Soooooo.......

I happen to casually mention to my priest that I used to repair linens and vestments for the church.

Little did I know that he had a job lined up for me the week afterwards...LOL.

(How did that happen???)

Last week, Father let a couple of us into the church so we could go to choir practice.

He pulls me aside and says "Catherine, have you got a minute?"

Of course, I did. The women didn't start rehearsing until 30 minutes after the men anyway. (And you don't refuse a priest if you can avoid it. *nods sagely*)

So Father tells me to follow him. Which I did. (Though, in hindsight, I should have put my stuff down somewhere beforehand. Oh well. Minor details.)

We go into the sacristy, and Father goes to the circuit board and flips a couple of switches.

Odd, I thought to myself, normally any repair jobs are kept in the sacristy.

Now, Father goes past me and opens the door to the sanctuary. Again he tells me to follow him.

I thought to myself, Okay......what in the world......as I *quickly* scramble to put my headscarf back over my head (I have a teal fleece headscarf that I wear in the wintertime and I had pushed down when I was inside the door)

(I should point out right here, that no woman, unless accompanied by priest or under special permission is allowed to go into the sanctuary proper (you know, the chancel, behind the communion rail, etc.). Especially through the sacristy door.) 

Anyway, we go into the sanctuary, genuflect before the Tabernacle, and go over to the Epistle side of the Altar (which is the right side, in case you didn't know). We stop in front of a small table where there is a white (or what should have been white on closer examination) cloth was draped over.

(I should point out here also, that this is the table where the cruets, the patens, and the Lavabo dish and pitcher are placed during Mass, just to orient you girls to where we were.)

Father looks at me and says, "This is a cloth."

"Yes, Father." (kid you not, girls, he really said that)

"It's about twice as long as it needs to be."

Okay! I got it now. From there it was a small discussion on what exactly he wanted done to it (a simple case of cut, hem, and make sure it matches the other side, oh and please wash it, it's a little filthy) No problem!! (or so I thought)

During the rest of the men's practice, I took the time to examine the ends that I supposed to match.

I found out that it was going to be slightly more complicated than I had anticipated.

For some reason, the edge was cut, serged and partially French-seamed to make a flat finish, and then hemmed with a two inch hem (embroidery matched to boot).

The edge is on the left,  it's really hard to see but there is a double layer there. And you can see where the hem goes right up that IHS embroidery.

Well, that raises the stakes just a tad....Oh well, just going to have to be a lot more careful and get this edge right. No pressure. (Now I understand why Father said it might be a bit of a bear...)

But before I do anything to this cloth, it's going in ze washing machine. And then the ironing board. But that's a story for another day.

WHEW. Did I lose anyone in that mess? I apologize, it came out much MUCH more rambly than I had anticipated. I promise Part Two will be more coherent (I hope...) 

Hope you enjoyed the post!! Have you (or your mom) ever taken care of your church's linens? Chat with me in the comments! 

Old-fashionably yours,

Catherine

Hey all,

I'm going to change it up here. I'm going to start writing some themed posts. My first theme is one very closely tied to my heart and the crux of femininity: modesty.

However, this and later posts are not a rehash of the modesty guidelines. They in themselves are very simple. Longer sleeves hide the underarm, long skirts hide the upper leg and hips, and collarbone-high necklines hide the chest. A lot of writers have beaten this topic out backward and forwards, so I will refer you to writers such as Colleen Hammond (Dressing with Dignity) and Rita Davidson (Immodesty: Satan's Virtue) for more information.

I have noticed, however, that there is a lack of information on how to remain femininely dressed while maintaining an active lifestyle. Activities such as swimming, hiking, camping, other outdoor activities, and horseback riding are ripe grounds for controversy when it comes to modest dressers. When I was a child (before I embraced modesty at the age of 16) I was active in all of the above and more! And I still enjoy them! I wasn't going to give those up, besides my brothers would have left me behind and I wasn't going to stand for that no how.

Being of an innovative mind, I decided to create my own solution to this problem. I broke out needles, scissors and started designing. Eventually, I came up with a few ideas that have worked well and some that should have stayed in my head. In the next few upcoming posts, I'll outline some of them.

Seeing as how I know in advance that I'm going to be delayed in publishing the first of these, I'll leave you with some thoughts for purchasing outdoorsy clothes:

1. The no-tight-clothes rule really applies in all situations involving physical activity. Any restriction of movement is not only going to slow you down, it could be potentially dangerous.

2. Select durable fabric. No cheap cotton. Get something that will hold up against branches, burrs, thorns, and anything else that Mother Nature will throw at you.

Old-fashionably yours,

Catherine