Vintage embroidery symbolizes friendship then and now

Today my husband and I are going up to New Hampshire to see a close friend of mine who I've only seen once in the last five years.

Last Christmas she sent me the most precious set of vintage pillowcases. She knows I am a huge rabbit fan, so these silly little rabbits conducting their private orchestras were a perfect gift--sure to make me go gaga. What I didn't realize until I went to use them was how very very well they are stitched.

 

Look closely and you will see that the rabbit is not done in straight stitches, as I had assumed, but in itty bitty stem stitches. Even the music clef is done in stem stitches so small that you can't see any stitch tails (those annoying stitch ends that stick out when you try to stitch a curve). There are no loose stitches that could get caught on a sleeping body or in the wash. Whoever did this embroidery, stitched it to last.

 

She also made them with great precision. Look at the back. It is almost a mirror image of the front. And the fine crocheted edging is gorgeous and expertly applied.

 

I think that this was a very special gift for a special person. And even though I am not the person they were embroidered for, I know my friend took just as much care picking these pillowcases out for me, as the stitcher took with her embroidery.

 

Now, they grace our guest bed. It is my way of continuing to share the friendship they so vividly display with our friends and family.

 

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