Shorleyker Moth

                                   A little Sunday embroidery....I find so relaxing.
 I ,m stitching another moth from " A Schole-house for the Needle " published in 1624 by Richard Shorleyker .

                 I,m using buttonhole stitch around the edge of the moth's wings .

I just did  backstiches for the moth's body , I ,m going to whip those green back stitches over and over for a nicer and ever so slightly raised finish .

The sun came out and I took my needlework out into the garden . I have been delighted by the appearance of some wild strawberries , I suppose a bird must have brought in .
I thought I would put these photos on here, useful I thought , to use in another Elizabethan embroidery ..sometimes I think that the patterns in modern embroidery books have become too stylised . I want my strawberries to be more botanically correct  .
 I put them on here that you too can look closer !
  Strawberries were a much loved subject of embroidery all through the medieval  times , especially loved by the Elizabethans  as a symbol of love and righteousness , the three leaves , symbolising the Holy Trinity .

                        ...and the tiny fruits much loved by the Cornish Piskies  !

       I stitched the tiny whipping stitches , over and over , around his green body  .

  Then begin the wings by putting in some directional guide line stitches , which will be worked in to my long and short shading , from the outside edge to the centre .
 This is not a tutorial ...you do not have to do your butterfly wings like this...you can stitch them..upwards , downwards , in french knots , however makes you smile ..for that is the most important thing and also not worry about the mess on the back if you are a beginner.......just relax and enjoy being creative .

A Schole-house for the Needle 1632 Richard Shorleyker

Hallo again , here are some of the little pieces that I embroidered whilst on our travels around Tewkesbury .
   The patterns that I have chosen come from my favourite historical embroidery pattern book -
            A Schole-house for the Needle  by Richard Shorleyker published in 1632
            It is said that some of these patterns may be from an even earlier date .

Before we left home ,  I gathered my embroidery supplies and plucked a small assortment of crewel wool , which I hoped would work for the little subjects chosen .

I particularly love the moth and enjoyed slowly working on him , deciding on colours and how to embroider him as I went along .

     I,m going to make these up into little etui and note books ...pretty Christmas gifts ... with a little flavour of Shakespeare maybe ?

Today I will be putting my feet up and relaxing with my needlework in the Summerhouse

                                     I wish you a happy and peaceful Sunday .

Sudeley Castle and some country views .

 My husband had been lucky enough to win on Ebay  two tickets to see Sudeley Castle , which is in the Cotswolds near Winchcombe , Gloucestershire last year , but our hearts sank as I has been called into hospital to have a kidney removed ...cancer ...sigh ..
 While I had been recovering and pretty much oblivious to everything , my husband rang their office to explain and they very kindly extended our ticket to this year .
 I really had been very ill and with post traumatic stress disorder..I really couldn't travel that far .
 I want to say thankyou so much to the kind people in the office who extended the use of our tickets . We came up a couple of weeks ago and had the most lovely time ...and I bought one of Lady Ashcombe's Bread Plates ( the pretty green Victorian one with roses on ) which is now , very much in use , in  my little Cornish kitchen .
     I understand that the money raised through the sale of these lovely antiques and collectables is going to a local animal rescue home , which is a lovely idea !

 Sudeley Castle was the home of Catherine Parr after the death of King Henry 8th . She had finally married the man she truly loved and came to live here and must have been so happy . Very sadly  , she died after  childbirth .

There are interesting collections to see , I was particularly interested in the costumes , embroidery and needlework , some of which is thought to have been worked by Catherine Parr .

The gardens are immaculate and a joy to walk around , I only wish we'd had more time  , one visit is not enough to see everything .  We took some refreshment from the cafe and sat at a picnic table outside  , doing a little stitching of my own  , listening to the birds singing and enjoying the view all around .

It wasn't too busy and I had a nice chat with the head gardener who was planting out Hydrangea paniculata ...we laughed , because there were actually more plants to see along the path , as we left , than there were ,when we first came in !

And away down beautiful country lanes , golden fields of mustard . We bought some mustard too from Tewkesbury to bring home for friends and family .

                              We visited Odda's Chapel and this ancient tree .

                                        Wild flowers of every kind at our feet .

                                   So much history all around . England at it's very best .

  We drove through pretty villages with timber framed buildings ....taken back in time .....

I brought with me some small pieces of linen to embroider  with patterns taken from my most favourite book of all , from the world of embroidery  A Scholehouse for the Needle by Richard Shoreleyker 1632 .

 I transferred the patterns before we left home and grabbed a small bundle of Appletons crewel wool , which I just took a chance on  being suitable colours .

                               I will show you some more tomorrow ...got  to dash !