Sing a New Song

Inspired by Psalm 98, this set of bookmark pulpit paraments are set on a background of creamy white silk, embellished with silk thread in french knots and intricate beads.

Perfect for Christmas,  Easter, weddings and funerals.

Available in my shop for immediate purchase.

Grief

"Faith sees best in the dark."

- Soren Kierkegaard

Cremation pall detail.                                          

Ordinary Arizona

A custom order for a special newly minted minister. 

Silk on silk. Jackrabbit done in brown linen.

Communion Paraments for Ordinary Time

The custom pulpit paraments below were commissioned by Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church for ordinary time. The design features the trunk, symbolizing the church; leaves, symbolizing both the diversity and outreach activities of the congregation; the grapevine and wheat, representing Christ and holy communion. The traditional Christogram anchors the design.

The hand embroidery was done on dupioni silk using wool, cotton, silk and hand dyed tencel.

Montreat

Pretty much says it all!!! :)

A little fisherman...

Here is a hair ornament made for a friend.






And his catch!!

Progress on the Paraments

Here is a sneak peek on the progress made on the custom work for Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church. This is a detail from one of the two pulpit ribbons.


The pinecones represent the congregation, the ribbon - God's all embracing presence, and the open tail of the ribbon - (not visible in the photo above) that there is always room for more in the church community and they are welcome.

The parament design is anchored by the traditional 'IHS'.

Back to the Drawing Board

After taking a few days off from any needlework, I have been able to spend several focused hours tonight simply sketching and planning, and it has felt good! On my task list is to come up with a design for a stole and matching pulpit paraments for a church's first Sunday service in their newly built chapel.

Since this will fall in Advent, I am choosing a lavender dupioni silk....


and am playing around with a variety of designs that reflect the name of the church, Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church, and the welcoming nature of their congregation. We will see... :)

Ordination Stoles

Here is a collage showing details from three red stoles of my own design. All are in dupioni silk and are hand embroidered and all feature the dove - a traditional symbol of the Holy Spirit.


I have placed them in my Etsy shop if you would like to see them in more detail. As always, I welcome special orders!

IHC

An Edwardian Anastasia Dolby design.

Scottish Liturgical Stole

Thistles - representing Christ's suffering, on a day that marks the anniversary of such sadness for our country.

Dragonfly

Sometimes the most perfect path is choosing simplicity.

Green Liturgical Stole

A circle for eternity, God's constant presence.

A pale grassy dupioni silk, with an embroidered circle of vines, leaves and water on yellow silk. A contrasting tonal bronze dupioni piece is secured with a piece of wood wrapped in silk, embellished with French knots and seed beads.

Detail from Fisher of Men Stole

Here is a bit of a preview.... Coral in French knots.


The rest involves more coral and a batik fish, but the color is muddy due to beading that I added, it's showing up a bit odd on film, but looks pretty in person. I have to work on that!

Not too many words

Just a few photos...









I find such pleasure in embroidering stoles for women by hand. Lots to be thankful for!

Church Embroidery Designs

On this sunny Fourth of July in North Carolina, I am spending part of the holiday watching a couple of classic patriotic movies (one if which is a painful revolutionary musical - not a winning mix!) :) and doing a bit of work... Part of my enjoyment in seeing the movies are the set designs and the portrayal of clothing, bedding and housegoods which were embellished with embroidery....

Okay... Let's fast forward to the late 1800's where Anastasia Dolby was one of the founders of the School of Art Needlework in 1872, which would later become the Royal School of Needlework. The school was a direct reflection of the social, cultural and political history of Victorian and Edwardian Britain.

Dolby attributed many of the designs in her book 'Church Embroidery, Ancient and Modern' to Mr. T. J. Burton. It is his design (I believe) that I have used on a piece of lavender dupioni silk, in which I have adapted by adding a variety of green tones for the palm branches and tiny french knots to fill the cross.


The book is sold on Amazon and the like, but is available online for free at Google Books. It is really worth a look at the lovely classic designs.

Butterfly and Lace

I love the symbolism of the butterfly.... Here is a simple butterfly in white on vintage fabric trimmed in lace from the 1930's.... The fabric had been stored very nicely, but is so terribly fragile.

Going to the chapel...

Completed wedding stole.  Ready for the vows!!!

Koi Sachet

I hand embroidered this lavender sachet as a housewarming gift for a couple.... One of whom has an affection for asian design and art.

An original design, I used some really neat multicolored thread as accents, and am happy with the dual tones in the dupioni silk, with the satin ribbon as an anchor. A masculine look for embroidery work. It measures about four inches x seven inches.

Lavender Sachet

Here is a little something I made for my sister and her husband as a gift. The linen is from vintage stock from the family.. An original design..... So sorry the photo is out of focus!



The finished product is about four inches wide and nine inches high.