The Project is Completed

The framing was done by Square Corner in Marshall, Missouri. It took a bit of doing to find a frame with the right depth so as not to squash the bows and the right archival-quality mat board but Lee Hamilton came through for us. We opted for museum quality glass for its exceptional clarity.

These photos do not show the depth of the frame and make the piece appear to be slightly off center due to the angle, but in person it is nicely centered.

I'll take more photos when the piece is hanging in New Orleans. For now, this will have to suffice.

Although the title of this entry indicates completion, the search for the uncle who brought this home from the War continues. The search is complicated due to the destruction of many service records in a fire at the St. Louis repository.

If you recognize this souvenir and can shed any light on its origins, we would be pleased to hear from you.

Mounting the Textile to the Backing

By folding the lace back over the textile face, a narrow strip of the silk fabric is accessible. I whipstitched the textile to the backing. I stitched one full side, then turned the frame and did the opposite side, carefully smoothing out the folds and wrinkles as much as possible.

The next step was to tack down the lace. I didn't want to break any threads in the lace, so I stitched in the openings. The lace along the sides lies flat. That was no problem. At the corners, however, it is folded, so I had to tack down just the part of the fold that touched the backing. The little quilting iron came in handy here, too.

This is the back of the piece. There isn't much contrast in the picture, but the stitches can be seen.

Finally, all of the stitching was completed. The photo is blurry, and I apologize. Took it with my phone camera as we were getting ready to take it to the framer. The bows are ironed and looking perky. The little bit of padding behind the silk gives it some definition and helped to smooth the fold lines.