Blackwork February Meeting 2014

This month we tried our hands at blackwork with the guidance of one of our members Dorothy Pearce. She gave us a short history of its popularity in Tudor Times and showed us some samples found in paintings of the period.

Blackwork samples from paintings of the C16

  Dorothy had brought a range of beautiful fragile looking pieces for us to see.

Dorothy had devised a slightly simpler piece for us so that we would not be overwhelmed! She showed us how to start and then we were each given a grid to follow. 

There was absolute silence as we set about counting our squares and following the grid. Some of us found it difficult to start with and there was a bit of unpicking but as we got used to the pattern it became embedded in our heads. Dorothy was on hand with loads of patience to sort out any problems.

 A few of us managed to complete part of the pattern using coloured thread and gold. We were pleased with our results particularly those members who had never tried blackwork before. All thanks must go to Dorothy for being so patient with us and showing us what to do.