Boos Mummy

 As usual time has flown by here in Yorkshire. One minute we're gearing up for Christmas and before I know it Easter half term has arrived and the kids are at home. Since January I've been busy with different crafting projects. One thing I wanted to make myself was a book cover for a notebook that I could use for all my craft projects and ideas.  My husband bought me the Charles Dickens kit from Bothy Threads for Christmas so I couldn't resist starting that on New Years. It didn't take me long to do at all in the long winter evenings.  I had so much fun stitching this even if I had to use the aida that came in the kit as none of my favourite fabrics were the right size (I couldn't be bothered to wait for some to arrive as I wanted to start it straight away!) I also took part in an online workshop with Ellie Hipkin who is an amazing textile mixed media artist. After spending a lot of time walking up and down our local fields I wanted to capture some of it on fabric. ...

Our next monarch is Richard I, better known as Richard the Lionheart. Kings and Queens by Bothy Threads Richard was born on 8th September 1157 in Oxford, England. He was the son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Like his brothers Richard fought against his father in 1173. In 1183 Richards brother Henry died leaving him heir to the throne.  Henry had wanted to give Aquitaine to his son John but Richard disagreed and joined Phillip II of France in 1189. It was this rebellion against his father that lead to Henry II dying in France in July 1189. Richard then ascended to the English throne but although he was king for 10 years he only spent 6 months in England.  Richards ambition was to join the Third Crusade to the Holy Land. He sold Sheriffdoms and other high offices in order to finance this crusade, in 1190 he set off and landed in the Holy Land in June 1191. Richard came close to the crusade's main objective, Jerusalem but it continued to elude him. Quarrels a...

Here's our next monarch all finished, this time it's Stephen... Stephen was the son of the Count of Blois and Adela, daughter of William the Conqueror. He was sent to England to be raised at the court of his uncle, Henry I.   A fter Henry I died in December 1135, the leading lords and bishops welcomed Stephen as the new king as they weren’t comfortable with Henry’s daughter Matilda being the ruler.  Stephen was not a natural leader. In 1138 Robert, Earl of Gloucester, took up arms on Matilda’s behalf. Stephens early victories faded when he lost the support of the church and Matilda invaded England in September 1139.    The tussle for the throne continued until Stephen gained the upper hand and in 1148 Matilda left England. Unfortunately Stephen didn’t have much control over most of the kingdom and couldn’t enforce the law or mediate between the warring nobles. He hoped to secure the succession for his son Eustace. But Matilda’s son Henry...

Henry I is all finished on my project. Must admit that I groaned when I noticed this monarch had gold as I'm not a fan of metallic threads but the thread in this project stitched up beautifully...hurray! Bothy Threads - Kings and Queens Henry was born in England in 1068 or 1069, the fourth son of William the Conqueror. When Henry's elder brother became king another elder brother had died and left only Robert and Henry as the heirs. When William was killed in a hunting accident in August 1100 Henry had himself crowned a few days later, taking advantage of Robert's absence on crusade. Robert invaded England in 1101 but relinquished his claim in return for Henry's territories in Normandy.  This peace didn't last long and Henry invaded Normandy and in 1106 he captured Robert and held him prisoner for life. Henry's only legitimate son, William, died in a shipwreck in November 1120. This left Henry without another legitimate male heir despite remarrying in or...