Not scheduled for an appearance on Hoarders ..... yet!

I added the words "Knot: A Secret Garden" to the lid of this tin.

 I bought this Chesterfield Cigarette tin before 1975 and dutifully carried it with me in all subsequent moves.  For a while, I kept match books inside, but no one at Longears smokes, and I prefer those really long matches or a long automatic lighter for starting the gas in the fireplace, so the tin has been gathering dust in the piles that could, one day, qualify me for an appearance on Hoarders.

This month, I finally found purpose for this tin:  it holds an embroidered and stump-worked (is that a word?) miniature garden.  Using my  new books on stump work, I designed a miniature garden and re-purposed one of my late mother-in-law's old linen napkins (another victory over Hoarders or is it more ammunition because I've held onto the napkin all this time?)

I used the "berry" making technique from Jane Nicholas' book to make the round "topiary shrubs",  which consists of french knots and beads.  I learned stem stitch, long-armed cross stitch and turkey stitch for the rest of the garden furnishings.  As a girl, my mother taught me french knots, lazy daisy and backstitch, and the only stitch I retained was the French knot, so this was a big learning experience.

Perhaps I may now be known as someone with foresight....not a Hoarder?