Arsenic and Old Lace Sampler

One of my favorite movies is the 1944 Arsenic and Old Lace starring Cary Grant.  The movie is based on a play written by Joseph Kellering, which was one of the plays done during my freshman year in high school.  I had auditioned for a part, but was not chosen.  However, my oldest friend, Sherri, did get a part.  So I stitched this for Sherri for her birthday.

This sampler really does a great job of telling the story with imagery.  The two aunts are entertaining their male boarder with a glass of arsenic-laced wine in the dining room, while underneath him in the basement are the coffins of other male boarders who were earlier victims of the dotty aunts.  He is doomed.  Too funny.

Before sending this off to Sherri I molded it around a 8x10x1.5 wood-framed canvas.  I then filled in the back opening with batting and added fabric on the back with a black ruffled ribbon edging topped with a red silk flower.