Saturday, December 17, 2011

The Dollivers and their Threads

Several items converged to trigger a frenzy of embroidery among the Dollivers this week. They discovered that there is a town of Dolliver in Iowa, and instantly needed to distance themselves from the notion that they might be country girls from Iowa, when everyone knows they are collateral members of the Royal family of England.

As they point out, their original notion was Clare Garland's book Knitted Babes,designs for Ds adapted by Boud. C and B both being Brits! great street cred. among the royal crowd. And the attention to clothes and jewels, of COURSE the Ds. must be royal, for pity's sake.

So Boud seized on the opportunity to get a sweatshop going, and explained that the attention to threads was indeed a way of proving their impeccable origins. They translated this as new clothes and agreed instantly.



Then found they were assigned to the embroidery assembly line to help with this wallhanging gig. Protests were smothered when Boud further pointed out that all true English persons embroider, I mean there's a ROYAL school of embroidery. English little girls are creweling away before they can read...She rested her case. And her hands, which were a bit tired with embroidering this morning.

And with fervent hopes from the Ds that her rest from embroidering will free her up to attend to holiday gear for them, they set to work with needle and thimble and brushpen, to continue the artwork, which they muttered is cruel work.

Speaking of artwork and timing, this is a picture of a wonderful gift in action



KH's silk and cashere bookmark, newly arrived in the mail, perfectly timed to help Boud read the book Indigo. I mean, it just belongs in there! book reviews of Indigo and Hunger Games at a later date.

2 comments:

  1. My very English Auntie Nellie taught me to embroider when I was 8 years old. Flour and sugar sacks, washed, bleached, hemmed - stamped stencils of garden flowers to embroider, french knots, lazy daisies, chain stitches - I had a hope chest full of embroidered pillow cases, dresser scarves, tea towels by the time I married. Needlepoint and crewel filled up my evenings once I was married and hubby was working night shifts. - Jean in Cowtown

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  2. Catching up again, and so happy you had a wonderful birthday supper and day, despite the results!

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