Needlewords April 1999

NEEDLEWORDS was begun in 1883 by me (Meg) stnd Ginnie Thompson (Mom). It no longer exists but the articles are too good co pass into obscurity. Mother is rewriting her history series for us with the images she uses in her lectures. We'll do history for the next few issues, then we'll go back to Needlewords articles.

A SHORT HISTORY OF A SMALL STITCH

Counted cross stitch is a tiny stitch but a big subject. A complete history of this stitch would rival the twenty-four volumes of the Oxford English Dictionary. Try to think about cross stitch without samplers. It is like trying to visualize Valentines Day without hearts. And yet, samplers are only a small favorite part of the cross stitch story and a long way from the begining of its history. I would like to begin in the days of Malachi (from the time of the tabernacle described in Exodus. In Exodus we read of embroideries in blue, scarlet and purple; of fine linens and little bells of pomegranates and other motifs. Could some of these have been cross stitch? In the Victoria and Albert museum in London there is an embroidery thought to be tbe oldest piece in any museum. It is carbon-dated to 500 BC, five hundred years before Christ (the time of Malachi) and it is counted cross stitch. It was found in Athens, Greece and is a peace of a woman's veil. Only the linen remains, but the needle puncture marks indicate that the pattern was a trellis design.

We can go back even further. What if you had been Eve at that hour when she realized she needed a fig leaf wardrobe? A thin vine or a string of Spanish moss would have served as a thread, but what would guide the thread through the leaves? I am sure that somewhere in the Garden of Eden there was a special thorn needle. I am sure because in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, we have a NATURAL needle.

If a Pawleys Island fisherman needs to mend one of the big nets, he looks for a sting ray tail. The stinger is shaped like a needle and can be easily snapped off the tail. The shaft is somewhat barbed but it is quickly filed smooth by rubbing it ln the damp sand of the beach. A soft spot in the end opposite the point is punched out to become the eye of the needle. This needle is a blunt needle. Could it be that the Lord prefers embroidery over sewing buttons and darning.

Next issue: Berlin Work and William Morris