I embroidered this rose in the absolute certainty that it was a dog rose, Rosa canina, the wild rose that clambers around English hedgerows to such delightful effect during glorious June. Nicholas Hilliard’s miniature painting, Young Man  among Roses (13.5 by 7.3 cm; watercolour on vellum, c.1587) comes into my mind when I think of […]

Rummaging through box files recently, I came upon the above photograph, taken long ago, longer than I care to work out accurately. I have no idea what became of the above shirt or when I last saw it although I can remember doing the embroidery. Strangely enough, it might actually have been wearable now as […]