A project almost completed: the dishcloth stole

The dishtowel stole began its life as a project in 2010, during a discussion on Maundy Thursday.  My parents and I were staying with our previous Minister for Easter, and somehow got to talking about translations ot the word "stole", and a tradition that the stole was a towel that hung around Christ's neck (or possibly over his shoulder - it's not like we have eyewitness accounts, after all) during the washing of the disciple's feet.

From that conversation, I got the idea for a stole made from dish towels.

And it's taken me until now to get even vaguely closer to having my "proof of concept" version finished.

As of now, I need to finish sewing up the neck, remove the basting, topstitch once around the whole thing - probably at a half inch rather than the quarter-inch quilting I did on my previous, hand quilted stoles - and then add applique crosses.  Clearly, I should have added the crosses before I put the backing on, but see above re "proof of concept".

That said, if any of my clergy-type friends like the idea of a Lent/Advent stole (purple, obvs) made from tea towels and very simple in construction (so, more likely Lent), let me know.  You can have first dibs on this one, or I'll make you a fresh one in light of all I've learnt from this one.  And hopefully it won't take five years for the next one to be completed...