Agnes berengarii de Girona

THL Agnes berengarii de girona

Hola,

I am Agnes. Currently, residing in the Province of Silver Desert (Reno, NV), in the Principality of Cynagua. My artistic focus in the SCA is string.

Currently, I am the A&S Officer for the Principality of Cynagua. I joined the SCA in Caid, AS IX (1984). I have held many jobs within the Society in all three of the Kingdoms I have lived. This has been my 4th or 5th stint as an A&S officer, because I love being a cheerleader for the office that helps to put the Creative in the Society for Creative Anachronisms.

I love doing all kinds of arts, but I needed to narrow my focus a bit, so I chose stringy things, as they give me so much joy. So, let's play with string!

A Ruck Sack Using Period stitches.

This wool ruck sack was made for my husband, El Senor Abrahe çaragoça. His device has been stitched on a linen ground with fine wool threads, using a laid thread and couch work technique (aka Bayeux stitch). This has been appliqued to a piece of black wool with some decoration added and then blanket stitched to the flap of the ruck sack. The sack is sewn using a blanket stitch in wool yarn, and tassels are used to add weight to the flap. The tassels are wool with a detached button hole decorative top.

To learn how to use Buttonhole stitch, check out my video.

Here is my inspiration piece.

This is a panel from the Oxburgh Hangings. Purported to be stitched by Mary, Queen of Scots, and/or Bess of Hardwick, during Mary's confinement by Queen Elizabeth I. This panel is probably cross stitch as several of the panels are, but there are some of the panels that were stitched in tent stitch. The panels are believed to have been stitched as squares then cut later to be applied to bed hangings. They are all stitched on linen grounds with silk threads.

Not quite finished, but my version.

Almost made the deadline, but I had to work, so my schedule was thrown off.

This is my interpretation of the panel to the left. I am stitching on linen canvas, because I have lots and it is close to the linen used in period for this kind of work. The thread is a mercerized cotton and not silk, due to the future use of the piece. It will be made into a cushion when done. Also, I have chosen tent stitch for the tensile strength, as it is a stitch found in this period and is appropriate for the usage. Also, I get sick of cross stitch. The lettering is stitched in a stem stitch over the tent stitch, as the original appears to have been done in this manner instead of trying to chart the letters. The pattern was drawn and the black threads applied to outline the the snakes by Mary's in house artist (Swain, 1973).

Reference

Swain, Margaret, (1973) The Needlework of Mary, Queen of Scots, Van Nostrand Reinhold Company (New York) ISBN 0-442-29962-I