Guild of St Clare sponsorship awarded

A Guild of St Clare Vestment Mending Day before the Coronavirus

This is the second year we have awarded sponsorship to assist a student undertake the Royal School of Needlework Certificate Course. The RSN is planning to restart teaching, with various safeguards, so our sponsored student will be able to start in August.

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The Guild of St Clare and the Latin Mass Society are pleased to announce that an award has been made for their Sponsorship Scheme which assists students in doing the Certificate in Hand Embroidery at the Royal School of Needlework. 

The recipient is a religious who prefers to remain anonymous. We are delighted that the skills offered by the Royal School of Needlework will be joined to a vocation of hidden prayer and service to the Church.

The Royal School of Needlework at Hampton Court Palace

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Guild of St Clare Sewing Retreat success

There was a moment -- well, more than a moment -- when I thought the sewing retreat was not going to happen last weekend. The snow, which started falling during the week before, starting falling again on Friday afternoon, and the final approach to the Retreat Centre up a steep hill became impassible to all but four-wheel-drive vehicles. Luckily we worked out an alternative route, and the great majority of the retreatants made it. Only a few perished in the snow (only kidding!)



From the Guild: The Guild of St Clare held its second Sewing Retreat in the teeth of the Beast from the East last weekend. The Carmelite Retreat Centre, where it took place, is in a delightfully rural location, at the top of Boars Hill. The roads were untreated, and retreatants defied the blizzard and the snowdrifts to make their way finally to the peace of sewing, spiritual conferences and, most importantly, the traditional liturgy. 

Vestment repair day in the LMS Office

From the Guild of St Clare.

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The Guild of St Clare has been asked to repair some vestments for the Latin Mass Society. These repairs will need to be undertaken in the LMS's office, in central London. We have arranged two dates when we will do this work: the 21st April and the 12th May, between the hours of 10am and 4pm. Lunch will be provided.

This violet High Mass Set is among the things needing attention

If you would like to join us, or want to know more about the details, please email me at lucyashaw@gmail.com. Space in the LMS office is fairly limited, so we need to know how many people are planning to come.

The Office is at 11 - 13 Macklin Street LONDON WC2B 5NH

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Guild of St Clare: sewing workshops in Oxford

Well, strictly speaking these are in Headington, a suburb of Oxford. But everyone is welcome. Cross-posted from the Guild blog.

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Forthcoming autumn events

The Guild of St Clare is holding the following workshops in the autumn:

2nd September: Project Finishing - bring along your unfinished sewing projects and make some progress with the help of our skilled Guild members!

21st October: Embroidery techniques with Jacqui McDonald of the Royal School of Needlework

11th November: Vestment mending and making - we have various altar furnishings, chasubles, and a cope in need of repair. Join us to assist us in mending them, learn about their construction and serve the Church.

All these workshops are taking place at St Anthony of Padua church hall, 115 Headley Way, Oxford OX3 7SS. They run between 10am and 4pm. Tea and cake is provided - please bring your own lunch. For more details or to book a place please email Lucy on lucyashaw@gmail.com.

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A pre-history of the Guild of St Clare

It seems the Guild of St Clare has a pre-history: there existed, up to about the time of Vatican II, a 'St Clare's Guild' for sewing in Catholic parishes in the United States. I'd be interested to hear more about this Guild from those who have any information.

From an email:

On a regular basis, the Guild would meet to sew what I recall were "pads for cancer patients". There may have been other projects that they worked on, but I recall that one. As to the spirituality of the group, I have no clue, nor whether it was promoted by my parish (Nativity of Our Lord) or the Archdiocese of St Paul Minnesota.

What I recall was a large number of women gathering at the house on an occasional basis and hand sewing. My Mother would refer to it as the St. Clare Guild, and she participated in it probably until 1960 or so. That was a time, of course, when many women did not work outside the house but would involve themselves in charitable work.

There was quite a bit of adult catechesis at the time as well. My Mother also belonged to a parish sponsored "women's discussion club". There were many such discussion clubs set up by my parish on a neighborhood basis. Members were asked to read chapters of books written by Catholic authors (it was the time of Venerable Bishop Fulton Sheen) and gather to discuss what they had read.

In addition to the women's discussion club, there were discussion clubs for couples and both of my parents participated in the one for our neighborhood.

Comment: Any group of skilled ladies doing vestment repairs would have suffered the same fate as groups of skilled singers: under the new dispensation they were no longer needed, or only for things which would not have motivated them to hang around. The new spirituality did for any groups based on spiritual matters. 

It is not clear whether this St Clare's Guild did much liturgical sewing, however, and there were other factors at work: the 1970s saw the decline of every kind of voluntary and leisure group. Robert Putnam, in his well-known study Bowling Alone, blames commuting, TV, increased female participation in the labour market, and a mysterious 'generational change'. I've discussed this on this blog here.

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Guild of St Clare Sewing Retreat: report

I've pinched some of the photos; the Guild has a short report on their blog.

"Our first ever sewing retreat finished yesterday, and I for one enjoyed myself enormously. With snow falling outside over the panoramic views of Oxfordshire countryside, an infinite supply of tea and biscuits and good company, what could be more agreeable than a weekend of sewing punctuated by traditional liturgy?"

Opus Anglicanum: a belated review

The exhibition Opus Anglicanum in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London is about to close: it does so on 5th. Right now the exhibition webpage is still up so you can see a few things about it. We went to see it before Christmas, and I thought I'd put up some random observations.

The exhibition shows off the work of Medieval English needlecraft, which was famous in its own day. This is embroidery used on a lavish scale, not simply to decorate an orphery but to cover entire chasubles, the vast copes they used in that period, and all sorts of other things.  It is a tradition dating back to before the Norman Conquest: the Bayeaux Tapestry was made by English needleworkers. However, most of the surviving examples, in this exhibition, are from the 14-16th centuries. English work was so prized that these pieces made good diplomatic gifts, which is the reason that several of the things in the exhibition have survived, in cathedrals in continental Europe. Liturgical vestments covered in pictures of virgin martyrs could have a short life-expectancy in Protestant England.

Coat making workshop with the Guild of St Clare

Three day coat making workshop

Oxford, 28th Jan, 18th Feb & 4th Mar 2017

Riding high after our mastery of waistbands, zips, collars, cuffs and plackets, we are holding a set of three workshops over the course of which we will construct a coat or jacket.

See more at the Guild of St Clare

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Sewing Retreat with the Guild of St Clare

This is the first such event, and I'm delighted to advertise it here: a retreat, with spiritual conferences and daily Traditional Mass, with the opportunity for confession, for people wanting to do some sewing, particularly on liturgical items. Friday 10th to Sunday 12th February

You can book here.

The priory at Boars Hill

The Retreat will run between Friday 10th and Sunday 12th February. Our chaplain is Fr Richard Biggerstaff, the Director of the St Barnabas Society, and he will give us spiritual conferences throughout the weekend and also be available for Confessions. There will, of course, be daily Mass in the Extraordinary Form, and other devotions as well. Sewing sessions will mainly be dedicated to mending and making vestments. We don't expect retreatants to have any previous experience of this, so complete beginners need not be put off! All materials will be provided. There will also be a small (very small!) shop selling sewing equipment, so if you haven't a sewing kit or need to replenish the one you've got, there will be ample opportunity to invest. Please do bring a basic sewing kit with you, if you have one: small sharp scissors, needles, pins, tape measure, a thimble if you use one.

Guild of St Clare Vestment mending day

A young Guild member hand-sews a new linging on a maniple. This, like most the
days' tasks, simply cannot be done by machine.

The Oxford branch of the Guild of St Clare held a Vestment mending session on Saturday, an example of the kind of work which they can do to support the liturgy.

Doing the same work on the matching Chalice veil.

Guild of St Clare: 'Memory Quilt' day course

Quilt making is not just for Americans; we have a wonderful tradition of quilt making in the UK as well. The Guild of St Clare is making this tradition available to a new generation in an initial class on quilting on 16th July. It is intended for beginners and the less experienced.

Quilting using pieces of left-over fabric is the classic of thrifty sewing; using fabric from old clothes and such-like it is a way of preserving the memory of articles which would otherwise be thrown away and forgotten. This pleasant idea gives us the notion of the 'memory quilt'.

It is also an opportunity to practice sewing-machine and many other sewing skills.

For all the details see here.


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Guild of St Clare: 'Learn to make a skirt': two-day course 7th May and 11th June

Children welcome. Sewing at the St Catherine's Trust Summer School, supervised by two
Guild of St Clare members.

The Guild of St Clare, which is affiliated to the Latin Mass Society, serves the Church by passing on the skills needed for the maintenance, repair, and the making of liturgical vestments. It also aims to promote 'domestic' sewing skills, which should be taken for granted by those undertaking training in emboidery, goldwork and so on. It is astonishing to think that within living memory almost every household had a sewing machine, and women routinely made clothes for themselves and their children. These skills have all but disapeared. Few children today can even thread a needle.

The Guild is pleased to announce a new initiative: a two-day course within which participants will be able to make every aspect of a skirt - and do it properly, and end up with a wearable garment.

Learn to make a skirt

In response to popular demand, we are introducing dressmaking workshops under the supervision of our own in-house expert dressmaker, Clare Auty. The first of these will be spread over two days, the 7th May and 11th June, when we will make a lined skirt with a zip and waistband, and the option of pockets which can be embellished.

Continue reading here.

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Embroidery training 12th March in Oxford with the Guild of St Clare

Cross posted from Guild of St Clare blog.

I'm delighted to announce that we will be holding another embroidery training day with Jacqui Macdonald, the RSN tutor.

On Saturday, 12th March she will be coming to Oxford to teach us. She is happy to teach any of a wide range of embroidery techniques including crewelwork, goldwork, whitework, stumpwork and surface embroidery techniques. 

Embroidery training in Oxford with the Guild of St Clare

I'm delighted to promote something genuinely useful and enjoyable: training in the techniques of embroidery, taking place in Oxford on 12th December, and open to all.

'This is a very unusual opportunity to study techniques not often taught in day courses. Please email me at lucyashaw@gmail.com if you would like to know more, or to book a place on the course. The price is £80 plus materials, and the course runs from 10am till 4pm. Space is limited so please don't delay!'
The details are here.

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Guild of St Clare: Goldwork Training days

Recent Lace-making training day with the Guild of St Clare

The Guild of St Clare has two goldwork training days coming up, on 13th December and 21st February. Full details are on the Guild blog. Beginners are very welcome, and this will be an opportunity for people who have already done some goldwork to develop their skills to a higher level.

We would like to take this opportunity to collaborate on a joint project. Some years ago the Guild created the LMS banner, which is now a very visible part of almost every major LMS event, in particular the Walsingham pilgrimage when it is carried on foot by pilgrims from Ely to Walsingham over the course of three days. It's now time that we made our own banner, for use at events like the Rosary Crusade, and we would like to incorporate contributions from as many members as possible.

Anyone attending these goldwork workshops will be invited to contribute their piece to the Guild Banner. The design is still embryonic, but we envisage several small floral medallions circling a larger picture, probably of St Clare, our patron. If you have ideas, please don't hesitate to tell us!

The LMS Banner on the Walsingham Pilgrimage

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LMS and the Guild of St Clare at Towards Advent: Nov 22nd

As for the last few years, the Latin Mass Society will be - literally - setting out its stall at the Towards Advent Festival, which takes place in Westminster Cathedral Hall on Saturday November 22nd 2014.

A corner of the same stall is occupied by the Guild of St Clare, the LMS-affiliated needlecraft group, who introduce participants to their work and raise money by selling Christmas Tree decorations and cakes.

The Cathedral Hall is where we've often had our Annual General Meetings. It is behind the Cathedral, the entrance is in Ambrosden Avenue.

The Festival is free: anyone can pop in and have a look at the stalls, a lot of Catholic organisations are represented. It opens at 10:30 and goes on until about 5pm. As well as membership organisations like us and the Catenians, there are publications (The Catholic Herald and Oremus, the Westminster Cathedral magazine), at least one bookstall, Our Lady's Books who had an excellent stall at the LMS Conference in April, and groups with all sorts of interesting apostolates.

There are also events scattered through the day, notably an opening address by Mgr Keith Newton, Ordinary of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, and workshops (£2 each), for example one on Gregorian Chant. More information can be found here.



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The Guild of St Clare takes on lace

Lacemaking: a day's tuition with a highly skilled specialist in the home of a Guild member.

Members of the Guild of St Clare took part in three specially arranged lace-making training recently, as previously mentioned on this blog. I recently blogged about Mgr Loftus speculating in a jocular fashion about killing off curial officials with apoplexy if people were allowed to help themselves to Holy Communion; happily, both for the officials and for everyone else, this is not going to happen. If Loftus wants have apoplexy about the restoration of lace-making to the repertoire of the Catholic needlecraft experts who look after our fine vestments, that his affair. It really is happening. (For Loftus' froth-flecked views on lace see the end of this post.)

Lace Making Course: this Sat in Oxford

Two day bobbin lace course

The Guild of St Clare has block booked a lace training course at The Fibreworks, Oxford

 on the 9th and 16th August, 10am to 2pm. Places are limited but we do have two spare at the time of writing! The Fibreworks' expert tutor, Liz Baker, will be introducing us to this intricate art, and we will use perle cottons to make a lace bookmark. The cost is £40 per person for both days. The Fibreworks is located on the Cowley Road, Oxford- details on where to park are here. Please email lucyashaw@gmail.com for more details or to book a place.

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Guild of St Clare Goldwork Course: and Pro-life Witness

The Guild of St Clare, which promotes liturgical and domestic needlecraft, and is affiliated to the Latin Mass Society, has organised a


Goldwork Training Day in Oxford, on Saturday, 22nd February, 

The tutor is Sarah Rakestraw from Golden Hinde.

The location is the church hall at St Anthony of Padua, 115 Headley Way, Oxford OX3 7SS.

The cost is £40 per person plus materials. 

There are places still free, please email lucyashaw@gmail.com

On the same day, and outside the same church, the next Oxford Pro-Life Witness: this takes place from 3 to 4pm. This is the monthly event which has attracted a counter-demonstration, whose antics I noted on this blog; they are likely to be more subdued this time, with a little help from the forces of law and order. I almost think this is a pity, they made such a fool of themselves last time, however what they did was illegal as well as ineffective.



The Goldwork course starts at 10am and ends at 4pm; some participants will be joining the witness at the end, and we can all have tea in the hall after the witness concludes. So whether you'd like to learn Goldwork or just pray for the end of abortion, this is the place to be on 22nd.

The Guild of St Clare is holding another training day: on Saturday, 12th April, we are having a bobbin lace making day for beginners, also in Oxford, at The Fibreworks in the Cowley Road. The price for this is also £40. Again, contact Lucy Shaw to book.

A new Rose altar frontal

Last Sunday Fr John Saward blessed a new Rose coloured altar frontal, and tabernacle veil, for his church, SS Gregory & Augustine's in Oxford, immediately before celebrating the Traditional Mass for Gaudete Sunday. He already had a set of Rose vestments, and the frontal was made to order by the Oxford branch of the Guild of St Clare to match, as closely as possible. In the pictures you can see the frontal and tabernacle veil next to the chalice veil, which is part of the set of Rose vestments.

As far as I can see the colour matched perfectly; looking closely, there is a subtle pattern in each which is different.

Well done to the Guild of St Clare! They have blog post about making it.