another book doiley
i got started on christmas fairly early this year - bought a diary for mum and decided to make a cover for it - i've been wanting to use one of mum's first communion missal holders as the focus of a piece she can use - i have a stash of old silks from family sources which will make a richly coloured background
i'm not sure if mum's first communion was before or during the war but it was probably after her father died, and would have been an important family celebration - i think she was the first grand-daughter for both sets of grandparents and i know that at least one grandmother was a devout catholic
anyway the missal holder was like a fancy handkerchief, made of fine linen edged with lace - mum was given two which she had passed on to me (not for my communion though - another story altogether) - i think they were both hand-made by the women who gave them, probably a godmother and an aunt ( i'll have to ask her about that - i know that she couldn't remember which one she used on the day itself, and the photo doesn't give any clues
i chose the right hand one for it's more open structured lace
because of the shape of the diary i knew that i would have to cut the piece - it was a bit of a wrench as i didn't like the idea of destroying it, but the upside is that it will get daily use for at least a year and i know mum will see it on her desk every time she passes it too, so it seemed like a good way to go
skipping a few stages..... now it looks like this:
i like the way the patterns of the silks show through the linen, it reminds me of how fine it is - i could get all arty and say it reflects the way that our love for finery will always show through our attempts to pass it off as religious obvservance ...... but i wouldn't be fooling anyone!
i really enjoyed the necessary but not visible job of stitching the lace onto the silk - as the item will be handled regularly i wanted the lace to be well anchored - it was one of those repetitive but soothing jobs which i used to think of as tedious but now appreciate
now i'm a bit stuck as i can't decide how to proceed with actually turning it into a book cover - once i decide how the edges will be i can move on as i have the lining ready
i'm not sure if mum's first communion was before or during the war but it was probably after her father died, and would have been an important family celebration - i think she was the first grand-daughter for both sets of grandparents and i know that at least one grandmother was a devout catholic
anyway the missal holder was like a fancy handkerchief, made of fine linen edged with lace - mum was given two which she had passed on to me (not for my communion though - another story altogether) - i think they were both hand-made by the women who gave them, probably a godmother and an aunt ( i'll have to ask her about that - i know that she couldn't remember which one she used on the day itself, and the photo doesn't give any clues
i chose the right hand one for it's more open structured lace
because of the shape of the diary i knew that i would have to cut the piece - it was a bit of a wrench as i didn't like the idea of destroying it, but the upside is that it will get daily use for at least a year and i know mum will see it on her desk every time she passes it too, so it seemed like a good way to go
skipping a few stages..... now it looks like this:
i really enjoyed the necessary but not visible job of stitching the lace onto the silk - as the item will be handled regularly i wanted the lace to be well anchored - it was one of those repetitive but soothing jobs which i used to think of as tedious but now appreciate
now i'm a bit stuck as i can't decide how to proceed with actually turning it into a book cover - once i decide how the edges will be i can move on as i have the lining ready
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