appears at

http://flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=604811961&context=set-72157600455734204&size=l

labelled “1670 stumpwork panel”

The entire piece is shown at http://www.plimoth.org/userfiles/embroidery%20full.jpg

I’m doing the dusty pink rose.

I think, from looking at pictures of extant embroideries that sometimes a satin stitch or shaded long and short stitch base was done on the ground under the needlelace layers of petals, and sometimes it wasn’t.

It’s hard to see if there is a stitched base on this piece but I’m doing one, since the outline marked in pen would otherwise be visible.

There are 5 pointed picots as sepals between each petal.

It has 4 layers of fully detached needlelace (which I’ll do in detached buttonhole stitch with return) and a purl centre.

The petals stand up from each other. They’ve been wired.

I would like to thank the following people for advice on this :

Baroness Eowyn Amberdrake (SCA)

Mary Corbet of www.needlenthread.com

Romilly,

Grace Lister,

Celeste and

Sabrina,

thefour last being from the Stitchin’ Fingers group.

Romilly referred me to the article

Elizabethan Raised Embroidery by

Branyen Madyn Wallis

http://moas.atlantia.sca.org/oak/15/eliz.htm

regarding wire work being done as early as the 1400’s!

For the moment, I’m working on the base

Here’s the outline split stitched in.

There are two circles in the middle. The space between them is the space I’ll use to attach the edges of 4 layers of petals.

The following photograph shown one petal 2/3 done. It shows the lines I’ve drawn in on each petal, indicated about where I should change shades, (I’m using 3 shades of YLI dusty pink), and the directional lines of thread I’ve put in for the final layer of long and short stitches for the first petal.

Two base petals completed :

I’ll do the picots (sepals) before starting on the detached petals. I don’t want the petals getting in the way if I put the picots in last.

I’ll be writing next not only about the joys of pointed picots (which I have to learn how to do) but all about fully detached needlelace and cordonnets.