Embroidered tiger lily and sunflower (hand embroidered by Mary Addison)
Rejection should never be a dead end and this applies as much to patchwork pieces as to people. I began the Ipsden altar frontal thinking to embroider intermittent flowers on backgrounds of varied colour. It gradually became clear that pale backgrounds didn’t work but that those done on black had a real impact. Those on cream were put to one side.
Embroidered tiger lily (hand embroidered by Mary Addison)
Tucked away at the bottom of a tin the rejects embroidered on cream eventually wormed their way to the surface and into my head. I could think of nothing to do with them as a group but, in want of a birthday present for daughter No 1, thought a few would look nice framed in black and hanging on the bright pink walls of her newly created loo.
As luck would have it I had only one frame that, like baby bear’s porridge, was just right. So I framed a honeysuckle and gave that as the birthday present, with a promise a couple more would follow. Happily daughter No 1 liked it a lot, said it was far too nice for a loo and stood it on the shelves in her bedroom. (I’m not sure anything can be too nice for a loo which tiny room usually finds you more alone with your thoughts than anywhere else in the house, but there you go!)
Embroidered sunflower (hand embroidered by Mary Addison)
My favourite box frames had come from Debenhams. These were solid oak (or painted MDF for black and white ones), they came in various sizes and were incredibly cheap. Well of course, this perfect product was reviewed. First the solid oak was replaced by MDF covered in oak printed paper and then, just when I needed more square frames, the square was discontinued. Months passed as nothing I saw seemed right. Eventually I compromised, settling for a smaller frame in solid wood which I attacked with the spray can (first a coat of gold and then matt black, but it could just have been matt black). I am quite pleased with the result though I would have preferred more of the ones I originally had.
When next I go to London I shall reframe the honeysuckle I so they can be hung as a group. Meanwhile more knitting and monogram planning.
For previous posts:
on the sunflower (cream ground) see here and (black ground) see here
on the tiger lily (cream ground) see here and (black ground) see here
on honeysuckle (black background) here
4 Comments
They’re lovely. But your tale of woe sounds so familiar. I’ve lost count of the number of favoured products that have been discontinued on me!
Thank you for your comment Rachel and for sharing your frustration about discontinued products.
I’m just catching up. These are beautiful and I do agree that a small loo would focus one’s attention on them, which they fully deserve. As for products disappearing – I now tend to buy usable stuff like shampoos and soaps etc in fours and sixes and others ie frames, quilt paraphernalia, wool, threads etc in “more than I think I’ll ever need in my lifetime” quantities.
Annie
Nice to hear from you again, Anne. I too am buying up multiples of favourite products – though this doesn’t affect their disappearance but just delays me finding out about it! (And whisper it quietly, the danger is that sometimes I have actually gone off things that now exist in multiple on my shelves!!)