Ten Dollar Table
I do feel dreadful for BAF. Some time back in the 1970s she completed a charming needlepoint canvas with pink flowers and butterfly design. She knew what she was doing, and the work is done as “petit point” – a canvas with a very tight weave requiring tiny stitching. The entire work is filled in with stitching, the cream as well as the floral design. I do not know if she started with the wood table designed to display the canvas under glass or if she decided to make her piece fit inside it. There is a bit of canvas on the back that is not stitched, so I suspect the latter. The octagon wood trim is narrow and is not glued to the wood backing. When the piece was assembled in 1975, someone used small nails to secure the pieces together, and over time the wood framing popped loose, with one of the octagon joints detaching.
I came across the work at a local estate sale. Due to the “damage” they priced it at $10. Ten Dollars. Needlepoint projects are expensive – mainly because the canvas is typically hand-painted with a design and can be very pricey. For reference, a local store, The Forest Needle in Lake Forest, has a small pillow canvas for sale for $185, and that does not include the yarn or the labor to complete the piece. Here I came across a completed work, well executed and framed on a very practical small table and it set me back $10. Still can’t get over it as you can tell.
However, I did need to recruit hubby for yet another project. He grumbles when I show up with a piece that requires repair, but he too appreciates the hard work someone put into these charming hand-made works. My initial “repair” of the table was remarkably ineffective – I think it promptly broke apart again - so he took it apart. Ended up using small metal brackets on the underside to adhere the backing to the narrow mahogany edging. Once nice and sturdy, the side table ended up in our sitting room, sitting next to a Midcentury Scandinavian rocking chair I like to use when working on needle projects (knitting, crochet, hand sewing). My mother, Barbara F. Humphrey, had a small rocker all my life where she sat knitting away, and it is remarkably calming to sit in one while reading or working. If you have never sat in a rocker, I suggest you try one. They are not just for grannies, even though I am one. BAF as well as my mother BFH would approve.
