I Wish I Could Be Better

I have been thinking this for as long as I can remember now - and trying very hard. But being better, not forgetting so much, not making so many mistakes, seeing the world more clearly through other's eyes, seems as elusive as catching the brightness at the end of the rainbow. Some of you are so kind and think what I do is good and the books are lovely, and I worry so much that if ever I forget to send you something I promised, or don't reply quickly, or you receive a wrong order, that you will be more than disappointed. You will not only be disappointed with me, quite justly, but you will be disappointed with all the good aims we are trying to foster, with all the heart we have put into our products every single hour of every single day for the last 5 years. And more - that you will lose heart in believing that things can be good, and with persevering in all the good things you try to do, trying to be that bit better every day, as I try, and often, fail to be. Believe in perfection, certainly, try for perfection, look for perfection, foster perfection and when you experience less than perfection, don't let it turn your whole world grey. Compassion is the eye of the rainbow, its colours and brightness dazzle, remain with you all your life and never fade. I am just like you at heart. A little girl, who tries to walk in dreams that perhaps are too large for her feet and trip her up sometimes.

Quaker Influence on Palestinian Embroidery

Palestinian embroidery is culturally very rich. The influences on Palestinian embroidery arrive from all four points of the compass. Motifs from the Chinese and Mongol Empires are interspersed with Hellenic and Byzantine ones. Some are identifiably Roman and Venetian, some are derived from Scandinavian sources via the Normans in the Kingdom of Sicily, and others Coptic. But here amongst the strongly abstract and geometric patterns on a woman's dress from Ramallah you can see an urn of flowers with facing birds, which was introduced through European pattern books brought by the Quakers in 1869 when the Society of Friends established a girls' school in Ramallah.

Leila El Khalidi has written a wonderful book - The Art of Palestinian Embroidery - which examines sources and motifs used by Palestininan women. Included in the book are 50 pages of motifs for you to study or include in your own designs. Another wonderful book to read if you are interested in the running of the Friends' Girls' School in Ramallah is Lois Harned Jordan's Ramallah Teacher - the Life of Mildred White, Quaker Missionary. Mildred was a remarkable Quaker from Richsquare, Indiana in the USA.

Mary Wigham Taking the Sun in Fiji

Christine Weir sent me an image of her tropical Mary - she has been very inventive as well as creative. This is the story of Christine's Mary as told by Christine herself:
Like Viji, the lady in India, I too have been working on a version of the Mary Wigham sampler in a place where there is no LNS, and no reliable post. I am living and working in Fiji in the South Pacific, and like Viji, am a great fan of downloadable stitching patterns and information. When you started the Mary Wigham SAL I decided I'd like to join in, but I didn't have in my cache a large enough piece of linen. I did however have a smaller piece of 28 count evenweave, so decided to try a 'cut-down' version on that. I also had a reasonable supply of blue and green threads, so attached is a photo of the nearly completed 'mini Mary Wigham'. I felt the colours reflected the colours of the sea here. I've chosen to use the smaller motifs, though even they have proved to be a bit large, I feel. Still, it has been an interesting experiment. The gaps will be the places for the alphabet - and maybe some fish! The photo was taken during a weekend away at the beach in the Mamanuca Islands, in the western part of Fiji.
By Christine Weir

Fabulous Friendship Basket For Sale

I am almost too stunned to tell you that the amazing friendship basket which appeared here a few weeks ago is for sale again. How anyone could say goodbye to this unique and beautiful item of female history - a leaving token to a teacher of Edgeworth Female Seminary, Julia, is beyond imagination. Do contact Dawn Lewis right away if you are interested. I am told the price is $1250 £785 855 Euros or 112,000 Yen.
Edgeworth seminary was named after the renowned Irish Enlightenment feminist and educationalist Maria Edgeworth (1768-1849), author of Letters for Literary Ladies, and disciple of Jean Jacques Rousseau. Built in Greensboro, North Carolina, the seminary was a large brick structure that housed a laboratory, classrooms, music and art studios, and dormitories. The first principal was Mary Anne Hoye. Edgeworth closed in 1862 for the Civil War. The buildings were used by both the Confederate and Union armies as a hospital, and all the furniture and music equipment was sold. The Seminary reopened in 1868 under the leadership of the Rev. Dr. John Caldwell from Georgia. In 1871 Caldwell resigned and the school closed for good. The buildings were briefly used as a private residence by members of the Morehead family. The remnants of Edgeworth Female Seminary burned in 1872.
Here are some of the inscriptions: 'Friendship is a name forever Blest/In it I live and live to rest.' And: 'Julia a fond adieu for soon we part/Nor ever perhaps to meet again/ But every morn will tell my heart/Thy friendship warm'd it and not in vain.'