Macclesfield is celebrating the original Bayeux Tapestry coming to the British Museum.  Ailsa Holland and Becca Smith are organising and designing an embroidered tapestry of Macclesfield’s history in the style of the Bayeux. They have invited members of the public to participate, each person sewing a small section or design which will be sewn together for the final piece. I love this idea and think it is a very interesting and clever tribute. The sections have been designed and you choose one. Beautiful hand dyed wools are provided in a limited but interesting selection of colours and sessions have been run to show how to approach the stitching techniques required.

I saw the original tapestry when I was much younger and thought it was amazing. I chose a bird and my friend and I settled down last week to get started on our sections.

I wanted my bird to be quite nice and bright but when I practised colouring in some copies I didn’t like any of the results. In the end I settled for two colours in 3 shades for the bulk of his body and tail.

Embroidered bird

This weekend I did the laid stitches and couching and went for a yellow which has really livened him up. I decided on a trellis effect and think it has worked pretty well. I am looking forward to finishing him, but need to decide what to do with his wings.

Embroidered bird