First Communion Gift

My sweet Godson will be making his First Holy Communion tomorrow. As he is chuffed that he will soon be able to join his numerous illustrious elder brothers in serving at the altar, and has recently got interested in "playing" at Mass, I thought I would whip up a 'play chasuble' for him for a First Communion gift.

As he has an angelic name, I thought the angelic orphrey bands would suit - it was a huge roll of stiffened ribbon I bought, ahem, about 20 odd years ago, when my lad was a baby - in the vague hope that I would find some use for it...sometimes it pays to horde things!

It looked a bit bland in the centre of the cross, in need of a motif, and as I had plenty of red velvet scraps, what better in this month of the Sacred Heart, to place one there.

As I've been rather busy sewing lately, I didn't have much time to spend on this, and I was racking my brains for a quick solution to the flames needed at the top of the heart ….

Having just completed a dress for a certain young lady, I had plenty of scraps of the fabric lying around, and realised that if I cut a piece in just the right way, it would do splendidly...

Sweet Heart of Jesus, bless all the little ones about to receive you for the first time. Amen.

Recent Shenanigans

Well, the busyness of the business has been taking over to the degree that I haven't managed to post anything much lately. So here's a random selection of what Zelie's Roses has been up to...

A winter wedding dress of pure silk

It started out as some very large circles - I am so grateful that I have my wonderful cutting room floor!

And became a very elegant flowing gown, with almost a 1940's feel...

Then to carry on the circles theme, I managed to make a couple of circle skirts for a little lady...

Who chose the teapot one for her first day back at school!

Whilst I'm also working on several altar frontals/tabernacle veils, I did manage to get this one made in time for Easter...

This was it being tried on for size, during Lent, hence the purple Tabernacle veil!

Oh yes, and somewhere in between all that I managed to pop in a set of vestments for the Shrine Church of St Augustine, and the National Pugin Centre. It included an Alb, Chasuble, Cope and Mitre.. as well as a Monk's habit. As it was to be a Pugin-esque Chasuble, I was very blessed to find just enough vintage orphrey banding to make it look sufficiently authentic....

You may well ask how I managed to do all that in such a short space of time, well, they are meant for children on their educational visits to the centre, so didn't have to be too perfectly finished, although I did spend time making sure they were robust! I hope to get some pictures of them all being modelled in the not too distant future.

And just as I thought I could settle down to some serious work on a real-life full-sized Chasuble that needs to be ready for an Ordination in June, a Bride to be in distress got in touch asking if I could make her a Wedding Mantilla Veil, as she hadn't been able to find anything big enough, and her Wedding was in two weeks' time! Happy to oblige, I fortunately had some lovely lace in stock so was able to come up with this...

Now, back to that Chasuble...(and the next Wedding dress I'm working on too...!)

Junior Priests!

I was saying a few prayers after Mass, last Sunday, when one of the young lads rushed past me, into the sacristy.  He came out bearing a cassock, and as he whizzed past me again said, "I'm going to be a Priest!" I smiled at him, and as he disappeared into the hall where the teas and coffees are served, I wondered to myself, "how strange that he feels so certain of his vocation, and for him to come up and tell me about it." "Has one of the Priests said something to him in the Sacristy?" I mused, and then, "of all the boys in the parish, I would not have thought of Thomas as having a vocation, but of course, one never can tell..." As I made my way into the hall, it dawned on me, the children were going to have an All Saints parade, and he and his younger brother were dressing up as Priest Saints, I'm glad I hadn't attempted to reply to him! I then saw his younger brother, and he was dressed in a costume that brought back memories, it was my son's Priest costume which we'd passed on to the boys.. Good to see it still going strong!

It got me to thinking I'd like to have another go at some mini Chasubles, and since I have plenty of Chasuble type fabric lying around,  I've started to make a few more, in case anyone would like to give a young lad a nice Roman Chasuble for Christmas!

NOW SOLD!

NOW SOLD

These have proved rather popular, so they are now all sold. Please contact me if you would like a similar one made.  Priced at £40 to £50 for the Chasuble, stole and maniple, (depending on fabrics used) and an extra £18 to £25 for the Alb depending on whether you want lace or not.