So, despite the fact that I am retired and, supposedly have all the time in world, I haven’t been very good about updating this blog. The last three weeks have been consumed with a labor of love.
When my parents moved to Vermont in 2006, they decided to attend the Episcopal church with DH and me. They seemed to enjoy the fellowship and, when my dad passed away a few months later, my mother was supported by both the clergy and the parish. She formed a close bond with one of the priests and even planned her own funeral long before her death. My mother wanted to make a memorial gift in my father’s name, so my sister and I joined her in donating a new smaller cross for the younger crucifers.
When my mom died in 2008, I wanted to give a memorial gift in her name, but had a hard time deciding what it should be. I finally decided on white vestments and altar hangings, since the church did not own any. The only problem was that the fabric would be more than I had planned to donate. Recently, a friend’s daughter became engaged and the white vestments became important to her, too. We decided to share the cost and, with four weeks until Easter, I insisted that we get going and finish them in time for that celebration. We ordered the fabric and appliqués, and I began what would be three weeks worth of work.
It was a little scary to cut out the pieces because of the expense of the fabric, but I bit the bullet and went for it after a lengthy discussion with my neighbor over the right and wrong side of damask. The plan was to make a pulpit hanging, a superfrontal, bible markers, a burse, a veil, stoles for two priests and a chausible. Most of the items had only one appliqué, but the stoles had three each and the superfrontal had three. That added up to fifteen appliqués. They are attached by couching them with gold thread, applying two separate rows of couching.
When my parents moved to Vermont in 2006, they decided to attend the Episcopal church with DH and me. They seemed to enjoy the fellowship and, when my dad passed away a few months later, my mother was supported by both the clergy and the parish. She formed a close bond with one of the priests and even planned her own funeral long before her death. My mother wanted to make a memorial gift in my father’s name, so my sister and I joined her in donating a new smaller cross for the younger crucifers.
When my mom died in 2008, I wanted to give a memorial gift in her name, but had a hard time deciding what it should be. I finally decided on white vestments and altar hangings, since the church did not own any. The only problem was that the fabric would be more than I had planned to donate. Recently, a friend’s daughter became engaged and the white vestments became important to her, too. We decided to share the cost and, with four weeks until Easter, I insisted that we get going and finish them in time for that celebration. We ordered the fabric and appliqués, and I began what would be three weeks worth of work.
It was a little scary to cut out the pieces because of the expense of the fabric, but I bit the bullet and went for it after a lengthy discussion with my neighbor over the right and wrong side of damask. The plan was to make a pulpit hanging, a superfrontal, bible markers, a burse, a veil, stoles for two priests and a chausible. Most of the items had only one appliqué, but the stoles had three each and the superfrontal had three. That added up to fifteen appliqués. They are attached by couching them with gold thread, applying two separate rows of couching.
The bride-to-be helped with the appliqué on the veil, but the rest was up to me. It seemed to take forever. By Maundy Thursday I had completed everything except for the chausible and about 25 little rings to be sewn on the superfrontal to attach it to the altar. The chausible has a beautiful, intricate appliqué which took much longer than I anticipated. By Good Friday afternoon, the appliqué was finished, but I couldn’t figure out how to sew the two pieces together. At DH’s suggestion, I googled “sewing a chausible” and, surprise, there was a website with photos of exactly how to do it! The deadline was Saturday at 1:30 PM and I finished by noon.
On Easter Sunday, the priest who was celebrating showed off the new chausible, pointed out the new hangings and read a note of thanks for my work from the altar guild that was accompanied by a beautiful pink azalea. I didn’t need any thanks, though, because I knew that my mom was looking down proudly at the work I had done in her memory.
On Easter Sunday, the priest who was celebrating showed off the new chausible, pointed out the new hangings and read a note of thanks for my work from the altar guild that was accompanied by a beautiful pink azalea. I didn’t need any thanks, though, because I knew that my mom was looking down proudly at the work I had done in her memory.
1 comment:
You did such a beautiful job - all the pieces look incredible. You are so talented!
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