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Tag: Hand Embroidery

The First of The Special July Posts

The Great Antiphons of Advent or The O Antiphons of Advent. An antiphon’s purpose is to summarize the main point of the psalm which helps make the connection between the psalm and the service on which it is chanted or sung. These Great Antiphons point the way toward Christmas and Christ. They talk about the Old and New Testaments and summarize the ties that bind everything together. They are a final push and lead us directly to our Lord’s birth, but more importantly, they shed light on the rest of the story and the greater picture.

St Anselm Symbol

The Pallium & The Ontological Argument

St. Anselm was born around 1033 A.D. in what is today northern Italy, but before it was Italian, a thousand years ago, it was part of the Kingdom of Burgundy. After traveling in his early 20s, Anselm journeyed into Normandy in 1059 where he had heard of the Abbey of Bec and its prior Lafranc of Pavia, also from Burgundy. Lafranc, followed William the Conqueror to England and was instated as the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Abbot of Bec–who was, in fact, the founder of the Abbey–died and Anselm was quickly elected the abbot in 1078 A.D. Because of his well-rounded skills, Anselm was able to administrate and influence the Abbey to be a center of learning, council nobility in Europe, and think and write extensively on the topics of Philosophy and Theology. By 1093, Anselm succeeded Lafranc as the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Ely Crown Red Stole

October 11th–Philip the Deacon

In the early days of the church, seven deacons were chosen to serve as helpers. Philip was one of these men. After the deacon Steven was killed and persecution of the Christians began in Jerusalem, Philip left Jerusalem for Samaria. There he spread the good news of the Gospel. Philip is also the man who preached to the Ethiopian eunuch and then baptized him.

Nimbus of Christ

St. Leo’s Mosaic Christ

The lovely mosaic of Christ holding a book with the words “Ego Dominus Et Magister.” From a design standpoint, there are a few details in the mosaic that might provide interesting inspiration for some future design work. There is the number with the cross and diamond border. Imagine how beautiful that nimbus would translate in hand-embroidered silk and gold threads.  And the orphrey or colored band on Christ’s right shoulder is simple yet very nice. the lovely clouds filled with swirling movement. And the border of this mosaic has a scroll motif and a cross framed with an oval shape

Altar Linen Embroidery Design

Hand Embroidery Design Small Linens

The design is a simple cross with three rays in each corner between cross bars. The Altar Linen Embroidery Design is available in 4 sizes, for purificators, lavabos, corporal a, and even the corners of a fair linen.  This church linen embroidery design will use a few basic stitches such as the split stitch for an outline, and a stem stitch for the rays

Post Cards of Litany of Loreto Embroideries

Wish Lists Royal School of Needlework Style

Wishlist of the Royal School of Needlework for years, plans were cancelled by scheduling conflicts. Yet, browsing to their online store provided a silver lining. The Handbook of Embroidery catalog and some enticing embroidery While missing out the classes, the excitement of exploring these ecclesiastical embroidery treasures brings comfort.

Silk Thread Color Card from Designs for Church Embroidery

Designs for Church Embroidery: an Original Copy

Author notes from original copy
– The color card at the beginning of the book has been inserted by the kind permission of Messrs. Liberty & Co., of Regent Street, London; and A. R. cannot say enough in praise of their colors and the Filo Floss silks sold by them.  Many of the colors, she says, are perfect; and this verdict is made after comparing them with many original pictures of the old masters in Italy and elsewhere – the shades of red, green, blue, and browns being spoken of with special praise.

Small IHC Hand Embroidery Design for Altar Linens

Altar Linen Projects – Beginnings

This vintage Ecclesiastical Hand Embroidery Design, originating from a Boston monastery over 100 years ago, still bears the pounce powder from its original use. The intricately perforated design on thin tracing vellum paper is tiny—merely 2 to 3 inches in size. The IHC hand embroidery is elegantly simple and clean, sparking ideas for stitching options. Considerations include a trailing stitch for the outline with a seed stitch filling or even a straightforward split stitch outline.

Fair Linen with hand embroidered design done in whitework

Whitework Embroidery for Church Linens

This antique Fair Linen, while stained, and scorched, with holes from a too-hot iron on one end, features a lovely hand-embroidered IHC motif in the center of the Altar Linen, surrounded by four smaller cross designs for the corners. Worked completely in white threads, the Ecclesiastical Embroidery is still lovely amid the linen stains of age.  The central hand embroidery design is relatively small, considering the Fair Linen is wide and long

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