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| A-side overview |
You'll notice that the top half, which will hang over the back-side of the towel bar, has been left unembellished. And while the color is not obvious in the first picture, somehow this b-side close-up almost captured the blue/green/gray-ness that attracted me to this linen ...
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| B-side detail |
I am beyond happy with my decision to use a second layer of harem cloth as the backing, as it protects the house plan stitching while still letting it show through ...
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| B-side overview |
Likewise, the ladder stitch worked very effectively for attaching the harem cloth along the edge of the hemstitching and if you squint you can also see the vertical lines of invisible baste attaching the backing layer to the middle layer of harem cloth ...
Of course, the A-side is the main attraction and I'm very pleased with the way the backstitching (a single strand of DMC floss, with each stitch worked over two or three strands of the linen) captured the lettering and house plan details ...
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| A-side detail Note: horizontal lines of combination stitch run north/south, vertical lines run east/west |
However, you've probably noticed that I didn't iron the cloth, which is my wont. I find pressing linen flattens and distorts the stitches. Besides, I truly believe that linen is most absorbent when air-dried and left unironed ... with the added benefit that said belief enables me to let the iron gather dust. Some old lessons are well worth remembering.
wow! love the subtle details & that it will be used!
ReplyDeleteExactly! If they want to look at the floor plan, they can always make a printout. I'm hoping that this will be appreciated on a tactile level.
Deleteit's just Great!,,, loved all the thought into the stitching and you would know, also love
ReplyDeletethe UNIRONED cloth...it just somehow kills it to heat it Flat....
a really wonder Full gift!
The irony is that I used to iron the heck out of altar linens back in my church-going days ... I'm sure there's a metaphor somewhere in there
Deletewell...really, i can't imagine altar linens in their natural state...what would that MEAN?
Deleteit's really quite a wonderfull image...all wrinkled and of their own selves...
it's a great little story in my mind
I love it really, the loosened sense of your own precision and sense of detail.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Not surprisingly, I had a new idea as I worked, but managed to keep myself on track to finish this before beginning the next in the series. Happily, that day has come ...
DeleteLucky me ;)
ReplyDeleteGlad you like it ... xxoo
DeleteWhat an amazing gift, so very clever Liz and lovely!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Deb ... I do hope Meg actually uses it!
Deletebeautifully imagined and beautifully made! I love ironing for some reasons -- part nostalgia - how it makes me think of my mother? -- but not dish towels.. oh heavens, no!
ReplyDeleteJust back from the beach ... our week went way too fast.
DeleteYour comment brought back a memory of my mom ironing sheets. Yikes! But I have to say there is nothing in the world today to match the crisp whiteness of those white cotton sheets from yesteryear. Paired with my grandmother's embroidered pillowcases, they were wonderfully cool on a hot summer night.