The University Chapel Project - May 2016 update

The latest meeting of the Chapel Stitchers took place on Friday. I deliberately arrived a bit early so that I could go to see the 175th anniversary window, which is now installed in the chapel. It's lovely, but I think I'll leave posting any pictures until the dedication service. So for now, here's a sneak peek of a small section.

An appropriate way to mark the 175th anniversary

The dedication service takes place on 1 June, so not long to go. We seem to have got from, 'months and months away' to, 'little more than a fortnight away' very suddenly - no doubt a familiar feeling for anyone who has ever worked on a project with a deadline!

Christine had completed the cross, and applied it to the frontal. She had also added some rays in white stitching.

The completed cross

From previous meetings, we've established that flat on a table isn't the best way to view the frontal, so we took it down to the chapel to look at it in position, and agreed that some gold rays should be added to make the cross stand out.

Barbara holding the frontal in place

For the dedication service, we are aiming to have the frontal and the two green falls (for the pulpit and the lectern) completed. Kath will talk about the textiles project at the service, and we will also have some of the work in progress on display.

As well as completing the main cross, Christine had experimented with embroidery for the small crosses on the communion sets, and brought a sample along to show us.

Christine's sample

One thing which has become apparent since our last meeting is that embroidering the hands take a long time, especially when there are three pairs to do! Barbara has come to the rescue for the green communion set, and made some wonderful shaded felt hands instead.

Embroidered and felted hands

Once Barbara has completed the appliqué on the falls, she will pass the pieces on to Ros and me for making up for 1 June - so no pressure!

The two falls, with the appliqué pieces

For the first time we got to see both kneelers together. The doves are completed, and we have decided on the shade of green for the olive branches. We agreed that completion before the wedding scheduled for 6 August was too ambitious, so are working towards the next wedding in the chapel instead, which is on 10 December.

The kneelers

The next meeting is Friday 20 May at noon, and will be the last one before the dedication service - exciting!