SHOW US YOUR BACKSIDE!

You say you want a revolution?

Well, here I am on a particularly snowy Tuesday launching a revolution in the stitchy bloggy community. Join me, won't you?

From the moment I entered "this thing of ours", I have obsessively obsessed about my backsides. Each and every time I start a new piece, I wonder if I will achieve the perfection of a properly laid, properly tied, properly couched, and properly finished backside. I flip my piece over at least a thousand times a day to see what's going on back there, and I usually fret myself right into paralysis over the fact that no matter how hard I try...my backside is always a mess.

At retreats, I noticed that one of the very first things I did when viewing another stitcher's work was to flip it over to see THEIR backside. I did this rather blatantly until Aunt Chrissy pointed out to me that it's just not very polite to gape at a backside of someone you barely know, and that fellow stitchers might think me judgemental and a needlework snob.

Truth is, I was just trying to see how other people handled their very own backsides. I wanted to learn all of the little secret tips for getting a smooth, perfect, proper look and I made every mental note I could as to how I might also achieve backside perfection.

And so it was with Frank that I started to fret and fret and fret over his backside. I flipped him over so many times that I'm pretty sure I paid more attention to the back than I did the front. I was really bothered by the fact that no matter what I did...I just couldn't get every single solitary fiber to lay perfectly still and flat to achieve the look that I thought befitted my new found painted canvas expertise.

On the second day of stitching Frank, a lightening bolt hit me square in the forehead. "Eeee-jit! Nobody ever SEES your backside! You sit in your Happy Chair and stitch this stuff and then you haul it to the Michaels for framing, and not one single person has ever come into your house and picked a picture off of the wall and flipped it over to see the backside! You can't have a perfect backside! Your backside is meant to be a hot mess! Stop fussing over it and just concentrate on the front!"

And so I did. I decided to just have as much fun as I could without wondering what was happening back there and I am pretty sure that it was this decision that broke me free from my backside hell.

Today I awoke with the brilliant idea that it was time to share this freedom with the world! Time to throw off the cloak of oppression and just let it all hang out there! Time to show everybody that I'm not afraid to reveal my imperfection...or my knots...or my lumps and bumps and mistakes! I'm freeeeee! I'm finally freeeee!

So in that spirit, may I present THE BACKSIDE ITS VERY SELF OF FRANK, THE SANTA:
(It's here that I have to share a legal disclaimer: Please note that if you are stitching something for entry in a contest or juried exhibit, or any other such place that will be looked at by actual real live needlework professionals for evaluation....you simply MUST...MUST I say, pay careful attention to your backside. AND, if you are stitching things that you want to last into perpetuity for your loved ones to enjoy for years and years to come, then you should probably also take care with what goes on back there. But if you're like me and are stitching for your own pleasure and don't HAVE any loved ones that will want to see this stuff for years and years to come, then I say....let it all hang out, baby and join the revolution!)

Oh, and in case you were wondering....Here's what Frank looks like from the front side:

Now that my stitchy soul feels all klensy, I'm going to go upstairs to look at each and every backside I've ever done to revel in the messiness of it all! Stay tuned...I just might have to share a few more confessional pics with you eventually. In the meantime, though, I hope that you will have a little fun with your backside today and that you'll think of me when you do!