This week’s question is the first of some recycled questions. It was first asked back in 2005, and I don’t think I even knew about SBQ then, so I doubt that I’ve answered it before.
After you stitch a pattern or kit, what do you do with it?
I’ve done so few kits that they hardly count. I think I have just about every pattern I’ve ever stitched, though. I wish I had photos of all the items I’ve stitched from those patterns! I guess hanging on to the pattern is a memoir, of sorts, as I’m very unlikely to stitch most things more than once.
Long ago, someone on rec.crafts.textiles.needlework, I think, mentioned framing pieces with the original pattern attached to the back for historical purposes. Another person recommended doing that so that if the piece was ever damaged, information about how it was supposed to look would be available to help with its restoration.
I don’t generally sit around thinking about the historical significance of anything that I create. I focus on the joy of bringing something beautiful into the world and the love I feel for the intended recipient. I do think, though, that if I had framed pieces made by an ancestor, it would be fascinating to have information about how she made it. I think I might at least try to place a label on the back of any pieces I have framed in the future to identify the original designer/publisher and title, along with my name, who I created the piece for, and approximately when I stitched it.
Since I don’t sew, I generally just frame my stuff (when I eventually get around to it!). Well, I’ve made a lot of trivets these past few winter holidays, and there’s no good way to identify the maker or designer on those (they’re intended to hold hot things, anyway!) And there was a chef’s hat I personalized for my brother-in-law and a tote bag for a Girl Scout leader. But the vast majority of my work is intended for framing.
If you’d like, I’m happy to do some sewing for you. I’m not the best seamstress in the world, but I’m very, very good at the basics.