Better Late Than Never!

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.