Embroidery

Cindy's MMTPT challenge this week took us to Provence. I haven't been in Provence for 30 years, so I am very glad of a chance to revisit some of my memories. In fact, just last week I received in the post a large B&W photo of the house I stayed in - sadly it was a letter to say that the daughter of the family had died. I remember her as a sunny, happy young child. (It was evident that Irish postal workers don't understand that "Priez de ne pas plier" means Please do not bend, but luckily I retrieved it from the post box within a few minutes of it having been stuffed in.
I am planning to make a card with an iris on it for the challenge.
This iris embroidery is one I did about ten years ago, buying all the vast  and expensive amount of cotton it needed with a gift-voucher I received after making the bridesmaids' dresses for a friend's wedding.
Normally when I take an embroidery to be framed, the conversation runs along these lines.
Framer - do you want non-reflective glass in that?
Me - I don't want any glass at all.
Framer - but you need glass to protect it.
Me - I don't want glass, I don't like it with embroideries.
Framer - are you really sure you don't want glass?
Me - yes, I am really sure.
This is the only embroidery that does have glass in it, so it was hard to get a really good picture - along with the fact that it's a dull, cold grey day.

These close-ups are from a Tree of Life embroidery which I had framed as a fire-screen. Despite having no glass, and many years of getting up-close and personal attention from small toddlers and older kids, it's only just getting to the point where I feel I need to take it out of the frame and give it a wash.