wimple pattern

For those who are interested, here are a few sites where you can find wimple knitting patterns and pictures. – ok, I have noticed that clicking on the wimple pattern by Mary won’t get you to it, I don’t understand why because if you type in wimple pattern this is the first site to come up and the address is exact. I tried changing it but no go, so I am going to type it in for you and credit it to  Mary – hopefully later today.                                       The first is a free pattern, the others you buy. I just made mine up though by guessing which is probably not the best way. Having thought about it some more I think this is an easy way – measure around the widest part of your head and cast on enough stitches to cover that length + a bit more depending how fitted you want it. Then measure from your hair line at the front to the top of your shoulders – again add a bit more to give you an idea of the length, then just knit until it reaches this length – I kept checking it against my head and it worked quite well. Of course doing it this way means you then have to fold it over and sew it up – not too tightly as i found out though – this ‘pattern’ does work though, I like to use mohair or aran wool on very large wooden needles, it grows in no time.

Here are the sites where you can get some more info  www.mary4169.tripod.com/vanitypage/id51.html  - this is the free one, then there is www.angelfire.com and www.knittinghelp.com/forum which as it says is a forum that you can join and get help with all your knitting.

I realized that our wimple are basically the same as the patterns but they have been adapted – with central heating and higher temperatures we don’t need to wear wool around our heads and necks all day. Imagine one of these patterns with the back cut out so that they are pulled on across the face instead of over the head, and you have what we wear in material instead of wool.

As usual this is all a bit wordy but you get the gist. Happy knitting.

turn, turn, turn

There are signs in our abbey that the year has once again moved on and we are entering into a new period in the Church year. Today was the last ‘ordinary’ Sunday, next Sunday is Christ the King then it’s Advent again! In Office we use some loose leaf files and our Sundays are on green pages to make them stand out. Today the closeness of Advent really hit home when I found that I only have one left for Christ the King. We remove our green Sundays and replace them with White ( I think) Advent Sundays pages which always seems to mark the year for me. We do this in the summer too so keeping only half a year at a time at hand.

Christmas pudding – yes, it is also that time again. Last week Sr Theresa Mary prepared the mix and we all stirred it and made our wishes – last year my wish was to become a novice and I got it, lets hope I do this one too.

The last tomatoes have been picked and the greenhouse is now clean and empty ready for next Spring. We went over our veggie field and collected the last few squash and marrows which I cooked last week – they were very nice- and we are waiting for a friend to come to plough it before we start manuring and making compost trenches. I need to weed the new blackcurrants which settled in well and will hopefully bear fruit next year.

On the whole it hasn’t been a good year for veggies. Sr Davina got lots of strawberries, some good lettuce and with the aid of the wonderful nettle juice we got some good cabbages too. The nettle juice worked very well keeping aphids off the beans and we got quite a good crop but most of the other veg didn’t do well – too much rain and not enough sun. The apples have been quite good and we do have a healthy looking apples shed. oh we also got a little garlic, some has gone to seed so i am going to try planting it in tubs in the greenhouse over the winter to see what we get, it’s worth trying anyway.

A lovely sound and sight at this time of the year is the wild geese circling before they fly south. Their honk honk is a lure to look up and watch them flying in formation, it looks so joyful and free and they seem to be telling us that they are off for their holidays and will see us in the Spring. We do have our faithful blackbirds, sparrows and robins to keep us company over the winter though.

On Thursday Maria arrived safely from New Mexico to discern her vocation with us. She is spending around a week in the guest quarters to get over jet-lag and adapt to new things a little before she comes inside for about 6 weeks aspirancy. Maria will get an all round picture of us as she will get a bit of ‘normal’ time, then Advent and Christmas. Please keep Maria and us in your prayers at this time of discernment, thanks.

Yesterday and Friday we kept Mother Abbess Gertrude’s Feast day. As usual we had 2 days of recreationk- we could talk or listen to music whilst working in the morning then had lots of time together in the afternoons and evening. We began with tea and a biscuit in the work room whilst we sang to Mother, than a bit of a chat, some of us walked Chelsea and then back for long recreation. Sr Davina made beautiful doughnuts and I tried to make bagels for tea – which didn’t exacly look like bagels and were overcooked! My sisters valiantly tried to eat some, were very kind about them and we had a laugh about it. Now I have more idea what i am doing ( I think) I will try again but give myself lots of time.

Yesterday at the end of recreation we went into the parlour to look at slides mostly of the community. Going into the parlour meant that Maria and David – Sr Davina’s father – could join in the fun. At the moment we have a priest here on retreat and a sister from the Grace and Compassion Benedictines with us too. Sr Metilda has asked me to help her to set up a blog so I am going to try tomorow. The Grace and Compassion Benedictines are fully habited Benedictine Sisters in the south of England, Africa and India. They care for elderly people in their own homes and say the full Divine Office. They would like to encourage vocations in Britain so if you are interested or know someone who is check them out. When their blog is set up I will a link up as they really do good work and we are happy to support them.

I think there’s lots more that i have forgotten but must be off to prayers now and I take you all with me. Pax et bonum, Sr Marie-Therese.

Happy Feast Day

Today we are keeping the Feast of Order of Saint Benedict Saints. Outside Benedictine monasteries I imagine that it is not well known or kept – I didn’t know of it I admit. For us it’s similar to All Saints as these are all ‘our’ saints and many of them have been lost in time so they are remembered here and today. Happy Feast Day to you all may St Benedict and  those who followed his way so faithfully bless you and bring you peace.

Sunday 16th is Mother Abbess Feast day – another Benedictine saint, St Gertrude. As it is 3rd Sunday it means we are having exposition and Benediction as usual so are keeping Mother’s feast on Friday and Saturday instead so that we can have recreation, give our gifts and come together to celebrate with her – this means that we get the best of both There is lots more to come but for now I need to finish off my gift so must be off – we just give simple home made things that Mother either uses, passes on or puts out in the parlour. Last year I made jams, this year it is just a few scarves and a woollen wimple – this one is in a past post. Type in wimple and you will get patterns for woollen tubes that go over your head to keep your neck warm instead of a scarf. I might just look myself and put up a site if i find a nice one. pax sr marie therese.

Another charity game

Thanks to Brian – see comments – I can now share with you another game in the same line as free rice. This one is
http://wwwaidtochildren.com/
  ON this one you play and they will donate 25cents to help needy children. Have fun and pass it on – again very addictive. pax sr marie-therese.

A quick plug

This is just a quick plug – again for the site www.freerice.com  you answer questions and for each right answer you ‘earn’ 20 grains of rice which is then distributed through the UN to hungry people. Recently they added a load more categories like identifying the country on the map; chemical symbols and famous paintings. It is fun, you will learn loads so helping your little grey cells and the best bit is that you will be helping others at the same time. It is addictive as you want to get the question right and see your rice bowl filling up. Check it out. pax

Sr. Davina on Maryvale

I was asked to write a few words on our maryvale weekend so here goes…….After rising early on saturday, morning office was sung then sr. marie therese and myself received holy communion from mother abbess as we were not able to hear mass due to having to be in birmingham for 9.30am. I have no sense of direction although i am a driver and i would have headed north instead of south. Someone did put me on the right track and i did manage to get on the right road and arrived at maryvale in time. We checked in and was shown to our rooms, i had been to maryvale before when i studied a long distance learnig course on the catholic catechism, but this was the first time i stayed overnight! I was really excited about starting this because for me it was a sense of a new beginning – especially as i had just been appointed zeletrix, and i get to study one of the gospels in great detail. In fact what greater way to start than with St. Luke following Mary’s journey in the early days and this will link up with our own preparation to advent and christmas, with those beautiful canticles which are at the centre of the church and our monastic life. I look forward to this journey with mary our mother and i pray she will teach me lots and that i will have an open and willing heart to follow her son more lovingly.

There were about 25 of us which started this journey together over the weekend and we were all there for different reasons, but the most common factor was that we all wanted to deepen our knowledge of the bible more. 

The talks were pretty intense i thought as i find study really hard but it was fantastic and the way the course directors brought everything over was that you could really make the link between the old testament and the new testament, it was alive and spoke to the heart. You really didn’t get much time to yourself as you were in the lecture room or dining room if not in the chapel What we get out of it now is up to us and of course rely on what the holy spirit wants to teach!!!!

Maryvale Weekend.

Well, last Saturday Sr Davina and I went off to Maryvale Institute and stayed over night as planned. We had a great time The weekend began with being shown to our rooms – which were small, comfy and warm, lots of soft seating and thick carpets. We then met in a large lecture room, introduced ourselves and were given our course books and lots of information.

Following this we had a short break and more info given, before lunch. The weekend followed this pattern – ‘lecture’, short break, ‘lecture’ longer break.  We were given ideas on how to approach our essays questions with hand outs; we compared different gospel approaches and we looked into Salvation History as well as study techniques. This was all very valuable as most of us have not studied recently at any level and could easily panic!!! But, the staff are available to us on-line and by phone so there is a good support system for us and we were encouraged to keep contact however silly our comments/questions might seem.

Personally i found that Maryvale had a special atmosphere too – a mixture of retreat house and training institute. In the lecture room there was an icon of Our Lady with a candle burning and we began each session with a prayer. The whole course is deeply infused with prayer and totally rooted in the Catholic church. We are using the Catechism and approach our essay questions from a faith perspective commenting on Tradition, Salvation and making links to the Old Testament.

There is a resident group of Bridgettine sisters – 3 are also on the course – who provided us with simple, tasty meals and were smiley and friendly. They also added their prayerful presence – we were encouraged to go to Compline and Morning Prayer and of course Mass was held on Sunday morning. The national shrine of the Sacred Heart is at Maryvale, too. It is small, beautiful and prayerful. Surprisingly despite being in a built up area the noise outside didn’t invade the house at all and it really felt to me like we had stepped into another world.

We ended our stay with a talk on Sacred Art – icons were used and the sybolism was explained so they became much more alive. I have always loved icons and now i know more about them i can see how they really do lead us into prayer and stillness, we enjoyed this bit so much that more is being included on our next weekend in April.

When we got home we were both exhausted and had an early night. The weekend was lively, prayerful, full of info and helps and we chatted  a lot – basically everywhere except chapel. There a deep prayerful silence reigned and it was common to find others just sitting quietly in there at any time.

I must say I really did enjoy the weekend, it has opened up my mind and i am now discovering scripture in a new and wonderful way. We have started with the Gospel of St Luke and I have got so much from the first chapters alone, they are so rich and I had never noticed it before. The atmosphere in the house was so lovely with its friendliness – from staff and fellow students – its prayer, simplicity and the buzz of learning and new discovery. I would recommend Maryvale to anyone – and  no, they haven’t paid me to write this Check them out, it’s well worth it. pax