Choosing the cover to a book is akin to naming a baby. Once all contenders have received equal consideration and votes are taken, the semi-finalists are picked apart then put back together, with everyone weighing in. My voice was for a cover that conveyed warmth and vibrance, with a kick of kitsch yet coaxing of nostalgia.
Of the boxes of vintage fabric and household cloth I provided for consideration was flour sack toweling that my mother-in-law had embellished with embroidery. This grouping of 3 – China, Glasses and Vegetable Polka – were the finalists, with China the hands down winner.
Else, my mother-in-law, had apprenticed in England as a seamstress in a couture shop. Her speciality was handbound button holes. Imagine the intensity of the stitches required for a buttonhole! So, the gaiety of these transfers must have appealed to her lighter side, yet her professionalism never left her – check the backside of the towel. Over fifty years later, and the stitches are still intact and immaculate.
That’s the thing about stitchery and the women of earlier generations – the embroidery is their voice, telling us…I was here. I hope you love the cover as much as I do. It honors Else, and my PC, her only child.
xxea
Tie One On…an apron, of course!