FredMade some more progress. Should have gone to bed hours ago, but did spend a long time on the phone to my brother, his partner (and my youngest nephews before they went to bed). Embroidery is a good fidget toy.
I've sewn about half the remaining vines. Got maybe three hours left on them.
After that, I need to figure out what else I'm doing with the vines.
I like this one a lot:
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O364613/coif-unknown/
Hard to tell exactly what's going on there, but it looks like some kind of braided stitch. Good job I have a whole book on those.
Here's another option which has a handy close-up of what looks like an even more complicated braid: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O364612/coif-unknown/?carousel-image=2018KT4398
Whatever I choose, it'll be a battle of wills between me and my DMC gold thread (it's what I've got, so it's what I'll be using).
Although that might not be thick enough, so I may need to get something else.
Gonna make a sample soon and see!
OK, I've made my choice. I'm going to try the Elizabethan plaited braid stitch, standard iteration, from Jacqui Carey's Elizabethan Stitches: A Guide to Historic English Needlework, pp. 69-69 (nice).
Looking at the close up pics of early C17th examples, the thread used for this is about the same width as the other threads used on the same pieces, so I'm gonna stick with the DMC thread I already have.
I'm still several hours away from the end of the black, but mind is racing ahead 😅
Aaaaand this stage is done!
I'll probably add some more speckling to a few bits at a later stage.
SunnySidesofBlue@Fredatron Woohoo, that's awesome!
@SunnySidesofBlue 💜 Thanks! It's taken just over a year to get it this far, but most of that time was spent ignoring it 😂
Lisa Makes Stuff (she/her)@Fredatron That's some gorgeous blackwork! (I think that's what it's called?)
@lisamakesstuff Thank you! 💜 (Yep, that's the one!)