meaning to stitch 12 - return to the christening gown

this piece, although ongoing is my mind, has been on hold for some time now and i need to pick it up again

the current theme for Maker Membership is "Damage", which is really at the core of the christening gown/secret histories - so now is a good time to come bakc to it - but i feel prompted by more than just the sense of an unfinished project nagging at me - it is also a need to start tackling what i feel is the main issue of hidden history and it's influence on my family and my self  

in meaning to stitch 9, my last post on this, i realised that the negativity of damage was getting in the way for me - it still is, so i'd like to turn that around and move towards reflecting some more constructive outcomes of that damage - the idea draws me, it appeals to the "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade" side of me which has got swamped recently

can i shift my focus towards exploring how the damage has prompted repair, renewal or other constructive results? maybe some of the helpful things which family members have done: teaching, working in medicine, scientific research, activism

positive/negative           damage/repair                 ...... need to do a mindmap

on a different note: 

i have wondered about cleaning the gown -  it already bore the marks of wear and tear from its past, but it has got grubbier with being handled for stitching, as well as acquiring water marks from when i made impressions of the bodice - now i feel i should leave it uncleaned, these recent marks of use and abuse add another layer of damage, a layer which i could remove but choose not to . . . . . for the time being 

i took the time to hang the gown and just look at it with afresh eye (it has been ignored for the last 6 months at least) - the stitched initials viewed from the right side really produce the code-like effect i wanted to achieve and the hanging threads add an unfinished, ethereal quality i really like