking at other antiques, and even acquiring an antique sampler in the meantime. But she was really all that haunted my mind. And with other past regrets remembered, I finally went back and made the decision to adopt her for my own.

When I brought it home, the Farmboy gasped in horror. "What are you going to do with THAT?" I could tell he was hoping that I was planning to sell it.

Nope.

I hung it in our entryway.

Fast forward a full week... he arrived at church with the kids (I always go in early for band practice) and whispered to me, "I think I probably gave up all opportunity to argue against that girl hanging in the hallway. How long has she been there? I just noticed her this morning, and if she's been there long, well, I didn't notice her and you won."

Yes. I won. She was there making me smile for a full week before her hater noticed.

Did I tell you that she is HUGE? Too big for any other wall in my house, except the one already occupied by my His Eye is on the Sparrow model.

Now please tell me you understand why I couldn't leave her behind...