29 April 2021

Stitched souvenir of London

London Routemaster bus, image from Wikimedia.   

 
In 1998, we enjoyed a week-long family vacation in London.  We mostly rode the Tube, rather than buses, as it was just easier to figure out the routes. 
 
After drooling over the Tana lawn at Liberty I also purchased this small souvenir - a cross-stitch kit from Textile Heritage. Well, twenty years later, I finished it!
 

Small kit by Textile Heritage.

 

The kit came with a small square of 18-count Ada cloth, embroidery thread, a needle, a stitching diagram and brief instructions. As suggested, I cut small lengths of each color and taped these next to the color key, to clarify which color went in which stitch. I also drew the center axes of the design in red pen, to center the design on the small square of cloth. As I stitched each section, I colored it in with a yellow marker. The fine mesh of the 18-count was challenging, and I don't think I'll tackle it again, although I do appreciate the detail.


Progress image.


 
Finished -  ready to mount and frame.

20 April 2021

Finishing a very good book by Virginia Postrel, which received a deservedly glowing review in the Wall Street Journal and a somewhat nit-picky notice in the New York Times.

Love the glossary of textile terms but wish the budget had stretched to more images and to color plates upon occasion.

The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World. Virgina Postrel. ISBN 9781541617605.