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Monday 26 April 2010

Free Download - The Rose at the Heart of the Pomegranate

Just outside Chelmsford in the UK is the well-known New Hall School. Less well-known is that the school is a largely rebuilt palace once belonging to Henry VIII. In fact Henry, though inheriting several palaces when he ascended the throne in 1509, had in 1516 become a father for the first time. A doting father. His firstborn, Mary, born to his queen, Katherine of Aragon, was to have the most beautiful, salubrious place in which to grow. The land at New Hall was sold to him by Thomas Boleyn (a name that would come back, like the eleventh fairy, to haunt both Mary and Henry). Here Henry built his palace which he called Beaulieu. There still exists in the building to this day a testament of the swelling heart and pride which prompted Henry's generous gift. On one of the door spandrels are the arms of Katherine of Aragon - the pomegranate beneath the crown. And if you look closely at that pomegranate, you can see emerging from it a small English rose. But life, even for the seemingly most blessed, has its ups and downs and in 1533 Mary was evicted when Henry married Anne Boleyn selling the palace over her head to Lord Rochford, Anne Boleyn's brother.

So, here is a free design I have created for you to download - you can choose simply to work one small pomegranate and rose - or create a larger piece. Or you could take the pattern and use it as a repeat for knitting. You are limited only by your creativity which I know is vast! Click here for the image for your chart. If you have Jane Greenoff Cross Stitch Designer you can download an editable version of the chart by clicking here.

4 comments:

  1. Thank you for a lovely freebie. It's added to my ever-growing list of patterns I want to stitch!

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  2. I'm so grateful for this! Although, I'm having trouble seeing the rose in Katharine's arms. Is there an image that shows this?

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  3. That is lovely to know - thank you. Look at the pomegranate directly beneath the crown in the first image and you will see emerging, as if from the side of it, half an open rose. Can you see now?

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  4. Oh, how wonderful!:) Thank you again, I can't wait to stitch this. I'm THRILLED with these little historical pieces!

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