This post is at least a day too late.
Ash Wednesday was yesterday, but as I have said several times before, this tiny corner of the wwworld is my party and here I do what I like. So I’m going to post anyway.
My mother, my younger daughter, my granddaughter and I, all went to a charity sewing afternoon in a café in downtown Reykjavík last Sunday. We were sewing traditional “öskupokar” (lit. ash bags), for “Sun in Togo”, an Icelandic charity that supports vulnerable children in Togo.
My mother made a beautiful one, with two embroidery covered rocks. I was too slow to photograph it, (it sold immediately) but you can glimpse it in progress here:
I made one in advance at home (the embroidered one on the right). My daughter made the beaded one.
She also made a lovely one with hearts, that I forgot to photograph. The butterflies on my second ash bag (see below) were rather time consuming. so I had to hurry a bit.
This one would have needed a little ironing, but you can’t have everything, I guess.
The little one made a silver bag with lot’s of beads.
Here is my mothers second one:
Heiður að fá að bera svona poka… yfir marga þröskulda.
What a beautiful custom that is! Thank you for sharing this with your readers, your posts are always so enriching.
What a lovely way to spend Ash Wednesday. I was not familiar with the custom of ash bags, so I looked it up. I always love learning about your traditions and holidays!