When I finally had the center panel assembled, I tried all sorts of ideas for framing it. I first had in mind doing a sort of crazy quilt pattern of batiks in other colors so I could embroider the seams with various fancy stitches.
The one thing I was determined to try was to make every bit of it out of materials I already had on hand.
Finally, I turned up this solid green, and the simplicity of it made the panel pop in a way nothing else had. I considered and rejected adding a border out of the batiks; in the end, simple seemed best.
When I was sewing the sides and top together, I had the great pleasure of marking my sewing line with a small piece of tailor’s chalk left over from my grandmother’s sewing basket. She taught me to sew many moons ago and made all my clothes for much of my youth. Her father owned a tailor shop, so I wonder if this might be his chalk—I would love that!
So…voila! It’s up on the wall, using a piece of PVC my husband had in his shop as the rod. He loves it, and I’m really pleased with it, and to make it without spending a dime, well, my Scots forebears would be so proud! My grandmother took recycling to an extent current environmentalists cannot imagine; she even washed and reused aluminum foil. The Depression folks could teach young people of today a great deal!
Wow! Beautiful!!
Thank you, Cindy! My husband loves it, and considering he’s not a colors guy, I’m thrilled!
I love it. It is very pretty. I wish that I had inherited my mother’s talent for sewing. I have a hard time even sewing a straight line with a machine.
My grandmother was a sewing Wizard, Donise, and though I learned young, I never liked it until necessity forced me into it (broke with a child to clothe!) But then I started writing and though I sewed very little in the biggest part of my career, apparently learning the patience to revise my writing gave me patience with sewing I never had before. I still don’t sew much, as far as making new clothes, as I once did, but I do love needlework and never really quit doing that. But as we know, following patterns is not my thing! Maybe let yourself cut loose from how you think your mother would have wanted you to sew?