I wonder sometimes at the enormity of our Catholic faith and how it has spanned the centuries, marching steadily and consistently through time. This concept is never more evident than when you spend time in a monastery, where monks pray and work just as they have for 1,500 years. The solid foundation laid by their work and prayer can be felt beneath your feet. It is a welcome respite from the uncertainty of the world, and even what sometimes feels like unsteady ground within

I recently had the privilege of making a Vesperale for the Newry Cathedral in Northern Ireland. The sacristan, Dalton, contacted me wondering if I could help them replace their original Vesperale. He told me that "the original was most likely made between 1890 - 1925; either when the high altar was installed, or for the consecration when most items in use were got. [The original Vesperale] unfortunately met its end in the sacristy fire of 1959 and [they] wanted to replicate

Every sacristan understands the immense value of this sentiment, especially when it comes to cleaning and preserving vestments. I imagine it was a rather prudent sacristan who invented stole and chasuble protectors. Such a small thing that makes their job so much easier. Attached to vestments with large basting stitches for ease of removal and cleaning these small pieces of linen have a big task in preserving material and preventing damage. It’s no secret how warm a priest ca

I love a challenge so when a religious order priest contacted me to ask about recreating a cincture design I was happy to oblige. The design wasn't too far off from my usual method but did require recreating a crochet pattern for the tassel caps and about 18,500 feet, or approximately three and an half miles of thread. That's about two miles more thread than I use in my usual patterns for the cord, tassel caps, and tassels. The result is an exquisite 100% silk cincture, and

We have a top secret restoration project that has been in the works for months. We are looking forward to sharing it with you but, in the meantime, we are making a mess. Like any other art form fiber arts have a learning curve and this project has a particularly steep one as it involves complicated mechanics and fine details that need to be perfectly aligned for it to work properly. I do not say all of this as a tease but to remind myself, and whoever else cares to hear it, o