Putting a Value on a Needleworker

I was lamenting with my daughter over Christmas about the likely effects of cuts to Government spending. It is a tough call and certainly the next few years are going to be very hard for some people and organizations. Museums share county budgets which also have to fund services which are life critical such as care for the elderly, and it is not difficult to forcast where cuts will be made as push comes to shove. So, it somewhat brightened my day to see a high value nots from Iceland (worth just under £30 or about $45) which commemorates an embroiderer, her work, her teaching and her contribution to Icelandic culture. The reverse of the note shows her, pattern book in hand, directing stitchers working on an altar cloth - the design of which forms the patterned background.

The embroiderer is Ragnheiður Jónsdóttir and you can see more of her on the front of the note together with her husband, a bishop. The source for the image is a portrait made in 1636 in Copenhagen.