I’m a quarter of the way done with the Baronial Coats of Arms. This one belongs to Phelim, the current Baron of Bryn Gwlad. His shield is amazingly simple and graphic, with translates well to a battlefield banner. I was afraid, however, of the large spaces being boring when translated to needlework. I elected to do a couple things to try to mitigate that.

The goblet is worked in split stitch, except for the hint of the inner rim which is satin stitch. I stitched the outer bell in a curve to simulate the roundness of the cup. The stem and foot are worked in a vertical-ish manner, for contrast. The background quarters are a modified Lattice Work stitch. The main difference between what Mary shows in her video and what I did is that the anchoring stitches are worked parallel to the long satin background, not perpendicular to them.  I’m really pleased with the way it came out. Enough texture to be visually interesting, but not enough to take away from the intensely graphic nature of the design.

Next up: Myfanwy’s shield.