Sunday, March 15, 2009

Mystery in a Corner: Unframed

I thought I was going to have a picture of my Mystery framed for you this week, but when I went to pick my piece up at Michael's, I found a disaster. It needed to have a mat put behind it because the canvas showed. Fine. But they cut the mat 3 inches bigger, put the frame around it and then just tacked the stitching to the top of the mat, so it just floated there. I was furious and told them I wanted my piece back and I wasn't going to pay for it. Here it is, unframed:
Why did I take it to Michael's? I have had other things framed there recently, and they have done a great job. When I called my LNS and told her my problem she said that the person who used to do the framing at Michael's left and other people had complained about the job that was being done. She said she would look at my piece and see what she could do. (They had me cut the piece to half inch of my stitching so the frame would fit properly. Yikes!)

I feel like such an idiot. All that time and money spent on stitching and I tried to save a few bucks. My LNS is a small place and the owner does all the framing herself (I think). She takes longer, but she does a nice job. Sigh. Live and learn.

4 comments:

The Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure said...

Poor Beth! But you will be happier with a good framer in the end. I use the Ben Franklin crafts emporium because they are used to needlework but I still keep a very close eye on them. One never knows when staff changes will cause trouble.

This is a lovely piece, however, and in the end you will be happy with it.

Tonya said...

beautiful!

Cyn said...

Hi Beth,

I'm so sorry that you've had a framing disaster!

How about adding fabric (muslin) around all four sides so it can be framed properly. The opening in the mat can be cut so only the stitched area and a little bit of the surrounding area shows.

I'd then play around with multiple mats and different frames to further enhance the design. This might be more costly but you will be happier in the end. :-)

Let us know what you decide and how it turns out.

Cynthia
Windy Meadow

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear about your framing disaster at Michael's. I work sometimes in the Frame shop in Joann and I couldn't imagine cutting down anyone work like that, there is no need to. Fortunately, the head framer I work under, has been in the business for decades and is very good.

I am sure your usual framer will be able to rescue your piece. They have probably seen worse things done to works of art but its no consolation to you.