In April of 2021 I planned out a rather large embroidery project reproducing a panel of the 14th Century Embroidered Wall Hanging in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I am happy to say, that after nearly two years the project is complete: I wrote a bit about the project in a blog post called German… Continue reading The Crown of Love
Medieval Project Management: Part 1 Finding Time
Some of my friends have approached me with very good questions on how I manage to fit creativity into my busy 21st century life. It should come as no surprise, due to the fast paced nature of modern life, with hourly jobs and modern distractions like Netflix that it can be impossible to have the… Continue reading Medieval Project Management: Part 1 Finding Time
To Needleloop, or not to Needleloop?
In my last post, I wrote about a fascinating group of embroideries that I found from Asia in the 1300s which exhibit a "needle looping" technique. Of course, I decided to attempt to replicate this lotus flower. I began by purchasing some threads in like colors. I chose Vinyard Silk, because its fluffy and fun,… Continue reading To Needleloop, or not to Needleloop?
Detours in Button Hole Stitch
A journey to determine what is Needle Looping? On the way back from a big event I brainstormed some projects I wanted to work on. After finishing a LONG counted project, I very much want to explore something less counted. Buttonhole is the first stitch I learned in the SCA, and the first one I… Continue reading Detours in Button Hole Stitch
A Brief Foray into Basketry
I don't know what possessed me to want to weave a basket, but here we are... A long long time ago, my dad used to say the college football players were all majoring in underwater basket weaving. When I was a small child, I did not understand what this was, but assumed (for reasons that… Continue reading A Brief Foray into Basketry
The Last Needle Case: Open Work
Last year when I finished my needle cases I finished with 10 out of my intended 12. As the project progressed, I found that some of the needle cases were more time consuming than others so I combined a few categories to finish the project in my time frame. The first combo was Free embroidery… Continue reading The Last Needle Case: Open Work
White Work Apron
A secret project for John Marshall. The day I became an Apprentice, John Marshall, husband of Elizabet, my Laurel, received his Writ to join the Order of the Laurel for his excellence in historic food, including cheese making (Mmm Cheese). To this, I volunteered to make the cook an apron trimmed with Laurel leaves for… Continue reading White Work Apron
Battle of Little Birds
This summer I agreed to a rather large project. There were times I laid awake at night worried that I would not be able to finish it in time and made a mistake in accepting, and there were times I was frustrated by the fiddley nature of this project, but I have to say it… Continue reading Battle of Little Birds
Musing on Progress
When folks ask me how long I've been embroidering, I often say, "oh a long time" or "since I was a kid" but, my Facebook memories have recently reminded me, this is not exactly true. When I was a child, I did some stitching and worked on some kits but I never actually finished any… Continue reading Musing on Progress
Long and Short Butterfly
This summer I needed a short project for a road trip and a cup cover for M'Lord Taichleach seemed the perfect project. He requested something similar to this butterfly: Blue Morpho I chose to use the Long and Short stitch to create the best transition from dark to light on the butterfly wings. To begin,… Continue reading Long and Short Butterfly
The Inevitable Scadian 