The Library Ghost

    The 1500s in England saw Henry Tudor die; his second son take the throne as Henry VIII; and his daughter Margaret Tudor wed to James IV of Scotland.  Catherine of Aragon, a Spanish princess, married Arthur, Prince of Wales; upon his death, she married then-prince Henry and bore his first daughter, Mary Tudor.  After Henry VIII established the Anglican Church and annulled his marriage to Catherine, he married Anne Boleyn, who bore the future Elizabeth I before being executed in 1536.  Henry would go on to have four more marriages, only one of which produced a son: Edward.      Henry oversaw the dissolution of the monasteries as part of his break with Rome, seizing church relics and treasures before turning the land over to his supporters.  After his death in 1547, a young Edward VI briefly became king, then died in 1553.  Mary took the throne and wed Phillip II of Spain in 1554, although Phillip took no part in ruling England and...

    My recollection is that I worked on lots of things, but finished very few.  We'll see by the end of the post whether that holds up!     I worked on knotting a string of pearls, which is really surprisingly difficult when it comes to getting the spacing right.  I stopped at the length of a choker because I do not have the patience to make one of those opera-length ropes!     I fixed a number of things in the mending pile, including the shoulder strap on my 1920s chemise (accidentally disconnected while struggling to remove a corset).  Remember to reinforce your attachment points, and use a buddy to help you out of a corset if you plan on tight-lacing!     The American Duchess post about an embroidered pocket from Colonial Williamsburg provided the initial inspiration for my blue pocket (the second of two so far); after dropping the project for about a year, I finally finished the embroidery and bound the piec...