Progress on the Lady of the Mercians

I realise that you’ve not heard about Aethelflaed for a while. In fact the period of silence is partly misleading and partly calendar related.

In terms of the calendar – my Serious Embroidery Frame sits beside a table in the bay window in the living room, and that is the table that the Christmas tree goes on. We don’t put the tree up early (I usually scoot in at the last moment on Christmas Eve, as was the family tradition when I was a child), but I do start clearing that space and thinking of other things.

In fact, however, before I put Aethelflaed away for that period, I had made considerable progress. Even with the pause for resupply, I had managed to finish the first layer of her border. It’s harder than it looks, because I couch the coloured silk at either end, straight off the reels, to avoid having too much wastage from starting up and ending off and misjudging lengths. I find every section I do requires me to rediscover my rhythm, and until I do, I feel clumsy and tied in knots. I think the result is worth it, however.

Comparing Aethelflaed thus far with William completed, you will see that I have to do the Trellis Couching (which goes alarmingly quickly once I get a run at it) and then finalise the design for, and then work, the embellishments.

Bee Skeps, Beer Barrels, and Roses, oh my!