But at least it is the SAME tangent. Well, mostly.

Mermaid from Johan Sibmacher's 1597 modelbook

I really have been getting ready to start the embroidery. There's just the issue of finding the materials. I don't have any clue where my embroidery silks are, where my needles are, nor where my linen is. So, there's a bit of a delay.  Actually, I decided that I probably don't have the right weight linen or enough of any particular embroidery silk to do the camicia, so I'm ordering supplies. I am unpacking my sewing supplies, but unpacking to try to find something doesn't seem like it is going to bear good results long term for my organizational goals.

In the meantime, I'm back to reading up on the symbolism of embroidered mermaids. You may vaguely recall my dip into that pond before.  This time I found a really interesting article on traditional embroidery from Crete and its use of two tailed mermaids.  What I found most interesting about it was it's connections to a lot of the research I did for my Rus persona Praksedys. Mary Kelly has done some really interesting work on the goddess symbols in embroideries and has three books and several articles available on the subject in various areas. I actually own most of them. Rather intriguing stuff and it makes me even more excited to make the camicia. The book I mentioned in the previous blog on Venetian mermaids ties it all back together and makes me even happier about my cartoon themed embroidery since it can be easily tied to my persona. Praxilla's family is from Crete and she now lives in Venice, the city married to the sea.