There is a cardinal rule for scientists - never assume. Well, I (as a former scientist who should have known better) broke that rule last week. This was when I featured Lynn's great tip for bead storage for working with complex pictures. I had assumed it was a bead embroidered picture and said so. A reader corrected me and Lynn recently sent me a close up which clearly shows she accomplished her dog picture with peyote stitch. 

The original post has been edited to "complex beading projects" because one could achieve a multi-colored version of an original photo in different ways. Lynn's close up shown above has the distinctive staggered look of peyote. 

The pink floral design below Lynn's  is a detail from my mother's bead embroidered shoe vamp (see my past post "100 Years of South East Asian Nonya Embroidery". She used just one diagonal of cross stitch to hold each bead. She worked on Aida cloth which you can see peeking below. The beads are thus in little squares and not staggered at all.  You could also get this same effect with loom stitches.

Lynn gave me more information on her "Rosie" project which she calls a bead tapestry. It could have been hung but the recipient preferred it framed. She used 38 colours of 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads for this 12 inch x 12 inch project.  She added that a picture at least 11 inches big will give more colours and thus more details for the pictures. Pictures are rendered using special software applications. An estimated 38,000 beads were used in hers!  It took her over 2 years as she had to take care of family issues at the time.

Such bead tapestry via peyote/loom stitching projects as well as bead embroidery ones are hugely popular. 



The same designer also created this sun and moon pattern which has (mercifully 😆) 19 colors :



In contrast the bead embroidery patterns I have come across are usually kits which rely on coloured backgrounds so beaders do not have to cover the entire surface.



Also from the same designer is her dandelions at night bead embroidery kit. 


FUN FACTS ABOUT THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY

The Bayeux Tapestry is a very long work - over 70 m or 230 ft long and 0.5 m or 1.6 ft wide- which is thought to have been created in the 11th century. It is not a true tapestry in the strictest definition as it is not a woven design but embroidered with wool yarn onto long panels of linen stitched together. 

This was essentially a graphic novel about the successful French Norman invasion of England in 1066, led by William, the Duke of Normandy. He won the Battle of Hastings by defeating King Harold, the Saxon king. The work was probably commissioned by his half brother, Bishop Odo and tells the story from a Norman perspective.


The Bayeux Tapestry features 623 men, 190 horses, 37 ships, 35 dogs and only 3 women.  There are famously 93 penises depicted, 88 of those belong to horses, the largest of which belong to William the conqueror's horse!  This is quite remarkable as it was very likely embroidered in Canterbury England by the nuns in Barking Abbey, not long after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. 

There were two main types of stitching - stem stitch and couching or laid work to fill in areas. The 58 scenes are depicted in the large central row. The top and bottom narrow borders are sometimes used as extensions for the scenes but are also filled with strange mystical creatures and side stories, not all of which are understood today. The scenes are often separated by odd looking stylized trees. Perspective and scale was also not used so the scenes look odd to our modern eyes.

This tapestry has one of the earliest depiction of Haley's comet which people at the time took to mean doom for King Harold.


The Norman invasion profoundly changed English history in many ways. For example, about 30-60 % of English vocabulary comes from French words such as :

  • Government and social class (revenue, authority, realm, duke, count, marquis, servant, peasant)
  • Church (religion, sermon, prayer, abbey, saint, faith, pray, convent, cloister)
  • Law (justice, crime, jury, pardon, indict, arrest, felon, evidence)
  • War (army, navy, battle, garrison, captain, sergeant, combat, defence)
  • Fashion (gown, robe, frock, collar, satin, crystal, diamond, coat, embroidery)
  • Food (feast, taste, mackerel, salmon, bacon, fry, mince, plate, goblet)
  • Learning and medicine (paper, preface, study, logic, surgeon, anatomy, stomach, remedy, poison)

The word beef comes from the French bouef. Yet, the word cow is derived from the Saxon word, cÅ« not the French vache. Similarly while pork comes from the French word, porc, pig is a Saxon word. The French call the pig cochon.  This illustrates the social class changes which came after 1066.  The French nobility partaking the beef or pork while the Saxon peasantry who took care of cows and pigs continued to use their words for the animals. 

Watch BBC's HistoryExtra video on the Bayeux Tapestry which includes its sometimes rude secrets. It is hosted by historian, Dr David Musgrove, who is the co-author of the book The Story of the Bayeux Tapestry : Unravelling the Norman Conquest.  Medieval people did not have the same attitudes we have today about nudity and anatomy. There were no doubt inside stories about some of the key characters which might explain the rudeness in some scenes directed against them. The scandals and gossip were probably well known back then but we no longer have any knowledge about them.


Before You Go:

jewelry making supplies

Disclosure 

This blog may contain affiliate links. I do receive a small fee for any products purchased through affiliate links. This goes towards the support of this blog and to provide resource information to readers. The opinions expressed are solely my own. They would be the same whether or not I receive any compensation. 
 ______________________________ 
Original Post by THE BEADING GEM