Third Time Lucky

I was going to call this post 'Busy as a Bee' but as this is the third time I've tried to publish it on Typepad, I thought I'd try calling it something else in the hopes that this time it would work.

I've spent an enjoyable couple of hours today designing and sewing a tiny embroidered bee to cover a very small hole in a gorgeous vintage tablecloth.  The tablecloth belongs to my lovely next-door neighbour and was sewn by her mother when she was a young girl - probably sometime in the 1930s.

It's a square cloth with a lovely circular pattern of cottage-garden flowers hanging over a garden wall

Interspersed with sweet little garden gates.  It has been beautifully embroidered and must have taken hours and hours of work to do.  I was a tad nervous about adding my own (very tiny) portion of it.

I really had no idea how to embroider a bee, but a quick Google for 'embroidered bees' gave me plenty of ideas.

I did a couple of quick sketches (don't laugh, I know my drawing skills are rubbish.)

 

Did a couple of trial runs on a spare bit of fabric.

And then, deep breath, had a go at the 'real thing.'  I'm quite pleased with how it turned out - it's not perfect by any means - but is a much prettier way of covering the hole than darning would have been.  I can't take any credit for the idea of a bee - that was all my neighbour's clever thinking.  I hope she'll be pleased with how it turned out.

Comments

[ilona]

That's a good idea, it looks as though it was always there.

[jeanie]

What a beautiful tablecloth, and what a clever idea the bee was. I understand your trepidation, however you did a terrific job.

[vanessa]

What a brilliant way of covering a hole! Love it. And your bee is a little work of art, looks like it was there from the beginning. Love Vanessa xxx

[s]

A lovely way of covering a hole in an embroidered cloth :-)

Well Done you!

[Caroline]

Am impressed - great solution to a problem, and brilliantly executed, too!