Here is my second completed stole.
This stole is in-fact one of an identical pair, made for my sister and brother-in-law. It is made from green silk Dupion, with appliqued grapes and stalks of wheat, symbolising the Eucharist. The stalks of the vine and wheat are highlighted with couched gold Jap thread.
To give depth to the bunches of grapes two layers of silk are worked together and then cut through to reveal the lighter colour beneath, they are then hand-applied to the stole. The Chi Rho has been directly appliqued on to the stole using my tracing paper technique and worked from the back using zig-zag stitching. It was then turned over and the areas of unwanted fabric cut away to reveal the design. It has been lined on the reverse with a pale green cotton fabric and hand finished.
This stole took approximately 50 hours from design to finished piece, thinking I had finished, it was carefully packed in tissue, ready to be given to my brother-in-law as a gift to celebrate him being ordained 35 years this year. I then got a phone call asking if I would make a green stole for my sister as a gift from him.
So the idea of matching stoles was born !
