There's nothing like being fooled in a really great way. At my quilt group meeting last month, Denise brought a picture of framed hand-work she had purchased at the local thrift shop for $8. We all thought it was amazing. We couldn't see the back of the piece but all agreed it was hand-done and the workmanship was incredible - such tiny stitches! I posted about her picture here with this pic:
Now to the fool part...Three weeks go by and I receive a small package in the mail...it's a panel much like the one above but with numbers. There was a card with the piece but no return address on the envelope. The card said, "Hi Nan - I might know who stitched the alphabet your friend purchased at Value Village. LOL!!" I didn't think the card was signed because I couldn't make out a name - I thought it was a "doodle!" Also, I thought, because I'm sarcastic and think everything is a joke, that the card implied it was NOT hand-stitched - especially because of the LOL!!! I picked up the piece and turned it over and grabbed my glasses and then added another pair on top of them. I studied it over and over and decided that it HAD to be machine made because it was PERFECT. I assumed it was a purchased panel - and had a nice little smirk...because what are the odds that Denise buys a hand-stitched piece and then one of my blog readers sends me a matching piece?!? I mean, WHO would ever give away TWO works of art? Pieces so beautiful that obviously took a great deal of time and work!??? This is what I received:
At last weeks quilt meeting I took the piece but debated whether I should show it or not. I was worried about what Denise might think - I knew just how happy she was with her picture. But I decided I should - we passed it all around - half of us agreed it was machine made and the other half were skeptical - how could a machine get the threads into those little holes so precisely?!? (That's exactly what machines do!) We all also agreed that the numbers piece and Denise's alphabet piece were beautiful - whether it was hand or machine stitched. I was asked if I knew who sent it and I told my friends I had no idea!
Serious workmanship! It is so perfect and those little holes are so little - well - it truly never occurred to me that it could be hand done because my hands could never have done anything quite so magnificent!
After posting about Denise's find, I received a package in the mail with the numbers piece in it. Like I said, there was a card but I thought the signature was a doodle. After my quilt group meeting I came home, looked at the card again and tried to decipher the "doodle". I decided it might be from an old friend - one I haven't heard from in about 11 or 12 years! So I found an old email address and hoped it was still good and emailed my friend Deb. A few days later I got a reply!!! My friend Deb said she got a good laugh out of my post about Denise's picture because SHE had donated it to Value Village! After a round of Marie Kondo, she took a load of stuff there and Denise was in the right place at the right time and gave Deb's old piece a new home! And it is old...Deb made it about 30 years ago and it is ALL hand-stitched!
After another round of Kondo, Deb found the numbers piece. In the meantime she'd read my post about the alphabet piece, so she packed it up and mailed it to me. I am such a fool...I have never SEEN such beautiful hand-work - I only see the crappola I produce! So of course I thought it was machine made - but now that I know who actually made it, duh, of course it's hand done!!!
Thank you to Deb!!! Thank you for cleaning your workroom!!! Thank you Marie Kondo!! Deb, you have brought enormous joy to Denise and me and my entire quilt group! I love knowing I have some of your work in my home - it makes it all the more valuable to me!
