Monogram of 4 letters for a baby boy (hand embroidered by Mary Addison)

Last week  brought a lovely bank holiday weekend with weather to match and although we did enjoy a stroll through the Suffolks Bank Holiday Market, just 5 minutes up the road, what a bit of spare time and a boiling hot day really excite in me is the chance to get some curtains washed. Large pieces of fabric which had once upon a time swept round a big square bay in my London house but which had never been washed (dry cleaned once at an astronomical price) were soon waving in the hot breeze, battling to steal the sun from the ever ripening apples whose space they were energetically invading… and all dry by close of play in the Test Match. With the cricket going well and the weather blissful, I could retire contentedly to my Lloyd Loom chair beside the bedroom window and begin a monogram – my first embroidery since our arrival in Cheltenham.

Monogram of 4 letters for a baby boy (hand embroidered by Mary Addison)

Babies will keep being born – and  a good thing too – and as anyone who follows my blog knows, I like to mark these events with a monogram. This one is for a little boy born in February and as with all the ones I do for boys I do try to be a bit minimalist. The arrangement of the letters is the most important thing. Many parents are opting for 2 Christian names followed by the mother’s surname and then the father’s, although the children will be known by the latter. In a world where professionally the mother continues using the name she began with – and where say her passport continues to be in that name – it’s prudent for the same name to also appear on her children’s passports too. In practice I doubt whether the different names cause problems, but you can see how they might …anyway, if for no other reason, it’s rather gracious to acknowledge the other strand of your heritage in this way.

Monogram of 4 letters for a baby boy – detail of border

The letters are in a lovely dark aubergine colour and each letter is outlined in backstitch  (a different colour for each letter) – three strands for the outer edge and two for the inner, because it just looks better that way. When I’m sure of the date of birth I’ll add that. A square frame would have been nice but it will have to be rectangular.

(The Test Match was a real nail biter with either result possible until sometime after lunch on the fifth day. The English captain’s sporting declaration produced both exciting – and at times boring  – cricket but the West Indian cricketers were worthy winners to level the series at one win each. Roll on the end of the week and the next match. All v. good for the hand sewing.)

For other monograms for little boys see here,  here & here.