Snowy Paraments

Currently in my workbasket.... white paraments for the pulpit. It will be used for Christmas, Easter, funerals, marriages among other times. I am going to call it "Layers" - the design representing the many layers in our lives, community, family, experiences, diversity, wounds, healings, commitments and teachings among others.

Here it is in raw form before being sewed into the final product.

Custom Stole for a treasured summer intern

"From Bud to Bloom"

Wool, silk and cotton on a woodland dupioni silk.












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Ordinary Joy

A custom stole for ordinary time...

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.

Workbasket

I have spent the weekend sketching, working with colorplay, and seeing what I have on hand before filling in the missing spots. I have some beautiful Midas green dupioni, and will be embroidering something a bit like a 'Tree of Life' design, but with grapes and wheat as pulpit paraments. I thought the hand dyed tencel would translate well into leaves, and the wools into tree bark and grapevine.

David LaMotte's new book 'White Flour'

David LaMotte (beloved son of Montreat) has recently released his second book ‘White Flour’ – a wonderful piece of art that engages the eyes and heart with a colorful explosion of poetry, politics, art and love.

It’s a story about fighting hatred with humor. In Seussian rhyme, it tells the funny and inspiring story of the day that the Ku Klux Klan met the Coup Clutz Clowns,who offered a whimsical and wise retort to their racist rally. The poem that provides the text for the book was inspired by true events in Knoxville in 2007. 

It would be interesting to hear how David would describe himself (and my guess would be firstly as a husband and father) but he certainly is a peacemaker, musician, poet as well as a visionary and leader.  It is a blessing that he shares his passion with us all.

The art of Jenn Hales is delivered with power, joy and talent.  I have such respect for her design vision and it is such a huge part of the reader’s enjoyable experience.

I see both Jenn and David as contributing weavers of our social fabric.   May we be cloaked in, and share in, that message of love.

Here are Jenn and David’s links:

http://www.patinacollaborative.com/
http://www.davidlamotte.com/

The book is available online and in stores, and can be picked up at the Montreat Bookstore as well.

As a side note:  This book was funded through Kickstarter, and I was a very small part of the the overwhelming response David received in support of his dream. I share that fact only to show you that the journey that this book has taken in its creation and publication is as interesting as the book itself!  It was a neat experience to hear from David the updates on fundraising, production and more.

I encourage you to discover Kickstarter and invest in projects that speak to you.

Montreat

Pretty much says it all!!! :)

New offerings in my Etsy shop

http://www.etsy.com/shop/MontreatDesigns

Please come visit!

A little fisherman...

Here is a hair ornament made for a friend.






And his catch!!

Witness to Unity

What a wonderful day this is as Katie Ricks has been ordained!! Read more of her story here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/04/08/1988255/church-of-reconciliation-ordains.html

Some details of her stole.... It was a joy to make!

Butterfly Stole - custom order

One white crisp cotton jacquard by Marc Jacobs, an organdy butterfly that was originally to have freestanding wings in silver had to be tacked down with, white mini bugle beads, due to the curl of the organdy. It turned out for the best, I think, a bit more spirited, which is more reflective of the recipient.

Custom Stole ~ A Teaching Garden

I really am thrilled to work with such great clients. My latest delivery, below, came from working with a great customer that wanted all the liturgical colors represented in one stole. The colors made me think of a garden and the flowers that would be powerful with their symbolism.

Here are a few pictures with the flowers and their meanings below...

















Bluebells~ humility, gratitude and everlasting love
Lavender ~ devotion, purity, solitude and social justice
Poppies ~ mourning, remembrance and been used to symbolize the blood of Christ
Lily ~ devotion and friendship
Thistles ~ represent the suffering of Christ
Shamrocks ~ the Trinity – St. Patrick used them as a teaching tool
Strawberries ~ I decided to add these to represent the sweetness of God’s words. They traditionally represent humility, modesty and abundance
Olive branch (leaves near strawberries) ~ peace and hope.


This was so much fun to create! Thanks S.M. For being so great to work with!

Butterflies for Ordinary Time

How about some hopeful butterflies to greet the new year?

On a lovely weight green cotton that has a great luster, hand dyed batik is used for the butterflies in a variety of colors. Hand appliqued in Egyptian cotton completes the look.

Now available in my shop!