Inspect a morse

This week has been one full of different and amazing jobs.

My friends Rod and Sheila are wonderful gold, silversmith and enamelers and they had an incredible piece to make for a Bishop. 

The clasp that runs across the front of a cope is called a Morse and it was the morse that Sheila & Rod were making. It had to be attached to the cope that was originally made by Juliet Hemingray. Little old me got the job. 

The original morse had to be unpicked and new hooks attached to link the new one on securely. Rod had cleverly made some silver hooks for me to attach but it was nerve wracking work dealing with such heirlooms.

 You can see here, the finished item with its garnets and enamelled plaques. Beautiful work. You can just make out some of Rod's chasing of shells and wheat.

In other news, I was asked to make some tiny cushions filled with rice from some of my beautiful kimono fabric to act as rests or supports for a 500  year old sword for a client who does aikido. 

I sometimes add a scent to the cushions I make, especially if they are for something so precious. These tiny cushions with birds flying across them smelled of Bergamot as it is helpful for grief and bereavement and the man who owns the sword had recently lost his father. 

If that makes you a little sad, here are some photos for you of what's happening in the garden of late. Spring has indeed sprung.

These next ones aren't actually from my garden but are from the botanical gardens in Cambridge

Great Hockham Mothers Union banner

A while ago a friend came to me with a plastic bag filled with something in the way of fabric in a very sorry state. She quietly told me that she'd noticed the Mother's Union banner at Church had been very grubby indeed so she washed it. The entire background of silk had rotted away and the embroidery was sadly in need of some tender care. Could I please have a look at it and see what I could do.
I love these kinds of jobs and have absolutely loved every minute of restoring this old and very beautiful thing. I had to use tweezers to pull out the old threads and it was fascinating to see what was underneath.Appliqueing primroses is a therapeutic exercise on a cold and wintry day.


and though replacing the threads around the lettering was a painstaking job, it was worth while in the end.
Luckily the embroidery and applique of the mother and child was still in good condition. It's extremely hard to make faces look good with fabric, it's where the real Art lies in this sort of piece and this one is beautifully done.
The work that no one sees is just as important as without this stitching , the banner would bag and look like a sack. I was able to use the original interlining but it was very thick linen and I ended up with plasters all over my fingers as I stabbed & stabbed again to get the needle in exactly the right spot.
Finally though it's finished. I'm very pleased with it and hopefully it will last another hundred years or so.

Walsingham III

Today at the last minute, we had an outing to Walsingham with our friends David, Kate and Cuthbert (seen here with ladybird) and our Godson Humphrey.
It was bloody freezing but we soldiered on with our picnic.Every year they have a spectacular display of snowdrops in amongst the ruins of the Priory. We had the place almost to ourselves as the carpet of flowers usually only goes til the end of February but because it's been such a cold winter they are a couple of weeks late and are hanging on. Here's your first sight of them. Imagine trying to recreate this scene? Even if you had millions of pounds to spend, you could not replicate it.
I wonder can you use the inside of a crocus to colour risotto like saffron? It's SO yellow.
The ruins of the Abbey are like some fabulous folly. Someone had left a little 'Our Lady' in a niche.
This bridge called the Pack horse bridge was originally on the main road to Norwich. The stream underneath was crystal clear.

As far as you can see are snowdrops and the odd yellow Aconite. Occasionally you may get to see that rare bird, Ricardo (not feeling his usual self today though still as handsome as ever)


The perfect spot for a wood nymph.
Walsingham has a rare and strange air. This neglected windowsill sums it up really. It's one of the reasons I love going. It's like a tourist destination that time forgot.
After tea and toilets it was time for a quick look at the third "T" at Walsingham. TAT. There are a couple of shops which sell second hand ecclesiastical stuff and well worth a look, especially if you're with the Rev.

Look at this absolute beauty. Dark pink silk satin with padded gold embroidery.
Only £600. A bloody bargain if you ask me.

Kerry's stole

These are pictures of a stole I've just finished for our dear friend Kerry who lives in sunny Coogee in Sydney, Australia. Kerry has become an interfaith minister, so she can now hatch, match or dispatch anyone of any faith. Pretty cool huh. We ummed and ahhed about the design on the stole for ages, would we try to incorporate a whole lot of different symbols or would we try and find just one that covered everything. A hard task indeed. Then we hit upon the phoenix. Of course, it all suddenly made sense. Kerry sent me the gold kid leather and the beautiful silk satin in this fabulous red.
It took ages and a very sharp scalpel to cut out not one but two exactly matching birds.
I couldn't find a good fringe anywhere so decided to make my own. Then it needed some sparkle.
Here is the fringe taking shape with small clear crystal beads with gold interiors for that essential sparkle.
Here's the fringe on the windowsill, on what seemed like the first sunny day this decade, with my pincushion collection. (Does 2 count as a collection?) and some gorgeous pom poms that I bought last summer in France and can't decide what the hell to do with yet.
Carefully attaching the tassel strip to the stole

All done and dusted and now winging its way to Australia. Bon voyage my precious.