Lacing and professional framing or....not so much?

I had an experience this past week regarding professional framing of my pieces and I'm not quite sure how I feel about it.  I have always had my finished pieces professionally framed.  It's just my preference.  Also, I have always used Hobby Lobby.  I've never had cause to have a complaint over their work.

 

Now, sidetrack with me a moment so I can say that I have always assumed that when I get a stitched piece framed that they lace the back.  I thought this was industry standard and I know a lot of other stitchers think the same thing.

 

But I learned this week that those of us who think that may very well be wrong in almost any given circumstance.

 

It all started because I went in to pick up the two pieces I had put in for framing a while back.  I put in two items.  One I had stitched many moons ago but never framed and my large I Am A Stitcher piece that I did with a SAL this past summer.

 

 

 

 

So I get to Hobby Lobby only to be told that my smaller piece is framed but they couldn't finish the I Am A Stitcher piece because the frame I had chosen was on back order.  First of all, no one had called to tell me that.  Secondly, they had no clue when my chosen frame would come in - it could be in two days or two years, they had no idea.  So in order to get my piece, I had to choose a different frame.  Ugh, but ok.

 

Then they brought my piece out to me to show me they already had the mat attached.  And then this is what I saw.

 

 

 This is the back - that I had assumed would be laced.  As you can see, it's simply taped.  Then on the sides, there were probably well over 100 pins put in.

 

 

The white part that you see under the pinned material is the side of the mat. 

I was shocked to say the least.  I told the lady that I assumed it would be laced and asked why it was not.  She replied that all of their training was to lace, but lacing is so much trouble and feel that they can get it as tight as lacing with the pins.  Then she said, "I don't know what that taping is about.  I've never seen that done before." 

 

Have mercy.

 

She also said that if someone wants lacing done, they can still have it, but they have to specifically ask for by name.  She kind of rolled her eyes like she thought anyone asking for that is a royal pain in the tush.

 

I was just flabbergasted.  For years I've assumed that lacing is the norm for needlework.  And to see my piece pinned and taped...I didn't like it.  So I came home and got in touch with one of my very well respected local needlework shops that has it's own framing department.  I told the owner there what had happened and fully expected her to be as aghast as I was.  But quite the opposite happened.  She told me that their practice is the same as Hobby Lobby's.  They tape and pin but will lace if someone specifically asks for it.  But my question is, if someone asks for and are told they will then lace, how does the customer know for sure it was done?  When you pick it up the back is fully covered.  And if the employees obviously have a bad attitude about lacing, can you be assured that they are telling the truth when they say they laced it?

 

So I decided to search further and contacted a professional frame shop in Nashville.  They are not a big box store like Hobby Lobby and they are not in a needlework store.  But a 100% framing shop and that is all they do.  I spoke to the owner and asked lots of questions and she was gracious and spent her time helping me understand and explaining what the current industry standards are.  She also said I was doing the right thing by asking questions to find out what should and should not be done.

 

She said there was a lady (can't remember her name, sorry) that passed away two years ago and she was the person that set a lot of the industry standards for framing.  She apparently is the person who brought the pinning of needlework to the table.  The pins are stainless steel and are now set as much of an industry standard as lacing is. I could tell the store owner was very meticulous about doing a proper job and she did feel that the pins do a fine job.  But she also had no issue at all with lacing, if that is what someone wants.  And even went further to say that she would look at each piece individually to see which method would be better to be done to that piece - pinning or lacing.

 

As for the tape, she was horrified.  She said that she knows of no tape used on fabric as an industry standard within the world of framing.  She was also very concerned about any chemical in the tape that could compromise the fabric over time - I have to agree.

 

She also questioned if the mat that my piece is pinned to is acid free.  I'm not sure, but I do intend to find out.  She told me to get the mat # from the workers at H.L. and she will find out for me.  So basically at this point, my plan is to take my piece, as it is with pins and tape, to her shop and let her look at it and we will decide the best course of action and go from there.  But we both agree that the tape has to go ASAP. 

 

So there you have it.  What I've learned:

 

* Lacing no longer stands alone as industry standard of needlework pieces but has the stainless steel pins standing on equal ground with it.

 

* And it may be a good idea to stay away from the big box framing stores as well as shop around and ask questions.  The lady I spoke with told me she knows people who work in those shops who have told her they are given 30 minutes per piece and have to have it done in that time frame - and that there is no way to do a quality framing job, especially with fabric, in 30 minutes.

 

  * Find a framer who will work with you, explain their process - both the hows and the whys.

 

*Also find one who does not hold lacing in disdain because it is more time intensive, but one who still sees it as a good quality method that they will be happy to use.

 

This has definitely been a learning experience for me.  But I'm glad that I seem to have found a frame shop that is willing to openly and honestly explain their process, will willingly lace if that's what I want or if that's what is best for my individual piece and who truly wants to provide the best quality job they can. 

 

Moral of the story ~ ask a lot of questions when getting your work framed and never make assumptions as to what the framers are and are not going to do to your work.  You just might be surprised at what is under that nicely covered back of your framed piece.



Lots of dolls and cross stitching at Loretta Lynn's ranch

My husband and I recently took a little trip and ended up in the teeny tiny town of Hurricane Mills where Loretta Lynn lives.  He surprised me with a stop there to take in all the sights. 

 

 

 

We really enjoyed our day there and, among other things, we got to tour her big plantation home.  She gave up the plantation house so it can be used daily for tourists and moved into a very nice home directly behind it ~ which is not open to the public.  We just missed her when we got to the ranch.  She had left two hours previously to attend a concert of a fellow music artist.

 

 

 

But one place we toured there, I knew I had to share with my stitch friends.  Loretta Lynn is a huge doll collector.  Not only were there many cabinets full of dolls in the plantation house, but the ranch property also included a doll museum.  And just as luck would have it ~~ the doll museum also contained a lot of cross stitch work!!  I took pictures to share.  :0)  I'm sorry if there is a glare on a lot of these.  I did what I could to minimize it.

 

First cross stitch you see when entering the doll museum:

 

 

There was more than one cross stitch of the song lyrics to, "A Coal Miner's Daughter."

 

 

 

Then this lovely one of Loretta herself.  These were all gifts to her from fans.

 

 

 

I took this picture because of all the lovely crochet work.

 

 

And so many other dolls....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Embroidery work behind this one...

 

 

 

And you can just see some more cross stitch behind the doll on the left...

 

 

 

 

 

I wish I could have gotten better pictures in there, but the florescent lights only allowed for so much.  There was another museum with a lot of Loretta's family's items.  In that museum - which did not allow you to take any pictures - was *a lot* of hand embroidery work by both Loretta and her mom.  She had written little cards next to some things to tell about them.  One was an embroidered half apron and the card said her mom had made that for her and given it to her when she got married.  She said she had worn it daily for years while cooking and tending house.  Her mom had stitched her so many things to use in her home to set up housekeeping with.  It was really sweet.

 

  Another place I wanted to share was the replica of the general store - owned by the coal company - that the family could shop at.  It was soooo tiny.  Their options truly were limited.

 

 

 

But I wanted to share this part of the store with you.  It was a little counter with sewing supplies.

 

 

 

And last but not least, here I am in front of her tour bus.  :0)

 



 

We had such a lovely day there and it made for a nice day.  I wouldn't mind going back.  They have a camp ground as well as some small cabins you can rent to spend the night.

WIPs update and calloused fingertips...

I'm in full blown charity stitching mode right now because my charity has a deadline fast approaching.  So I had to put down Honeybee Happening for a while.  But here is where I got to before I needed to stop.

 

 

At this point it was no longer practical to keep it on my scroll rods.  So I took it off and started working with a hoop.  This also means that I could *stop* using those hateful waste knots, lol.  I hate using that method, but it's the only feasible way to use my floor stand.  I am so close to being finished with this, I can taste it.  As soon as my charity stitching is done I'm going to get back to this one full steam ahead.  I really want to have it finished by the end of November.  I have a lot of other things I'd like to work on in December.

 

I already showed you the small Christmas banner I did for my current charity project.  I'm now also working on a set of potholders for it as well.

 

 

I chose these because I thought they would be so quick and easy.  Not so much.  They are so *tough* that I can hardly get the needle through the fabric and that's with using a sharp needle too.

 

 

I now actually have callouses on my right thumb, index finger and middle finger. -- All thanks to these potholders!  And I still have several to go!

 

 

The satin stitching on all these dots may have just shortened my life span. 

Just a bit.

 

 

I have also signed up to do another Love Quilts USA quilt square.  It has a February 1, 2015 deadline so I'll start work on that soon.  My chosen pattern will be fairly easy I think.  It's been a while since I've done a Love Quilts square and that organization was my introduction to charity stitching, so I had a yearning to continue on with them when I feel I can fit it in.  I'm looking forward to doing another square for them.

 

I do have a few small Christmas ornaments to finish after the potholders are done.  But after that, it's back to my regular stitching once again.