Free Stuff
from
Appleton Studios
Needlework/Cross Stitch Charts
We've been creating
and uploading small (3" x 3") needlework charts of heraldic charges that
can be downloaded or printed out and which you can then work yourself
for nearly eleven years now. Along with each chart is the pattern
information, the floss color descriptions and numbers (though there is
no obligation to follow these color recommendations slavishly. You may
prefer to select different tints or colors, as indeed sometimes our own
needlework artist has when working from these charts).
To view or download any of these charts, simply click on the hyperlinked
name.
Our
needlework chart for August is a fishing-related charge,
shaped rather like a trident head, an eel
spear.
It is sometimes called a salmon spear, and may be shown in
heraldry with a fish transfixed on its tines. Eel spears
appear in Guillim's A Display of Heraldrie, 4th ed.
(1660) on p. 316, in the arms of Stratele (Stratley): Sable
a chevron between three eel spears argent.
The
needlework chart for July was a "heavenly" charge, sometimes
called a "hairy star", but better known to us as a comet.
Our
needlework chart for June was a old tool still found in a
similar configuration today, a hammer.
It is sometimes blazoned as a "martel" for canting purposes.
(Think of Charles "the Hammer", Charles Martel.) The hammer here
is modeled from that found in the arms of Martel, in the Gelre
armorial, f. 48v. (1370-1414).
The
needlework chart for May ws a religious artifact used for meditation
and prayer, a rosary
or paternoster. It can be found as a maintained charge in the
arms and crest of Ruswörmb in Siebmacher's Wappenbuch von 1605
(http://www.wappenbuch.de/pages/wappen_144_Siebmacher.htm).
Our needlework chart for April was a woodworking tool related to the axe, an adze. It is distinguished by its hooked, transverse blade, used for shaping or dressing timber. This adze is based on the arms of Rodensteyn, c.1370 [Gelre 44v].
The needlework chart for March was a winnowing fan, a tool used for separating wheat from chaff. It is found in the canting (punning) arms of the Septvans family.
Our needlework chart for February was an unusual charge found sometimes in German and Italian heraldry, a carriage frame.
The free needlework chart for January was the antler of a stag, a stag's attire, taken from a 1540 German armorial.
Our
free needlework chart for December was a rake, an agricultural tool
with prongs set transversely at the end of a long handle, used for
gathering leaves, grass, hay, etc. from the ground. A rake is found
in the canting (punning) arms of Rechenberg as early as 1370 in the
Gelre Armorial.
The needlework chart for November was a sometimes confusing charge,
a zule. A zule is a stylized
column or support, found in the canting arms of van Zuylen, c.1370.
A Dutch charge, it was introduced to England during the reign of
William of Orange, where it was confused with the chess rook.
Indeed, many English heraldic dictionaries still define a zule
as "a chess-rook".
The needlework chart for September was charge popular with spinner and weavers, a quill of yarn (not to be confused with a quill pen, a charge "mightier than the sword").
We also sell packages that include each year's charts of these charges we have done (at this point, sixteen years in all). Or you can purchase a CD-ROM with 192 charts of these heraldic charges in .pdf format. More information on these sets, including a list of the charges contained in them, can be found here.
Other needlework charts available for sale, and information on contacting us about creating customized needlework charts for you, can also be found on our Needlework page here.
Our latest big project, an American Heraldry Collection, has finally been "completed" (as if any collection of heraldry can really be said to be complete), and has been uploaded to this website in two versions. Each version is in a .zip file, each with a Word document (containing some background information on the collection as well as a bibliography and key to sources) and an Excel spreadsheet (with arms and crests, with their related surnames and the sources of the arms). The .docx and .xlsx files can be downloaded here; and the .doc and .xls files can be downloaded here.
You can download a copy of our free sampler screensaver, which contains images from our specialty heraldry-themed screensavers. Additional information about our screensavers for the PC can be found on our Heraldic Arts for the Computer page.
We have a sampler of our PowerPoint educational programs in heraldry available for download here, which contains brief excerpts from each of the programs presently available. More information about our computer-based heraldic educational programs can be found on our Heraldic Arts for the Computer page.
Questions? Comments? Compliments? Complaints? Suggestions for improvement? Or just want to share your successes (or difficulties) with our "free stuff"? Write, call, or e-mail us at the address, telephone number, or e-mail addresses here.