Carolyn's finished stole

I finished Carolyn's ordination stole Friday morning, and finally did the photography today. Click on the image to see an expanded view. The doves at centre back and left shoulder are trimmed with some lace that Carolyn had included in the box of ties and scarves she had collected from her friends and family.

Early on in our discussions about the stole, Carolyn had asked how her friends could literally write their words of support into her stole. So I cut out a white cotton lining according to the desired finished dimensions of the stole, and mailed it to her. Interestingly, both the wrong and right sides of the lining were written on so I had to cut and turn one side. This wasn't a big problem--I simply incorporated my label (printed on my ink-jet printer) at this junction.

I'll be mailing this stole to Carolyn shortly and look forward to see a picture of her wearing it! At this stage of the process I always feel some mixed emotions...happy that my vision has been realized and sad to see it leave my hands, with lots of anticipation of how it will be received on the other end!

I will be starting two stoles (one green, one red) in the upcoming week. The box of ties and scarves arrived Friday from Ontario, and Lloyd (husband and master tie taker-aparter) has taken them all apart while watching the hockey playoffs. Now I need to wash and press them while pondering the designs. Stay tuned!