09/02/2026
This past month I’ve been going through more of my dad’s storage area. He passed five years ago, but I haven’t been able to part with clothes and various other items. I sorted through and rescued a big box worth of his button down shirts that reminded me most of him. I loved how he was drawn to unconventional colors and patterns most people would disregard as loud or too much. I encouraged him to “go for it” when he’d ask me my opinion when shopping at Marshall’s. At first I thought I’d quilt them, but I’ve been starting to make them my own. Fitting them to my mannequin through the process of ripping out seams, cutting and re-sewing. It has been a restorative experience in many ways. It’s a reassurance to myself that I don’t have to “be” him. I can transform what I choose to keep into something that fits me and is uniquely my own. It also feels like a way to honor him and keep his memory alive. The third picture in the collage is my dad’s cat, Ferret, clinging to the shirt. Ferret came to live with me after my dad was diagnosed and it has been such a blessing having him as my cat. Even though I washed the shirt thoroughly, I know he could either smell or see it was my dad’s 🥺 I only set it down for a second and he clung to it for hours. Clearly he also loved my dad and misses him 💜 May his memory live on through these upcycled shirts.
