Baby Blessing

This past summer seemed so busy. I made friends with my sewing room, and worked on a costume for a friend, and a baby blessing dress for another friend's baby. These projects were fun, and I really do love sewing. As much as I like making quilts and doing other little projects, I really do adore sewing clothing. It was a lot of fun doing both these projects.

The baby blessing dress was a request from a dear friend from high school. She couldn't find what she wanted, so my sister volunteered my services to her. She emailed me a couple of pictures and asked what kind of fabric I recommended. With that tucked skirt, I immediately thought of dupioni silk! But for a baby blessing? So, I took some pictures of different fabrics, sent them to my friend, and told her what I would love to do if cost and fabric-care weren't issues...and gave some nice, less-expensive, easy-wash options. Well, she went to the fabric store, and agreed on the silk!

So it was decided. I found a pattern that had the same little cap sleeves, but that was the only thing. I had to draft a pattern for the skirt and then figure out what to do for the rhinestones across the bodice. She also wanted rhinestones at each tuck in the skirt, instead of a pearl. I found some neat heat-applied rhinestones, but the lady at the craft store said she wasn't sure if they dry-cleaned. We decided to use them anyway. Here is how the dress turned out.

I missed the blessing, and I've been assured pictures of the baby in the dress are coming, but I don't have them yet. This blessed event was filled with a little sorrow, however. As I was in the middle of making the dress, the baby's grandmother passed away very unexpectedly. When I gave it to my friend, though, she cried and said how much her mother would have loved this. It was a pleasure to work on, and I was so pleased with how beautiful it turned out, and even more pleased that it made my friend so happy.

Canterbury Cathedral Choir Boys

Here is the video I promised, and forgot to post.

London temple and Canterbur

On our fourth day (I realize this is a bit backwards to the previous post, which was day 5), we drove to the temple. Which really isn't in London, but is out in the countryside. It was a beautiful drive...which I can say because I was not the one white-knuckling it behind the wheel...yet. We experienced a gas station, and gas station restroom...which is no different than in the states. I stood in front of an isle of chocolate and candy and had a hard time choosing something to try. I can't remember what I got (and unfortunately didn't take a pic of it), but I remember it was delicious! It was some sort of candy bar that will haunt my dreams in years to come.

This is, I believe, the mission home for the London mission. It was a beautiful building on the temple grounds.

Beautiful temple, although, after seeing lots of catholic churches already on our trip, it was a bit "plain". 

The gardens around the temple are breathtakingly beautiful. I took some pictures of a few of the beautiful flowers.

After a session, which we both had a hard time staying awake through, we drove on to Canterbury...which is the Catholic seat in England. And has so much history, with Thomas Becket, and all. I was a Wiki nerd for a couple of days before going. Thomas Becket was one person I looked up and read about.

I was in charge of finding accommodations for the places we stayed outside of London. I was afraid of finding places that looked good online, but were either in the wrong neighborhoods, or were total dives...or both. It took me forever to decide on, and then I had to look at the street-views on Google Earth of the places, just to be sure. This tower and arch was what I first saw from Google Earth when looking at the hotel in Canterbury. And as we drove into the city center, I saw this and was so excited--I felt like I knew exactly where we were! (One of the many conveniences of the internet!) 

It was getting later in the day, and all of England closes shop at 5pm, so we were in a hurry to find the cathedral and see what we wanted to see. We didn't even have time for the gift shop, but they have an online store that I will have to hit someday. This was the road on the other side of the arch that we set off up, looking for an old Gothic cathedral.

We got a glimpse of it down a side street.

Amazing and breathtaking.

This cathedral did not mind you taking pictures, so I went a little overboard. It was incredible to think of how old it is. And, I might add, the goths got the air-conditioning right in this place! Just joking, of course...naturally an old stone cathedral is going to be cold inside. It felt wonderful after 3 days of walking around London in 85* temperatures!

Another mouth-open-gawking-at-the-ceiling experience.

Amazing stained glass.

St. Thomas shrine

I don't know what this is called. (Maybe someone could enlighten me.) I believe it's a podium. The carving of it was so intricate!

In the quire. We stayed for Evensong...which is when the choir boys sing and worship. It is open to the public, and takes place every night. It was beautiful. We were not allowed to record any of it, but as they were practicing we were able to capture some of their singing...which was so beautiful. It sounded like a choir of 100 boys filling that huge cathedral with music, but it was only 14 young boys! They had amazing voices. I'll put the video I took at the end of this post.

More intricate carving.

Cloisters

Cloisters, again.

Another view of the cathedral. They are restoring it, in places, hence the scaffolding on the right.

Ruins of an old aqueduct right outside the cathedral.

After seeing the cathedral, we had dinner, moaned that a bakery was not open for us to grab an eclair (which eluded us the whole time we were there), and turned in. The next morning, I awoke early (thanks to the jet lag that had finally set in) and decided it was time for a run in England. I took my camera and off I went. 

I found a beautiful path alongside a river (or stream?).

Had to take a pic of a medial practice, for Ben's sake.

Early morning street in Canterbury.

Max Gate

On day 5 of our trip, we got in the car...with me behind the wheel for the first time, and set out driving from Canterbury to Dorset. When we were planning this day, we had a few choices, and Christina humored me by agreeing to go to Hardy country. Hardy being, of course, Thomas Hardy...who wrote Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Return of the Native and Far From the Madding Crowd.

When we were roommates (way back when BYU Idaho was Ricks College), Chris had to read Tess for an English class. I had read it as a senior, and since it was lying around the apartment (Chris refused to read it), I read it again. It was one of my favorites in high school (which is really saying something...I really didn't like required reading at that point). I've since read it a couple more times, and I still love the book. Chris still hates the book. This is why I say she humored me by visiting Dorset instead of Glastonbury.

So, I got us safely out of Canterbury without hitting anything (pedestrian or vehicle) with the left-side mirror of my car, following Mavis' navigating instructions. Mavis was what we named our GPS voice. She had a calming effect (probably thanks to the British accent), and would say "Go right on the roundabout, third exit," and when you missed the exit, she would say it again, just as calmly. Except often times the roundabouts weren't so straight-forward and were "Go right on the roundabout, fifth exit," which would leave the person who was not driving to count the exits out loud so we didn't find ourselves driving in the opposite direction from where we wanted to be going.

The countryside opened up into rolling green hills, which I largely missed, because my focus was on the road. And also partly because they have hedgerows growing on the sides of all the motorways and it is hard to get a view of anything without pulling over and standing on tip-toes. But every now and then we crested a hill and a gorgeous view opened up in front of us and we would gasp in awe of the beauty that is southern England.

Another thrill of driving in England is the names of all the towns and villages you pass. There was one sign we passed giving mileage to a village called Piddlehinton. I was immediately seized with a fit of giggles at this name, and Chris said to me "Did you see the name of the town below it?!" Turned out it was Puddletown. We both giggled like school-girls over the unfortunate names of these towns, wondering where they came from, and if the locals find it as funny as we apparently did.

As we were got closer to Dorchester, I was getting nervous. We did not have an exact postal code to give Mavis to get us directly there. And Max Gate (which was Thomas Hardy's house) was only recently acquired by the National Trust, so it isn't that well known. I hastily pulled into a car park so we could ask directions. In reality, I had just narrowly missed being hit by another car, and I'm sure I was cursed at on my way into the car park, and I had to collect my nerves. Parking the car momentarily, Chris tells me to ask someone walking through the car park if they know where Max Gate is. Laughing inwardly while thinking "Yeah, right...if she does know where it is, I am never going to be able to understand the directions! I need her in my car to act as my Mavis if we are going to get out of this parking lot, let alone to Max Gate!," I say in my most polite American accent "Excuse me, do you happen to know where Max Gate is?" The planets and stars had all aligned for us (as was evident with the weather we experienced) and she did know. Luck smiled on me even more as she explained how to get there, and I actually understood where she was explaining and I remembered the directions exactly. We drive right there. Literally. It was meant to be that we visit the birthplace of the book Tess. I bought a copy of it while there. Something neat about buying the book in the house it which it was written.

It was a very welcoming welcome, after the nerve-racking drive there.

Thomas Hardy was also an architect, and he designed this house. The ladies working here said that his father apparently did not appreciate his design of this house. The floor plan was a bit odd, but it was a neat old house.

Some of the furniture was original to the house, but the house had been rented and lived in up until very recently. They believe this was a secretary's desk, and the typewriter is not original to the house, but still cool.

Bathroom with an interesting toilet.

Thomas Hardy's study.

View out of one of the upstairs windows.

In one of the (hot) upstairs attic rooms where his wife spent most of her time. I just liked the textiles displayed here.

Another decoration that I loved. :)

Neat old shed

View of the garden off a porch.

Back view of the house. You can see the porch (or green-house, really) from where I took the above picture.

This is one plant I never thought I'd see growing in England. I had no idea palm trees grew there.

Cool old water pump.