Source-tastic!

I have found another source (in English!) from Digital Archive of Documents Related to Embroideryfor further information on brick work:
Mediaeval Embroidery from the Collection of Mrs. Murray Crane The Bulletin of the Needle and Bobbin Club, Vol. 16, No. 2 (1932)

My bibliography grows stronger!

Knotwork distractions

I've found a stitching distraction while I'm planning my next brickwork project. I saw some split stitch Celtic knotwork on one of my embroidery lists and it was so pretty that it really inspired me. It was the perfect excuse to use this weird Indian silk I got on a late night ebay bid. I got the design from "Early Medieval Designs From Britain" by Eva Wilson which is a nice little Dover book. The design is from #36-37 "Interlaced dogs and birds from the Lindisfarne Gospels, British Library". I think its turning out really nice. Here's my progress so far:

Finished sampler

I finished piecing together my sampler and here it is:




















I went to Candlemas this weekend and had a great time! I entered the piece into the A&S competition. The chat that I had with the judges was really great and very enlightening. In general I got very positive, constructive feedback and feel that I am armed with the information I need to take the next step. It was good to finally meet more people from my local group too. I made a point to introduce myself to lots of people and, in general, it paid off.

The hard part will be putting all the advice together and prioritizing the next step. I had some Or Nue work cued up, but my research on it has come up fairly light. In order to do a larger pictoral piece with the brickwork I'll need to buy some linen and I've been trying to do projects from the stash. I've put a good dent in my stash though, so maybe that justifies buying some more linen.

Also, I was introduced to "largess" - what a neat concept! Folks wander by A&S displays and if they like them, they leave a little present. I received all sorts of neat little do-dads and I've started a little treasure chest. I'm mulling over what I can put together to bring to the next event.

Piecing it together

I'm going to piece together the samples for Candlemas, so here's my workboard to put it all together. Now all I have to do is trim the edges and sew them together. I'm considering leaving the edges unfinished so that I can add more patterns as I go. It may make the stitching that pieces it all together a bit less uniform that is optimal, but it will let me finish out charting stuff from this tapestry.

Pattern #11

Pattern #11 is finally finished! Its another pattern charted from plate 333.


Stitched example:


















Pattern:

Candlemas!

Candlemas approaches and I need to get cracking! I told the fiber arts guild that I would enter the A&S show. Fortunately I've done several good chunks of work on my documentation already, so life isn't too bad. I am finishing up another stitching pattern sample and then I think that I'm going to piece the samples together for display. I will have nine from the same tapestry so that's perfect for a 3x3 layout. The good news is that I have lots of examples of this style of stitching pieced together like a quilt top and used as a hanging or alter cover, so I can use some quilting skills for the next round of construction. And yes, I even have examples that we know were pieced together in period ;) .

I have been so behind on everything for a couple of months now my stitching (and correspondances) have suffered greatly. My fabulous sister got me an OTT light for xmas, so the stitching is much easier on my eyes and I tend to have less color confusion.

Soon... another pattern will be posted :)

Pattern #10

This pattern is also taken from Plate 333 (see pattern #9)

Stitched example:


Pattern: