My Surprise! Elevation to the Order of the Laurel

My son received a scroll for completing a level in Page School, while my husband and my brother in law each received a Purple Fret for service. So, when Her Royal Majesty, Queen Jalida, said let's finish out the family and called me forth, I was stunned. The other 3 had had their names put forth on social media ahead of time, calling them into my court. However, my name was not on that list. 

 

To hear the words, "we beg a boon" brought tears to my eyes! To have friends that I have known for over 20 years come up and speak on my behalf was very heartwarming! And then, to hear what Her Majesty said about her conversation at the Pennsic War with the King of the East (HRM G. Emerson True) - that he wanted to make sure that I was Laureled for my blackwork, so much so that if he had the authority he would have Laureled me right then and there, giving me his own medallion. I was at a complete loss for words. 

I am still processing all of this... I don't know if you notice this in the video, but a little background: This Court was at the Fall 2024 Royal University of the Midrealm (RUM). I am the landed Baroness of the Barony hosting the event. I am also the new Chancellor for the Royal University. I was handed the wheel to drive RUM (starting in March 2024) with the out-going Chancellor over-seeing everything and giving advice where needed. So, by the time Court started (around 6:30pm EST), I had sat down for a total of about 20 minutes since 7:45am on that day. If you visit the Royal University of the Midrealm YouTube channel, you will find 15+ classes that have been added and/or will soon be edited and added from this day of classes. It had been a very busy day with over 50 classes taught at the event! I am excited, nervous, happy, shell-shocked... you pick the emotion and I've probably experienced it at some point with this drive-by of becoming a member of the Order of the Laurel. 

My biggest emotion in all of this: appreciation. Thank you to everyone! Especially thank you to the King of the East who spoke with Her Majesty (Her Highness at the time) on my behalf. 😊

 

16th Century Holbein Stitch Blackwork Embroidered Flower

This is a blackwork embroidered flower pattern based off of a 16th century Italian flower pattern from a sampler at the V&A Museum. 

 

 

The embroidery pattern can be found on my Pinterest page at https://www.pinterest.com/pin/183803228536071563/

 

The earlier form of blackwork embroidery was popular in the early 16th century in England. It was known as Spanish Stitch, or later also became known as Holbein Stitch. It's a double-running embroidery stitch, which creates an embroidery that is reversible on both sides of the fabric.

 

  Suggested Items for Purchase:

• Beeswax: https://amzn.to/2NHAmTF
• Embroidery Scissors: https://amzn.to/3rKAs0W
• Linen Fabric: https://amzn.to/3m1bsuJ
• Embroidery Needles: https://amzn.to/45AMjMG

 

 

How to Tell if It's 100% Beeswax?

Beeswax has been around for centuries and has had many purposes throughout that time. Personally, I like to use beeswax on the ends of my embroidery thread to help prevent the thread from fraying. 

But how do you know if you what you are buying is 100% beeswax or not? 

 

 

Beeswax has different characteristics to help indicate if what you have is actually beeswax or not. 

 

 Items Purchased for this Video: 

- Double Boiler: https://amzn.to/4gM2Pk3 

- Beeswax Pellets: https://amzn.to/4gwS4lc 

- Beeswax Cones: https://www.etsy.com/shop/GardnerBees

 

Making Beeswax Cakes for Embroidery

The beeswax cake is an essential item to have for hand sewing and embroidery, as it strengthens the thread and prevents the ends of the thread from fraying. 

 

 These particular cakes are being made to give away as gifts. 

 

          Suggested Items for Purchase: 

- Double Boiler: https://amzn.to/4gM2Pk3

- Mooncake Mold: https://amzn.to/3TBh80I 

- Beeswax Cones: https://www.etsy.com/shop/GardnerBees

 

 

Keep an eye out for my blog next week, where I talk about how to tell if an item is 100% beeswax or not. 

 

I Have 2 Pattern Books Available on Amazon

To learn a little bit about the two embroidery pattern books available on Amazon, please check this out:

The first book, which was originally released in 2021, has been updated to include patterns from the various Holbein portraits. This book can be found here.

My new book, which focuses specifically on patterns from 16th century books that can be used for double-running stitch, can be found here. 

Thank you for your continued support of my blog, my YouTube channel, and my books! 

More Embroidery Patterns from Hans Hofer’s Formbuchlein from 1545

Hans Hofer's Formbuchlein from 1545 is available online here. 

Here are some more patterns from his embroidery book that I have interpreted:

If these patterns look somewhat familiar, it's because they're identical to Johann Schönsperger the Younger's pattern book called Ein New Getruckt Model Büchli from 1529.