A question for art-lovers maybe?

[johnalison]

If you were watching Waldemar Januszczak's excellent series on BBC4 you may have seen him speaking from a boat going round New York harbour. It appeared to me that the very fine US ensign being flown just behind him was made of a shiny material and had been sewn, including all the stars. Bearing in mind that my bog-standard UK sewn ensign costs me most of my appendages, how much would such a fancy US flag cost me if I should want to go on sailing after my exile and asylum over there?

 

[Hydrozoan]

I have yet to watch that particular series; was it the full ensign or the yacht ensign?

 

[johnalison]

I wasn't paying great attention at the time but it looked like the normal US flag. It was the thought of someone sitting and sewing round each of the stars that struck me as laborious, and expensive.

 

[sarabande]

I looked on USA ebay for "stars and stripes hand sewn".

https://www.ebay.com/itm/USA-STARS-...385373?hash=item58abf99fdd:g:UCoAAOxyHslQ8rgh

Made in England ! £110 !

 

[johnalison]

I looked on USA ebay for "stars and stripes hand sewn".

https://www.ebay.com/itm/USA-STARS-...385373?hash=item58abf99fdd:g:UCoAAOxyHslQ8rgh

Made in England ! £110 !

Ouch. I think I'll go somewhere with just a tricolour, or perhaps even Poland.

 

[bigwow]

Depends how big you need it.
https://www.ensignflags.com/usa.html

 

[Hydrozoan]

I watched it last night. The ensign was indeed the full one but I did not notice the stars being individually sewn and did not rewind, so will take your word for that. It seemed pretty small, and therefore hard to sew – and that would be even more the case if you needed a courtesy flag. But perhaps you envisage a long exile, with failing eyesight and lost appendages preventing your plying needle and thread. In that case I suggest knocking out a fake Rothko or Pollock to pay for it.

 

[johnalison]

I watched it last night. The ensign was indeed the full one but I did not notice the stars being individually sewn and did not rewind, so will take your word for that. It seemed pretty small, and therefore hard to sew – and that would be even more the case if you needed a courtesy flag. But perhaps you envisage a long exile, with failing eyesight and lost appendages preventing your plying needle and thread. In that case I suggest knocking out a fake Rothko or Pollock to pay for it.

I reckon I could do a Rothko in a few minutes but Pollock's are incredibly complicated and have a mysterious quality when seen in the flesh that I don't think I could ever replicate.