Back in March 2011, I had published a post about a visit I had made to
the International Craft and Hobby Fair
at the NEC in Birmingham (UK). I had
included images of some kits I had purchased, but there was one I had purposely
omitted; a Michael Powell miniature
cross-stitch kit that I had intended to stitch for my mother’s birthday a few
months later.
Everything had been going well until it came to the backstitching, which
I found tricky. This resulted in a complete mental block and I regrettably
abandoned the project. Earlier this year, I thought I’d attempt to get the
backstitching finished with fresh eyes, so to speak. There wasn’t actually that
much to do because I’d completed the majority of it before my stitching hiatus.
When my mother had taken me to Betty Stitchkit a few weeks ago, to get one of the wedding samplers framed, I was
extremely relieved that she had opted to wait in the car, as I’d also got Mini Venice Street with me. The
following week the framed pictures were ready to collect, and again to my
relief, my mother remained in the car. After I had returned to the car, my
mother insisted upon holding the pictures while I fastened my seat belt, and
asked if she could look at them (through the bubble wrap they had been wrapped
in). With the speed of lightning, I flipped Mini Venice Street
over so that the back of it was facing upwards, and told my mother that we
would have to go back to her house if she wanted to look at that picture.
After a much-needed coffee, my mother said, “So can I have a look at
your pictures now?” I responded by saying something like, “Well, one of them
isn’t mine, because this one’s for YOU!” If only I’d had a video camera to
capture the expression on her face when she removed the bubble wrap!
You see, prior to my visit to the ICHF,
my mother had seen the Michael Powell
Venice Palazzo Triptych displayed at Betty Stitchkit, which she fell in love
with. So, when I’d spotted Mini Venice
Street at the Michael Powell
stand at the ICHF, I just knew I had
to buy it (from the great man himself) and stitch it for my mother.
