Eleanor of Aquitaine, the first one

Remember her?

I stitched her about 10 or 11 years ago. 

Back then, I was really poor and I framed her the best way I knew how and could afford.

Recently I noticed her mat was just not very pretty (it faded, which means she didn't have any UVA glass, OMG!),  and I wasn't overly fond of the frame I had for her.

I also noticed she was looking a little "wavy" under the glass.

So, I took her apart and to my....uh...hmmmmm... horror...astonishment...amazement...? OK, we will leave it at amazement... To my amazement, I  saw that I had used DUCT TAPE to tape the fabric to the flimsy piece of the cardboard that was in that cheap frame I had acquired. lol

I must apologize for the flash in the picture. I just could not get an accurate color without the flash. (And I have no idea what that line is on the lower left corner...)

You know, framing options have come a long way since I framed her. I don't think they had suede mats available then. I know I could not have afforded one then. Also, if you can see closely, the inner gold mat I have has sparkle to it. I LOVE! that mat.

I also love the mat cut. Once I did something with an arch, so I kind of had that idea in my mind. When I saw this cut, I was excited.

Well, truth be known, I was excited about the whole thing!!!!

And I had to wait THREE WHOLE WEEKS for that sparkly gold mat to come in because it was out of stock. (I know, right, everyone wanted it!)

I shall attach Eleanor's "before" picture below so you can see my poor queen before she got her new look. If you look closely, you can see a tiny bit of her frame.

Enjoy your week! I'm heading for my couch and my stitching, and the fire that is already waiting there for me. (I sure my love my honey, he's so good to me)