I studied Jacobean Crewelwork during my first trip to the Royal School of Needlework. I had already completed an online course in crewelwork, followed by personal study, so the style and stitches were not new to me. But there was still plenty to learn. I spent about 90 hours working on the piece shown on this page, over 12 days at Hampton Court Palace. The class gave me an opportunity to clean up my technique and even learn one or two new stitches.

The leaf and flower motifs were influenced by designs brought in by my tutor Shelley Cox, and other historic items observed in London. I decided I did not want a typical tree of life with hillocks, and therefore arranged my motifs as a branch. My final design used 27 different stitches.

One of my favorite stitch arrangements was the trellis in the bottom leaf. This fill pattern actually has two trellises with cross tie-downs and a bullion stitch accent. I noticed the pattern in an embroidered screen (c.1900) that was on display on the room where we worked. We were not allowed to take photos, so I added my favorite fill into my own work. I also sketched some of the combinations used in the screen to help me remember how to replicate this feature in later pieces.

I had a wonderful time working on this piece and therefore worked on it a lot. Consequently, I was a bit ahead of schedule compared to the rest of the class. To keep me busy, Shelly added a snail to my design. I love it. It makes me smile every time I see it!