The designer of the pattern for this work chose to make the angel a blonde. I substituted an equal number of brunette shades. The perle cotton came in four shades of red rather than the five shades of floss specified in the pattern, so I merged the two mid-tones into a single color.
The success of this piece illustrates how far you can deviate from the original designer's implementation; changing colors, materials, and style, and still achieve great results. We should feel free to go where our creativity takes us, and never feel constrained to make an exact replica of someone else's work (unless that's exactly what we want to do).
This piece was worked as a memorial to my mother, who in death was reunited with her baby who died in infancy. (That's why it was important to me that she be a brunette rather than a blonde.) Embroideries worked in memory of the departed have a long tradition. "Mourning samplers" were common in the 1800's. Working a tribute is a productive way to work through the grieving process as well.
