New Banner by the LMS Treasurer

The LMS is very fortunate to have an enthusiastic needleworker in its treasurer, the indefatigable Paul Waddington. Here is his most recent creation - a banner for the Latin Mass Society. He assures the Guild of St Clare that he has already begun work on a new one - we can't wait to see it!

First banner by Paul Waddington

New commission

The Guild of St Clare is delighted to have been commissioned to create a set of altar frontals for the beautiful church of St Alphege in Bath.

The church was designed by Gilbert Scott and completed in the 1920s. It was featured in A Glimpse of Heaven by Christopher Martin. More recently, a new book has been written about it, called Our Lady and St Alphege, Bath: Sir Giles Gilbert Scott's Little Gem of a Church, by Caroline Shaw (spot the family connection!)

We are very excited to have been called on to assist with beautifying the interior of the church. We hope to complete our first frontal (appropriately, a gold one) by June.

Exciting new acquisition!

Thanks to the generosity of the St Catherine's Trust, the Guild of St Clare has some exciting acquisitions - three beautiful Brother Innovis Anniversary sewing machines.

They're pink! And they're not bad at sewing either

They have a total of 16 stitches, an automatic needle threading system (anyone who has struggled trying to thread machine needles by hand will know this is good news), and best of all a speed limiter, so the machine doesn't run away with its user! The machines will be used for teaching children at the Guild of St Clare children's chapter meetings and also at the St Catherine's Trust Summer School. They will also be available for loan to ladies doing sewing for liturgical purposes.

National Training Day Report

The Guild of St Clare held its first ever National Training Day today, at the Royal School of Needlework, Hampton Court Palace. Twelve Guild members travelled to the magnificent Tudor palace to learn Beginners' Ecclesiastical Goldwork.

Today's project!

Representatives of all three chapters of the Guild were present. The ladies from Birmingham had the longest journey - one lucky London member lives just a few minutes away.

Getting down to work

The standard of tuition at the Royal School of Needlework is always extremely high and we were very fortunate today to have the supervision of Heather Lewis, a graduate of the RSN with a great deal of conservation experience.

Our tutor, Heather, demonstrates couching with pearl purl

 We were very grateful for the lavish refreshments provided at mid-morning!

Tea and chocolate biscuits were kindly provided for our relief by the RSN

We were kept hard at work, learning the various different skills needed to complete the project.

All this hard work got too much for one student

 We persevered, however.

Which way up does this thing go again?

Amanda Lewin sewing down her felt padding. She is using a seat embroidery frame.

Amanda's half-completed work

 This is a collage of my work as the day progressed. The complete purple sampler at the bottom is the work of our tutor, Heather Lewis.

My work at progressive stages

One respect in which we were really impressed by the RSN staff was their willingness to help us with our own voluntary work. One of the Birmingham Guild members brought a damaged cope, covered with goldwork, with her, and the RSN teachers were most generous with their advice, even going so far as to make a list of the threads that would be necessary to complete the reparations. Their reward will be great in heaven!

The damaged cope with the long list of equipment necessary to repair it, provided by one of the RSN students

 The day would have been incomplete without a visit to the RSN shop - we invested very wisely in books and sewing kits.

The RSN shop

The day was enormously enjoyed by all, and another date will be speedily booked! Please continue to pray for the growth of this most promising apostolate.

Plans for Hilary Term: Oxford children's chapter

Hilary term for the Oxford Children's Chapter will begin on 21st January 2013. We will be beginning work on some hand quilted garments, adapted from the patterns shown below. Techniques to be learnt will include turned-edge applique, sashiko and broderie perse.

This commercial pattern suggests buying pre-quilted fabric. We will be improving on it by starting completely from scratch and hand-quilting our own choice of fabrics.

This commercial pattern for unlined waistcoats can easily be adapted for quilted materials.

 We will also be continuing work on the Hope Chests, and making some embroidered napkins to go in them. Naturally the choice of motif will be chosen by each individual, but we could do worse than to attempt something like these!

Italian vintage whitework embroidered needlepoint napkins

Very much looking forward to seeing everyone in the New Year! Happy Christmas!

Birmingham children's guild Christmas meeting

Slightly early, I know. Today we had a lovely time making felt stockings, followed by a shared lunch and party games; including a giant pass-the-parcel. Each child got a delightful Christmas book.

Oxford children's chapter: last meeting of term

The Oxford Children's Chapter had its last meeting of term on 10th December. It has been a most fruitful term, seeing the completion of many beautiful goldwork Christmas decorations which are being sold to raise funds for our work. The older girls have also been working on making their own blouses from scratch: designing and making the patterns as well as actually constructing the garments. Their knowledge of geometry has improved enormously as a result!

Two of our members made us chocolate chip biscuits to celebrate our efforts.

Marie and Bridget preparing the cookie dough

 Many thanks to Marie and Bridget for this delicious treat! 

The completed delicacies, fresh from the oven

Our plans for next term include quilting jackets and waistcoats and embroidering linen napkins. Roll on Hilary!