Monogram AFJ in red (hand embroidered by Mary Addison)
Some bright red stitching is such a good idea for January. Not only is red an uplifting colour, it’s also easier to use at a time of year when light quality is poor and evenings are long. (I’ve almost given up embroidering white on white in the evening as my daylight sewing light keeps me awake at night.) This monogram celebrates the birth of a little girl this time last year and I tend to chose a strong colour for things like this in the hope that the recipient will still quite like it when she’s a teenager.
Monogram AFJ in red (hand embroidered by Mary Addison) – rejected design
I sketched this design out quickly and sewing went well. I really enjoyed using the red and liked the comparative symmetry. Then I stopped and had a hard look at the letters (see 2nd photo above). What appeared fine in a sketch suddenly looked all wrong in bright red – suddenly FAJ leapt out at me which was a short step away from FAT and I thought this can’t sit on a child’s wall. I could just imagine some bright little friend coming to tea, bouncing into A’s bedroom and asking why it said FAT on her wall. Disaster.
Monogram AFJ in red: detail (hand embroidered by Mary Addison)
I emailed daughters and got tactfully phrased replies. Meanwhile I was thinking that I might have to start again with a new piece of fabric because I know only too well from experience that quite often unpicking red thread leaves a definite red residue in the stitching holes which never really disappears. So… I put it to one side for a while and did something else – always a good solution.
AFJ monogram: detail (hand embroidered by Mary Addison)
The next morning, more serene and resigned, I unpicked F, re-did it inside the top part of A and covered over F’s thread holes with seed heads. I’ve lost an element of symmetry but gained a different dynamic which thank goodness now no longer spells or hints at anything.
(Go into the gallery, this page top right, if you want to compare before and after images more easily.)
Monogram AFJ in red (hand embroidered by Mary Addison)
As the child was born in January, I’ve embroidered poppy heads, honesty, Japanese anemone seed heads, teasel heads, berries from an unknown shrub in the garden and snowdrops which I’ve definitely seen somewhere, though not in our garden.
