I started this tapestry living in a flat I moved out of on cup final day 1977, so I reckon it's taken me about 35 years to complete. Obviously it has spent long periods neglected whilst I had work and family commitments. It spent many years under the stairs where it survived the flood from the bathroom but when I went sick last year it was an opportunity to finish it. However the wool couldn't be found and I assumed it had been thrown away after the flood. When we went to the Broads last August I found a wonderful shop in Norwich who patiently matched the colours for me and set about it. Of course Sod's Law decreed that a month later we found the original wools languishing in the bottom of a drawer! Althoughthe wools were all Anchor and a good match there was a marked difference between the 1970s and modern wools particularly in the blues and purples. The 1970s wools were very vibrant and a little shiny and appeared to similar to Victorian aniline dyes, whereas the modern ones were much more sub-fusc and mimicked "herbal"dye colours.
Anyway after 140,000+ stitches it is now complete. The colours are perfect for either the salon or terrace at Dar Barbara so I think I will have it made into a cushion but it will be rather an oversized cushion as it measures 50cm x 112cm. I've worked on it all this time as an end in itself without having the faintest idea what I intended to do with it.
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