A Happy Easter to you and yours!
I hope wherever you are, the sun is smiling on you, whether spring or autumn! In the northern hemisphere, we think it’s spring right now, but in fact, it feels more like Christmas…
The above example of ecclesiastical embroidery features the Lamb of God symbol (the Agnus Dei), which, in this particular stance, has been a symbol of the risen and triumphant Christ for many centuries – almost for two millennia.
The antique example above partially inspired my version of the Agnus Dei:
I used the same stitch for the wool on the lamb. It took a little “embroidery archeology” to figure it out, but it worked!
The design for my version was taken from an old book on ecclesiastical embroidery, which you can find online. I’ve written about it here, with links to the online book.
If you’d like to explore some spring embroidery, I highlighted quite a few spring-related projects (that are free) in my Easter greeting from two years ago, here.
Strangely enough, my original plan for today was to regale you with some spring photos of a tiny project I just finished, very Eastery in color scheme, set in amongst the purple flox that inspired them and that are normally blooming in front of my house by now. Unfortunately, the flox haven’t peeped out yet – which is probably fine, because we’re supposed to get snow today. Styling a photo out in a dormant flower bed wouldn’t have been too impressive. Maybe by next week!
I’ll be spending most of Easter Sunday with my family and friends, probably indulging in things like chocolate, lamb, chocolate, roasted potatoes, jelly beans, chocolate, pork roast, chocolate…
…and maybe a green bean? (To keep it balanced and healthy, you know.)
Tomorrow, I’m taking the day off to do a little catch up and sort tax paperwork. (Yay.) I’ll be back on Tuesday, with the last installment of Party in Provence, an embroidered kaleidoscope we’re working our way through together here on Needle ‘n Thread.
I wish you all a joyous Easter!
Dear Mary
A very Happy Easter to you and your family I hope you are enjoying your time with your family and friends and have a joyous time.
Regards Anita Simmance
Happy Easter, Mary! Hope you and your family have a wonderful day!
Happy, happy Easter to you as well, Mary. Hope your day is/was lovely.
Happy Easter to you, too, Mary, and to all your readers as well! LOVE your version of the Agnus Dei; truly beautiful! Thanks for sharing.
Mary, I hope you have had a delightful and blessed Easter with your family, and that there was an abundance indeed of chocolate!
Linda
Happy Easter, Mary! I just finished a blanket weight teal polar fleece hooded jacket! Perfect for Kansas today, not so perfect for sunshiney South Lake Tahoe, CA where it’s 59 degrees (but it could still snow!). Like you, I had a Good Plan that didn’t quite pan out. An inspiration on waking was that the thick fleece doesn’t go through the sewing machine very well — a simple seam has to be pushed through, so how about a thin washable layer underneath and some glorious hand work like trapunto. The 300-weight trapuntoes anyway! . . . reversible embroidery stitches? Ribbon securing edges? Jolly running stitches using all 6 strands? Oh, boy!
A joyous Resurrection Sunday to you and yours, Mary! Your embroidery always inspires and delights. Thank you for being such a great teacher!
So comforting to know I’m not the only one who has been stitching like a fend to finish projects and letting the tax report sit on the back burner. I can’t even work on it this weekend – off to Girl Scout camp.
Never enough time.
Diane
Thank you Mary for your beautiful, inspirational, embroidery. I hope you enjoyed your balanced diet yesterday and had fun with family and friends. I look forward to seeing your little embroidery later when your dormant flower bed has finally decided to peep out and enjoy the coming summer sun.
Best regards ~ Brenda
Thanks, Brenda! As it happens, chocolate took a back seat, while lamb, peas and salad took center stage. And I’m pretty sure I’m much better off for it! LOL! Still gray and cold and cloudy here in Kansas, but it’s proved good weather for getting paperwork done. In fact, I got so much done this morning, that I’ll probably be able to get some stitching in this afternoon! YAY!!! 🙂
Mary, I am very much interested in ecclesiastical needlework, and enjoy your essays and pictures. I am somewhat stumped about where to find more information and instruction. I have a couple of works by Beryl Dean, and make it a point when I travel to visit as many churches/Cathedrals as I can. Do you have any suggestions for books, websites, or even locations where I could continue to learn? Church needlework is a fascinating window into art and history, and I am thrilled every time you share your information! Thank you for all you do to forward the art!
Hi, Debra – I don’t know of a specific website that focuses solely on instruction in all the aspects of ecclesiastical embroidery. The book I linked to in the article above is quite good for starters. There’s another book as well by Hinda Hands that you might look up. Those two books together (Lucy Mackrille’s and Hinda Hands’s books) are both a great place to start. Here’s a link to Church Needlework by Hinda Hands.
Wow, that is incredible! I love the gradation on the sky, too.