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
Becoming an Apprentice
When I joined the SCA back in 2019 the first class I took was on needle lace and at my third event I paneled that needle lace at the Keepers of Athena's Thimble guild meeting. A Rabbit I made and paneled at my first Athena's Thimble Panel At this meeting, I was surrounded by embroiderers… Continue reading Becoming an Apprentice
A Rainbow Pelican
Its been a while since I've posted. Last year at the end of the year I was the deputy event steward for a big event that took place right before the shut down events (yet again). The days/weeks/months leading up to the event were stressful and coupled with mundane problems, I felt burnt out afterward.… Continue reading A Rainbow Pelican
10 Little Needle Cases
This post is the culmination of a year long project of embroidering a needle case each month in 12 different styles. Due to time constraints and the complexity of a few of the embroidery styles, in the end I have 10 finished needle cases! The Embroidery Styles include: Applique, black work, German brick stitch, Bayeau… Continue reading 10 Little Needle Cases
December: Embroidery over Pleats
This piece is part of a larger project that I started this year to explore different styles of embroidery. To read more about it click here. To read about how I came up with this specific pattern and design, click here. The Last Needle Case! When I started this project and allotted the last month… Continue reading December: Embroidery over Pleats
December: Smocking
We have entered the final stretch, the final month of needle cases! The last one is smocking. Smocking was a popular decorative way to decorate pleats in chemises and other linen garments like aprons in the 16th century (the last half of the year has been full of 16th century, huh!). The best extant example… Continue reading December: Smocking
November: Caterpillar
This needlework piece is part of my ongoing exploration of different medieval embroidery styles. A full explanation of the project can be found here. A post discussing how I drafted this pattern and the stitches/materials used can be found here. I have had so much fun stitching this year. I have learned so many new… Continue reading November: Caterpillar
The Inevitable Scadian 