STITCHING CROMWELL EXHIBITION: I’m giving a public lecture, “Stitching the World within and without Hilary Mantel’s Cromwell Trilogy”, at the Hive, @worcesteruni.bsky.social on Weds 4 March. There will be a Stitching Cromwell exhibition all week. e-services.worcestershire.gov.uk/LibraryEvent...

Anna Regina (2026). Anne Boleyn in her Coronation robes, the second in the Thomas Cromwell’s Four Queens series of 6ft portraits.

4 Jan 1540: Representatives of #Cleves swear #otd that Anne had not previously been married to the Duke of #Lorraine #otd - and so the nuptial wheels move on... (TCC)

In preparation for this year’s #WolfCrawl with @simonhaisell.bsky.social I wrote about Stitching Cromwell and how the archives find their way into each week’s slow read.

Sculpture by Korean artist Do Ho Suh, 2010s-20s, whose fabric structures recreate the places he has lived, reflecting on broader concepts of migration and what makes a "home".

The first person recorded wishing someone "Merry Christmas" was Bishop John Fisher, in a letter to Thomas Cromwell #OnThisDay, 22nd December 1534. "And this our Lord God send you a mery Christmas, and a comfortable, to your heart’s desire." 🖼️ Wikimedia Commons

The complete Bayeux Tapestry has finally been released and proves that Bishop Odo had absolutely nothing to do with the illegal Norman invasion of England.

New beginnings can be exciting, but also a little daunting. To help ease into your creative-critical mindset of 2026, we warmly welcome you to join us for a special Making Space Session: Creative Intention Setting for 2026! ⏰5:30-7:00pm GMT 📅Thurs, 8th Jan 2026 📍Zoom

I have just put my hand in a letter from Thomas Cromwell dated 24 July 1540, sent from the Tower of London. I think it must have been the last letter he wrote. I am not ok.

I wrote about Agnes Strickland, Katherine of Aragon, and state papers.

Exciting delivery - a new bolt of calico has arrived in time for my religious houses pensions project: coming to Stitching Cromwell in 2026.

There now

Nice to see A Schole-House for the Needle in use.

Very pleased on behalf of me and Stitching Cromwell to get this message in my inbox this morning: “I am delighted to inform you that at its last meeting on 21 November 2025, our Council elected you an Associate Fellow of the @royalhistsoc.org in recognition of your contribution to History.”

Made myself a cross little Cromwell.

For generations, the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree has brought light to the heart of London. Thank you, Norway, for this gift of friendship since 1947.

29 Nov 1530: d. an exhausted Thomas Cardinal Wolsey #otd at #Leicester Abbey. One of many who fell due to Henry VIII's 'great matter'

I have been drawing up an inventory of Stitching Cromwell.

26 Nov 1539: Anne of Cleves begins her journey to #England in a 'chariot' with a 'canopied nacelle' #otd The long trip cost her brother 18,608 gold florins. Luckily for him Henry VIII waived the dowry (St. John's Oxford)

It’s #WorldWalrusDay so it’s a good excuse to repost this #HandEmbroidery version I made recently, based on an 1579 illustration.

The Covid Inquiry’s findings are devastating. So many families suffered unimaginable loss, and their experiences must never be forgotten. We must take these findings seriously and ensure we are far better prepared for the future. My thoughts are with all those who suffered.

Just as I was giving “your assured friend” Lord Cromwell’s signature a nod, and smiling at his over-filled quill in the archives this afternoon, I received an exciting #StitchingCromwell invitation for Spring 2026. Managed not to scream there and then. Watch this space.

The report into Boris Johnson’s record during the Covid epidemic blames a ‘toxic, sexist and chaotic culture’ in Downing Street. Who’d have thought it?

Extremely niche request, very unlikely to work: does anyone know anyone who specialises in analysis of historical handwriting??

Making Little Red Riding Hoods for the Whitstable Artists and Makers Trail in 29/30 November… Up to you whether the wolf is snuggling or stuffed… #hasshenothingbettertodo #feministchristmas #feministart #folklore #fairytale

On this day in 1501, Prince Arthur of Wales married Katherine of Aragon at St Paul’s Cathedral, London. Panel from the Cromwell Narrative Cloth.

Very much a fan of Charles the baby alligator 🐊 and his little smiley face.

At least 50% of Underground stations sound like an early 17th c plot to overthrow the Stuarts.

Nowhere in the hysterical pile-on against the BBC in the British press has anyone mentioned that BBC News now has 77 million viewers & listeners in the US and has established itself as the second most trusted news source there.

It seems like a good day to share this excellent BBC Radio drama about far-right radicalisation and grooming.

Check out this load of old bobbins! The crew of the Mary Rose used them to store their sewing kits (thread around the spindle, needles and pins in a hollow space at the end), which they would use to repair damaged materials, such as this ripped cloth jerkin! #Museum30 #Stitch

Find yourself something that makes you as happy as Edward Barlow's 'dolphin' was to 'swim in the sea'. #skystorians #earlymodern (National Maritime Museum, Journal of Edward Barlow, JOD/4/197-210, 213-294)

'“Chatroom contributions are given equal status with serious academic work,” [Richard] Evans, an expert on the Third Reich, told the Guardian, after being invited to test out Grokipedia. “AI just hoovers up everything.”'

Working Thomas Cromwell’s River. I’m surrounded by maps and nautical navigation charts and notes. Plus Wolf Hall on audio.

Halloween: the world's edge seeps and bleeds. This is the time when the tally-keepers of Purgatory, its clerks and gaolers, listen into the living, who are praying for the dead. – Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall

If you're a National Trust member, it's that time of year again: Midnight tonight is the deadline. It's a shame people have to keep doing this to keep a toehold on historical truth in this country, but here we are. Voting link: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/who-we-are/a...

This is either the beginning of a new idea, or the reworking of an old one. Thomas Cromwell along the Thames. Not sure what I am doing yet.

In my studio with two of four of Thomas Cromwell’s queens: new work ready for next year’s @wolfhall.bsky.social Weekenx by the Tower. Katherine of Aragon and Anna of Cleves. Just finished Katherine 20 minutes ago.

Productive time sketching at “Making Space” with @guildmedmak.bsky.social !

A very cheering Zoom session with @guildmedmak.bsky.social at which I managed to complete three more #LettersToCromwell from 1529. I now need to log them on the Great Big Spreadsheet.

For Trafalgar Day. Nelson at Osborne, stitched while researching Maurice Elvey’s magnificent 1918 biographical film, which included scenes taken at Osborne. Elvey’s Nelson is still the only feature film to have been shot on board HMS Victory. Stitched Nelson, 1400 one inch squares handsewn.

Why am I suddenly hit by an overwhelming desire to stitch the Civitas Londinum (c1561)? It would take years and I’m busy. Brain: So, what about the bit round the Austin Friars then? Go onnnnnn… Me: No. Busy. Brain: You were pointing at it. Why were you pointing at it? Step. Away. From. The. Map.

Don't just buy the newest books. All your favourite authors have excellent back catalogues of works they spent years on. Make sure you pick up those as well (and even better, they tend to be cheaper paperbacks by this point). Older history has value too.

Today's the 959th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings, so obviously I'm reposting my scenes from the Bayeux Tapestry in Playmobil.

I needed to see transcripts of 1960’s interviews and broadcasts with filmmaker Maurice Elvey for my PhD thesis. There’s no way these would have formed part of a programme of releases or anniversaries; Mr Elvey and his views on the film industry, opera, and Chekhov have never been mainstream.

A couple of fabric notes in the handwriting style of Thomas Cromwell - Yellow Satin and Russet Velvet. Doomsday Ink, Calico, silk and cotton thread, silk wadding, wood frame.

Thankyou everyone who visited yesterday. Had a fabulous day of conversations connections and emotions. Getting ready to open again today Sunday 12th October, 11 to 5. House 35 on the #Whitstable Trail #eastkentartistsopenhouses #art #textileart ekoh.org.uk/whitstable/

This is so exciting. I wasn’t allowed to read Jackie so secretly coming across stray copies discarded by others was terribly thrilling and transgressive when I was growing up. Now I can have a good read without being in trouble.

Tony Harrison’s Eumenides, the final play of The Oresteia trilogy by Aeschylus, 1981, at the National Theatre, London, UK. #drama #theater #poetry Photograph: Donald Cooper/Alamy