quiltersmuse.com Blog

While growing up, I heard about the family’s connection to a celebrated war hero. Not paying much attention to history, or at least not to the details of family history, in those formative years, I was unsure of the link that was claimed to a statue on Manchester, New Hampshire’s west side, an area where my mother’s family mostly lived.

One day last summer, when we happened to be in the area, I asked Jim to take some photos of the statue at Henry J. Sweeney Park, a tiny park in which this statue is the main feature.

Statue dedicated to Pvt. Henry John Sweeney
on Manchester, New Hampshire’s west side

A dedication plaque at the base of the statue reveals that Sweeney was the first soldier, from Manchester, to die in battle during World War I. He was killed in action on February 18, 1918, in France, during the “Great War,” or the so-called, “War to End All Wars.”

Family Connection

Apparently, there is an annual wreath laying ceremony at the statue. My mother had saved newspaper clippings that show various people at the site, including my first cousin, the late Mary Lee Sweeney Lamy. She is listed as the niece of the soldier, so I assume that my uncle, by marriage, her father, the late Frank Sweeney, was the soldier’s brother. Frank was married to the late Dorothy Sweeney, my mother’s sister. I shall attempt to document the relationships via a genealogical search, at a later time.

Monuments and gravestones serve several purposes. They help to acknowledge a person’s life and, sometimes, their accomplishments. They give notice as to the location of one’s mortal remains. They remind us of the brevity of our own lives and that we should try to make some contributions to society, between now and “then.”

Statues erected to celebrate our heroes dot the New England landscape. Americans like monuments. On a grander scale, we have erected the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., one of the more major efforts at honoring a great leader and a fallen victim. Of course, in the same city, we see the Washington Monument.

We do not necessarily need Veteran’s Day or Memorial Day in order to make the time to think about our dead, especially all of those dedicated heroes who have given their “all,” in service to their country.

I am pleased and honored to know that family members still honor their young soldier who died an ocean away, and almost a century ago. I am proud to live in America, where every life matters, and when a person is no longer here, we can still say by actions and by words, “I remember.” Who could ask for more than that … to be remembered?

Patricia Cummings

The Dragonfly

a poem by Patricia Cummings

I saw a dragonfly
upon the wing,
while autumn threatened
cold to bring.

I pondered the fate
of this lovely thing,
a gift of creation
that made my heart sing.

As seasons come
and seasons go
There is but only
one truth to know.

Take each day
passing slow.
This way, again,
we shall not go.

Recently, I received several notes from a woman in Uruguay who had stumbled upon our website, Quilter’s Muse Publications and Virtual Museum. She reveals that there is now a group of quilters in Uruguay.

I am told that they are very much influenced by art quilter, Alison Swabe, who has moved from Australia to their country. Via the internet, this small group has found other quilters in Brazil and Argentina, and they will all be teaming up soon for an exhibit (on October 11, 2007).

Alison has a blog that she writes from Montevideo, Uruguay. In it, she mentions “the Street of the Tentmakers” in Cairo, that she personally visited, and shows photos in her write up.

There is a file about Egyptian appliqué on our website. Hearing more news of the location via a letter from Uruguay about a visit to Egypt by an Australian makes me realize how small the world has become!

An exhibit that I once saw at Disneyworld in California was called, “It’s A Small World After All.” I can still hear the voices of children singing the song. However, for quilters, that statement is more true than ever before, with internet contacts, international quilt shows, and the trade of quilt patterns and knowledge, worldwide, via the Internet.

Enjoy the day. Do some quilting!

Patricia Cummings

Let me make one thing perfectly clear. There is NO paramour under MY palampore!

However, this is as good a time as any to discuss definitions! To verify the meaning of the word, “paramour,” I consulted the dictionary. The description given is this: “an illicit lover esp. of a married person.”

On the other hand, a “palampore” (not found in the dictionary) is a word that denotes an antique, hand-painted textile, usually made in India, and traditionally, exported (primarily) to England.

There are some links to lovely examples held in museums, on this Wikipedia page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palampore

As its central design, a palampore often featured a tree. In some circles, this sometimes has been referred to as “The Tree of Life.” An example of a tree-bearing palampore is shown on the website of the International Quilt Study Center, and listed as having been made between 1750 and 1770.

http://www.quiltstudy.org/quilts/search.html

What is the reason for calling the words “paramour” and “palampore” to your attention? Recently, a wonderful report about a meeting for individuals who love to view antique quilts was published on an online list. The writer, whose name need not be divulged, stated that, “At show and tell, we saw a stenciled and painted paramour, recently found in a box labeled ‘tablecloths’.”

The author of this comment profusely apologized to the readers of her message. No penance was meted out. I’m sure that no one laughed at her, but I am certain that we chuckled with her.

For me, who loves words, this is yet another chance to be sure that I know those words well enough to explain them to you.

A paramour under the palampore? Perhaps not, but this could be the start of a new fantasy for many middle aged women who read this message. Truth be known, my fantasy is to actually see an antique palampore someday.

Patricia Cummings

New Article by James Cummings:

How to Convert a Photo into a Line Drawing for the Purpose of Embroidering a Portrait of a Person