The domesticated thistle

Clock face by Ashton & Elspeth Young

Painting by Elspeth Young

If like most gardeners you prefer that the beauty of the Scottish thistle contain itself to the house, rather than inflict its thorny presence on the perennial border--you might wish to reopen the pages of the Little Lord Fauntleroy issue of The Storybook Home Journal (Vol.6 No.3) where Ashton, Elspeth and Al remade a forlorn thrift store Grandfather clock over into the fabulous treasure pictured here.

Or if you prefer to ply a needle rather than a paintbrush, try the handsome thistle design, below, by Paula Kate Marmor from her treat-of-a-website, Elizabethan Blackwork: The Blackwork Embroidery Archives.  And if you're not in a thistle mood, browse your way through all her historically inspired embroidery patterns until you find something that suits your fancy--it's almost sure to be there. (I'm particularly fond of her daffodils!)

Though drawn especially for blackwork, any canny needlewoman can readily adapt her delightful counts-and-threads to crosstitch or needlepoint use.

Thistle blackwork pattern copyright 2005 by Paula Kate Marmor

Tags: Vol. 6 No. 3, 2011, Beauty and home, Hand crafts