Ecclesiastical Embroidery

(It does sometimes get difficult to keep using alliteration for post titles!)

At church last Sunday, I was collared by the lay preacher, Beryl.  She handed me a table linen that had been used in church for as long as I can remember.

It had been beautifully hand embroidered with this design

but either the mice, the moths or old age has taken its toll, and it is looking the worse for wear (and has done for a long time)

These things often get overlooked - but Beryl has now noticed the state it's in, so could something be done?

Not sadly with the fabric, and I felt that even if I could rescue the embroidery and applique it onto a new cloth it was still likely to perish sooner rather than later.

So I spent a lovely evening copying the design and stitching it onto a new piece of fabric  so Beryl can make a new table cloth.

I bet when it was originally stitch by hand the stitcher could not have foreseen her design being photographed by a mobile phone, transferred to a computer, being copied and then duplicated with the help of a computer and a rather complicated machine that is still essentially a sewing machine!

Marvellous Mosaic

As a creature of habit, I tend to sit in the same pew each Sunday (unless there are kids in which case we're in Sunday School on the mezzanine floor) and I tend to go to the left of the alter rail for communion. Each Sunday I look at these tiles and contemplate making a quilt based on them (I love the secondary star, but too many HSTs)

Last Sunday I happened to go to the right of the alter rail instead, and looked at the floor there.  This Sunday I remembered to bring my camera

Do you see what I see?

This middle one isn't a star!

Sewing Saturday

Last Saturday I hosted a Fun With Fabric session in the morning, and a Crafty Church session in the afternoon. I didn't get any photos in the morning, but one lady was cutting quite large hexies (2" hexies) for a flower garden, and a new 14 year old started on appliqued flowers onto a gingham background for a cushion. With three new people there was lots of chatting and looking at samples and examples, but not much decision making!!

At crafty church we had 7 I think. Lesley brought along a felting kit that much much better than mine! Mine was one lethal needle which was difficult to hold but hers (a) had five needles, and (b) had a comfy handle, so I know what I'm going to get!

She was cutting out felt flowers which were going to be felted onto a scarf

Lesley's sister, Alex, is working from Quilting for Dummies, and was finishing a lovely trapunto patch, while their mum was working on her tapestry.

Pam is waiting for a pink jelly roll before she starts a new project, so she was on teas, while Carolyn was helping Yasmin with her crochet and knitting

 

where did that week go?

I cant believe I haven't posted for over a week, although we've been so busy that maybe I can believe it!

We had a weekend in Weymouth with husband's family followed by a week which included Niki getting into a tangle with another driver (totally his 'bad', luckily no one hurt at all, but very scary, ) and time out to get quotes and arrange the insurance claim, and the old furniture being collected by a charity (who refused the sofa bed due to a tiny coffee stain on the mattress!).

Saturday's Library class saw us making paper pieced hexagons, and the Church class involved starting to copy a handbag, and putting a new ribbon on a hat!

 I managed to squeeze in a visit to my local quilting shop  on Friday (I had to take one of my church ladies to get fabric for her bag!) and today we took a trip to Portsmouth to see mum, and while Brian drove, I stitched running stitches onto some gingham for the museum class on Friday where we are going to tackle smocking

The Five A Day quilt has has a black border added, and scrappy binding has been machine stitched to the front and pinned to the back: I just need a little time to finish it!

(Photos are from my fancy new phone - any distortion will be my fault for not driving it properly!!)

Now I'm off to bed!

A week without stitching :-(

I cant believe a week without blogging and nearer two weeks since I did any significant stitching!

I ran my first Fun with Fabrics course at Chertsey Museum last week.  Six ladies came and seemed to enjoy the felt picture applique.  Most of them knew how to sew (Jenny was taught at her convent primary school, and had to stitch at 14 stitches to the inch!!! ) but this was a first in that it was for pleasure rather than compulsory!

We based the designs on ideas from WeeFolkArt.com's lovely designs- some ladies following the original, and others going off at a tangent!

From the top, these are

Barbara's,







Monica's,









Iris's and

Kay's,






 


followed by Monica's.





Charmaine made a 3D heart which we stuffed with scraps (but I didn't get a picture).

And Jackie made ... (bother, I've forgotten!!!  It will come to me I hope!)

Windsor Library went well too.  Just three ladies, but they had done their homework so we looked at ways to arrange the Rail Fence blocks, and suggestions for completing the projects (one will be a pillow, another is destined to be a place mat).  They have taken their blocks home again to join the blocks into strips ready for nest time (stull keeping to the easy short 4.5 inch seams!)

At St Michael's Church we had five ladies again (two new), and two sets of visitors.  Lisa learnt how to crochet (again), Janet has started a Rail Fence block, Eileen brought some embroidery to show us and talked about a patchwork that she will bring next time, and Debbie got on with another crochet blanket.  We seem to be heading for an alliterative name ... A Cuppa, a Craft, and a Chat, in Church.

Crafty Saturday (part two: The Church)

 The Craft Session in church was only decided on Wednesday, so I knew that this month I would be on my own.  I started on the restoring of some old stoles, and did a little bit of hand sewing.  The vicar mentioned it in church today, and I think there will be a number of us next month (19th Feb if you are around!)

(St Michael's Church, Horton, between Heathrow airport and Windsor castle)

 The first stole, pale green) has a perished lining.  The original was probably silk (it feels like lining material, burns rather than melts, and tears very easily along the weft or warp) and has now been removed

 The second stole is cream and again the (probably) silk lining has perished so I have removed it.

• I need to re-line these two, but don't have the knowledge or skills to know whether I should use silk again, or lining material, or cotton or linen, or something else.  
• Also should I cut it straight or on the bias?  
• I presume I do a sort of needle turn applique (but I'll be turning a good inch or so under so I have some expectation that it will stay until it's stitched down.)

 This third, claret, stole is in great condition, but someone had added this rather naff piece of lace at the neck ... so I removed it

 

 (that makes one restored stole right?)

 

 This purple stole (below) is the biggest worry.  I have removed the lining although it wasn't too bad, but the purple fabric has worn in places;  

If I put the stole on me, the worn areas are at the same height, about lower chest height.  I am guessing a previous vicar habitually grasped the stole while he was preaching?  I guess I could make that part of the front narrower, but the embroidered section isn't that far away from the worn section, and is quite wide.  I could border it with bias binding, but I think that will look naff, and could result in someone taking it off in 50 years wondering what idiot added it in the first place (see the claret stole, above LOL)

I am very open to suggestions, as I know I am working well above my ability here!

 Other naff  'improvements' I thought I'd share with you ... there are a number of square things (sorry don't know the right word) which hang on the front of the pulpit, and each one matches the alter cloth, and generally matches the stole that the vicar is wearing for that particular season.  These square thingies have Velcro on the back and get attached to a grubby piece of linen on the pulpit's lectern and hang down.

...WHO thought red Velcro was a good idea, and then made the middle section too short so the Velcro didn't even reach the square thingy???

Don't worry - I'm working on it.  Brian and I have a cunning plan!