Wednesday 18 September 2013

My first cross stitch--Waltzing Matilda


The thing with moving house is that there's always one or two boxes that never get fully unpacked because they're marked either Misc, Junk, or Random Crap.  We've had one of those boxes sitting in the study for, ummm...the last six years.  Shameful, isn't it?

I can't remember why we needed to rifle through the box, but we did and what treasures we found!  There was a box of floppy discs--practically antiques these days--a massive collection of leads and random wires, and right at the bottom was my very, very first piece of cross stitch.

When I pulled it out of the box it was thick with dust, heavily creased and barely recognisable for what it was.  But it was my first cross stitch!  I'd forgotten that I even had it.  It might have been in that box during two earlier moves for all I know...

After several very gentle washes the dust and grime disappeared; I couldn't believe how well it had come up after being scrunched up and unloved for six years.  I pressed it between a muslin and a thick layer of towels and the stitches popped up beautifully plump.  I felt like a textile archaeologist!


I stitched Waltzing Matilda when I was about 11, I think.  The pattern was from a library book and I remember that I had to keep renewing the book over and over again so that I could finish stitching the music and the lyrics.  The jolly swagman himself was much faster to stitch, as I recall.

Who knows why I decided to stitch a jolly swagman.  Maybe it was something to do with Neighbours and Home and Away bursting on to our TV screens around that time?  Oh, and The Flying Doctors, too!  I loved that show.

I really need to pony up the cash and get Waltzing Matilda framed--a decent framer doesn't come cheap these days--and get it up on the wall for everyone to see.  I am absolutely terrible at getting things framed with the stress of choosing mat colours and then the right frame... Rubbish excuse, I know!

For now it's enough to look at it, and think: I did that.

Moogly

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9 comments

  1. Yes, you did do that! I think it's wonderful.

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  2. Wow, that was your first?
    My first one (when I was about 13) was a very simple flower, nothing as complicated-looking as yours! x

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    Replies
    1. I jumped in at the deep end, I think! The back of the work is a bit of a mess...notice how I carefully didn't show that? :P

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  3. This is awesome. Well done you!
    Adela x

    Misspinkstyle.net

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  4. Amazing! So much talent so young. Thanks for linking up on Hookin On Hump Day!

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  5. At the point when I originally began home sewing, there were no so such things as characterizations of needles, for example, topstitching needles. You just knew from the size what sort of texture they would cover and you at times needed to do a touch of mystery . https://leather-toolkits.com/reviews/best-leather-duffle-bags/

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  6. Your first cross stitch is AMBITIOUS and flawlessly executed. Wow!

    ReplyDelete

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