For any new readers I apologise for the misleading name of the blog. We have now left the vicarage and are living in London looking after a grandchild. The vicar is no longer vicaring as such (though once a priest, unless defrocked, aways a priest and – speedily licensed to officiate by the diocese – he has already taken a couple of services ). So, I really should change the name of the blog – which I will do sometime soon … well soonish.
Angel (based on an angel in Piero della Francesca’s Montefeltro altarpiece of the Madonna and Saints. 1472-4)
Gosh it has been a long time since last I posted. Sadly, not much embroidery has been done, although I have completed the last few flowers for the altar frontal. (Just the border, backing and quilting to go – I use the word just with the full weight of British understatement behind it.) I will start posting pictures of the new flowers at the rate of one a week to spin out my meagre production while I try to get going on other embroideries. Progress will be very slow as childcare and housekeeping for homeless pregnant daughter and son-in-law are almost totally time consuming. (Homelessness is due to occupation by builders rather than in the Christmas sense of not having anywhere to lay their heads.) A wiser woman, I now realise I failed my children in one important respect. Blow imparting the finer points of the Renaissance, meiotic cell division and differential calculus, how did I fail to make them tidy? “Don’t put down, put away” I chant – usually to myself as I wipe down the kitchen surfaces,put the top back on the milk and return the bottle to the fridge with hearty slam. And don’t get me going about leaving clothes on the floor … no, I really mustn’t get going about that…
Angel from Piero della Francesca’s Montefeltro altarpiece of Madonna and Child with Saints
So, moving rapidly on to angels. This year’s Christmas card was a hasty attempt at one of those enigmatic Piero della Francesca angels, that never cease to fascinate me. Most un-angel like they seem solidly human in form yet ethereal in countenance. Seek them out and let their impassive look challenge you to the core.
Piero della Francesca’s Montefeltro altarpiece of Madonna and Child with Saints
Finally many thanks for all the comments on the blog. During the next few days will be answering those who have yet to get a reply. It has bee a joy to hear from you.
46 Comments
Happy Christmas, Mary! wishing you and your family a lovely holiday:D
Good to hear from you, Anna. Thank you for taking the time to dip into the blog. Hope your Christmas has been good and free from the flooding of previous years.
Merry Christmas to you and yours! enjoy reading your blog. I wish you joy and peace of mind especially in your situation. take care, from Iowa
Many thanks for kind thoughts from Iowa – it’s always a surprise (a wonderful one) to be reminded that my blog reaches so far. Best wishes to you Melody for the coming year.
How lovely to hear from you again. So glad you are now settled enough to fit in some stitching. Brava! (If it’s any consolation , I think all grown-up children revert to teenage behaviour the moment they step over the parental threshold…)
Lovely to connect with you again too, Marge and it’s always good to know experiences are shared. Comments such as yours make me determined to get back to regular posting.
Welcome back! I look forward to seeing your new projects 🙂 Best Wishes for 2017
Thank you, Elaine. This year, new projects will be somewhat slow in coming, although ideas come just as fast as ever. More than ever before preparation has become the key to getting things done.
Best wishes for the coming year.
Lovely to hear from you. Looking forward to hearing about your new life through your inimitable eye! And the new stitching looks beautiful – love the angel’s features. Happy New Year.
Your kind comments are very much appreciated, Linda and encourage me to widen the content of my writing.
Glad you like the angel.
All the best for the coming year to you too.
Yes, Piero’s angels look straight back at you, don’t they – nothing vague or unaware about them!
And I’m really not sure it is possible for a naturally untidy person to be made to be tidy. It can be done for a while and then some crisis occurs, and the tidyiness vanishes….!
I agree about Piero’s angels – again and again I’m drawn back to these strange figures.
I used to think tidiness was nature not nurture but over the years I’ve come to the conclusion that it can be learned, if people appreciate its value and make a decision to do it. Sadly it’s often viewed as a constrictor of personality and self expression when I think it does the opposite and facilitates creativity – especially if space is limited. (I’m not slavishly tidy when making something but will always tidy up at the end of the day or before the small person appears. Now, if I had a dedicated sewing room …)
What a treat to see you posting again Mary. I have missed your writing and photographs of your enbroideries and am glad to see you back. Happy christmas to you and your dear family X
Lovely to hear from you, too Penny – to have one’s posts described as a treat is quite a treat in itself. Thank you. I will try and post once a week from now on.
Hope your Christmas was joyful and that the coming year is a good one.
I am so glad you are back.
Thank you Fran for your short and sweet comment.
Such a lovely surprise to find your post waiting to be read! Hope you have settled to life in your new home. Looking forward to seeing your embroidery next year.
What a delight and encouragement it is to find comments like yours, Jane.
We have settled into our new home but there will be plenty of upheavals anticipated for the coming year, so it’s going to take planning and persistence to keep on with embroidery projects.
Best wishes for the coming year to you.
I was so pleased to read your update and I’m looking forward to reading more in the New Year. Best wishes to you and your family for 2017!
Thank you for your lovely comment, Austen.
I will try and post regularly from now on.
All good wishes for the coming year.
Lovely to hear from you again. Look forward to hearing more about your new life – no need to change the name of the website, I think. As for untidiness, it’s a generational thing – at least that’s what I tell myself. My late-20s age son, living back at home temporarily, is exactly the same. And yes, it drives me mad as well and I too wonder what messages did not get through…..
Great to hear from you, Christine and thanks for encouraging me to get posting more regularly again.
I think in part tidiness is a generational thing but I also feel it can be learnt if the learnee is willing to do so – and that’t the real trouble. (See also my reply above to Rachel about this). A pity – it takes so little to leave things as you find them – and give pleasure in the process.
So lovely to read your blog again and to see your embroideries – lost count of the number of times I have checked in vain! Enjoy retirement and your family, looking forward to more needle inspiration.
Sorry, Alison. The time has gone so quickly, I hadn’t realised I’ve been absent from the blog for nearly 6 months. Kind of you not to have lost interest and ditched me completely. Life at the moment is very full but I shall try to be more productive with my needle – especially as ideas still come unbidden.
Happy Christmas! It is lovely to read your blog again: I have missed it. I also appreciate the reminder of how much I and others like me owe to the grandparents who care for our children, so thank you.
These are generous thoughts, Alison. We all love being told how valued we are and even feel able to go that extra distance when we are.
Thank you for commenting. Hope your Christmas was joyful.
So glad your blog is back.
Thank you, Uny.
What a wonderful surprise to check once again and find your post – so glad you are back. Just think they won’t be living with you forever and enjoy this special time while they are with you. Happy 2017!
You are right, Ann.
It’s great to hear you enjoyed having me back.
Mary you are back! I thought I would just check to see this morning and here you are making a welcome return. I hope you had a Merry Christmas and I am wishing you a Very Happy New Year too.
My son still lives at home now and then and I seem to have failed too in the tidyness area anyway so you are definitely not alone.
Wonderful Angelic image… I am looking forward to all your future posts as and when you have the time and the wish to make them. Very best of wishes. Lydia
Will post again very soon, Lydia.
Do let me know when you are coming to London.
Good to hear from you Lydia. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to an enjoyable coming year (when I remember you’ll be visiting the UK).
I really do feel we should be able to crack this tidiness business (see other comments above) but sympathies to you meanwhile!
So pleased to pop by and find a post! Wishing you all a peaceful and happy 2017. Penny L in Dorset x
Thank you Penny. The best wishes for 2017 to you too.
What a wonderful New Year treat to check in and find your beautiful angel stitching Mary. Your lovely blogging has been sorely missed. Warm best wishes and I look forward to seeing more of your exquisite needlework in 2017. Thank you.
Lovely uplifting comment, Jill – how could I not return to blogging with such encouragement!
welcome home ! lovely to see you back , you were missed .
happy new year.
How touching to have been missed. Am aiming to be more regular in posting from now on.
Hello from NZ, it is so lovely to check in on your blog and find you are back, so to speak! I enjoy reading about your stitching and look forward to 2017 London adventures.
Hello New Zealand – so glad you enjoy my blog from the other side of the world. Thank you for your kind words.
So glad to find you have posted again, welcome back. Tidiness – my own childhood was tainted by an overemphasis on tidiness (outings cancelled, rows and punishments) so I resolved not to do the same. And guess what, two of my three adult children are now very tidy, the third isn’t. I suspect the result would have been the same if I had nagged them. We are what we are, but it’s annoying in your own home.
Hooray! You’re back.
Gosh – I’ve never been hoorayed before! Thank you, lee.
What a wonderful beginning to 2017. You have been greatly missed.
Anne
And how could I not miss comment such as this – many thanks, fired to return to blogging adter such encouragement.
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[…] standing close beside the virgin and child are yet more of these enigmatic figures (see below and here for my 2016 Christmas card.) Ornately clothed, hair beautiful, and with fine jewels in their […]