St. Clare, Patron Saint of Stitchers The Feast of St. Clare is celebrated on August 12     Sister Mary Loretta of the Monastery of Saint Clare in Langhorne, PA, writes about Saint Clare (1193-1253). Her words were originally printed in Needlewords, Vol. 4, No. 4, 1986.     "Clare di Faverone was of a noble and wealthy family of the town of Assisi, and she was educated befitting her high station. Since Assisi was known for its fine embroidery, Clare would have learned how to execute the finest and most intricate patterns to perfection. At that time, of course, fine needlework was an important part of every noblewoman's education.     "When Clare met Francis di Bernadone, later known as St. Francis of Assisi, she knew that the ideals he was preaching were the light to guide her own life. So at the age of eighteen, she left all the privileges of her rank to live an enclosed life of poverty, penance and prayer.     "After some years had passed, Clare became quite ill, and she spent the rest of her life, about twenty-nine years, as an invalid. In spite of her illness, she wanted to be of service in whatever way she could, and so she turned to needlework. Contemporary accounts tell us that Clare was never idle, even in this illness, and had herself propped up in bed so that she could work. These same accounts tell us that Clare spun flax into thread, and after the linen was woven, she made altar linens, for 'nearly all the churches of the valley and hills around Assisi.'" About the Design: My design for counted cross stitch is based on a stained glass window of St. Clare found in a church along the Thames in England. I worked her on 28 ct Lambswool Linen (like tea-dyed) with the following colors of Ginnie Thompson Flower Thread: 100, 205, 210, 225, 340, 555, 750, 800, 900. The design measures just 22 x 65 stitches. How to Order: The chartpak is $7.00 plus postage and handling. Add $11.25 if you would like full 40 yd skeins of the colors used. You can print the color cover and the chart on your own equipment by ordering the PDF file for $3.50.     © 2005 Meg Thompson Shinall. Megastitcher@hotmail.com