fabric of our lives

A dear old friend arrived in the shop wanting to frame this:

A second anniversary gift (cotton) from his charming partner.  A small quilt with a geometric pattern stitched entirely by hand.  Love the swirls of the border contrasting with the straight lines of the main pattern.

There are many ways to frame textiles.  A purist will choose no glass or mats, a designer might choose mats and glass, a conservator might choose a floating design.

Below is an example of a floating design on a small quilt I did years ago.  The quilt is sewn to a fabric-lined mat, then a top mat is cut with a larger opening and raised above the quilt.  The glass rests on the top mat so the quilt is not touching the glass.

But if you've been following this blog lately, you will know that my modern textile clients have been selecting framing designs that have glass and no mats.  The glass is raised above the textile using spacers that fit under the rabbet of the frame, like so:

And also, you will know that I love a wide frame on small art.  Examples below.

So we found a wide frame with swirl details that has a hand-carved look about it.

And it was the perfect thing.

Substantial, but not massive.  It really looks like an extension of the art.  The borders around the art get smaller as they move inward to the geometric design.

Congrats on two years, my dears!  xo