quiltersmuse.com Blog

Since beginning my study of Hmong life, both in Laos and in their new country, the USA, a number of situations have been brought to my awareness. I find the reports to be stunning, but even more unbelievable due to a seeming unawareness of the American public, at the time. The Vietnam War was in the news, too much so, in the 1960s. Watching “gooks” get killed, and seeing the televised fight going on, right under our noses, seemed surreal. Yes, have a dose of “I Love Lucy,” “Peyton Place,” and “General Hospital,” and then, have a dose of war.

Only recently, through the study of needlework, did I learn about the Hmong people and their need to escape to Thailand, across the Mekong River, from Laos, the only escape route for them. They were targeted for death by the Communists, after the war. I did not know about the young babies or the very ancient ones who had to be left behind, sometimes by the side of the trail, when they could be no longer be carried or helped to safety. Moreover, as hillside farmers, most of the Hmong did not know how to swim, and many drowned in trying to cross the Mekong on makeshift conveyances. In the so-called, “Secret War” of Laos, countless Hmong lost their lives, fighting for democracy, as allies of the United States and CIA operatives.

I recently read that U.S. official Alexander Haig confirmed the existence of “yellow rain,” a substance (mycotoxins) dropped from helicopters and planes from those enemies who wanted to exterminate the Hmong people. One scientific theory proposed that what dropped from the skies was actually bee feces. Indeed? Bee feces would not cause immediate, severe illness and death. Poison could, and poison did.

I can only imagine the thoughts of the Hmong people when they saw the last U.S. planes carrying away their “friends” in the fight for freedom. Lifting into the skies and roaring away, the planes and their military occupants were leaving them to fend for themselves. Meanwhile, a concerted effort at genocide of the Hmong was underway. They sought asylum in Thailand, but soon the refugee camps were full to overflowing. The food was meager, usually consisting of dried fish and rice. People contracted dysentery, due to poor sanitary conditions, and because they were already at risk for health problems because of an imbalanced diet.

The admired story cloths and the traditional, embroidered panels of the Hmong women (and men) tell the story of only one part of Hmong culture. When we look at this needlework, we feel happy, until we realize the greater meaning of the escape scenes, after the war ended in 1975. We admire the tiny stitches and fine workmanship. However, behind the stitches, and the costumes of the Hmong, is a long tale of a suffering people, always trying to fit in to someone else’s country but always without a country of their own. Their culture is unique, wrought with meaning, symbolism, traditions, animistic beliefs, and folk legends, and a language that was banned.

This is a Paj Ntaub in non-typical colors of yellow and green, most likely made by a member of the Blue Hmong tribe who favor the use of a lot of cross-stitch and center medallion work.

The July issue of The Quilter magazine is available now. I hope that you will have the chance to enjoy the article I wrote about the Hmong and their needlework, Part 1 of a two part series. Many thanks to my dear friend, Sandra Munsey, who suggested this article and without whose collection of Hmong items, this article would not have been possible. Thanks to the lovely college administrator who sold me one of her story cloths that she bought while in Laos, where she was a war-time reporter; and thanks to Yuepheng Xiong for his help in securing a second story cloth.

Years later, this topic of the Hmong migration to the U.S., is worthy of your attention. Only when we can place needlework within a context does it take on greater meaning. I hope you enjoy these articles.

For more information, please see “Hmong Textile Art: The Tie That Binds A Culture,” an article written some time ago, for our website.

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications – At the moment, there is a Hmong baby carrier published on the front page.

On the news tonight, there was an image of curly-tailed pigs and then the message that they will all be slaughtered in (Egypt?). Swine flu has crossed international boundaries and as you have heard, it has everyone in a panic. Those who are wearing masks are downright silly. The virus is so small, it can easily infiltrate a mask. We don’t stop to realize how co-dependent we are, as nations of the world, until something like this happens. In tandem with that thought is another one: how fragile human life really is.

The four year old boy in a remote mountain village of La Gloria, who reported the first symptoms, is totally recovered and happily playing. Children can be more resilient than we would expect. As the news reporter stated, diseases such as the flu, seem to attack those with pre-existing medical problems, or older adults.

This situation is not unlike the bovine disease that struck a few years ago, and just about every cow in England was killed, and the meat, wasted. I feel very bad for these animals, one moment happily living, and the next minute declared an enemy of the people!

Pigs are particularly intelligent, in spite of their reputation for rolling in the mud, eating babies that fall into their pens, and being outlawed as food, by certain religions. I have known people who have owned Pot-bellied pigs, and they claim that they are really good pets. Piglets are the cutest little animals, and thinking of animations, who among us did not love “Miss Piggie” of Sesame Street.

Every day, there is a new wrinkle. Sigh.

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications

Remember how we were just discussing the “Tree of Life” kit quilt? Here is a photo of a quilt that was hand-quilted by Charlotte Croft of Vermont, yes, “Vermont” where we have seen others of this pattern.

This is a beautiful quilt, and it is easy to see why the design was so popular! Thanks for sending the photo, Charlotte! What beautiful hand quilting designs!

Pat

If one is of high intelligence, that person is thought of as being “gifted.” There are all kinds of gifts in life, and the best ones, I have found, are usually offered free of charge. If someone loves you, truly loves you, then you have received a gift that is immeasurable. If someone spends time with you, even a casual encounter on the telephone, or a brief e-mail to say, “Hey, I’m thinking of you today and I hope you are fine!” – that is a gift. The smell of Lavender plants growing in your herb garden, the smile of the mailman as he hands you a pile of mail that he has laboriously carried some distance – that is a gift. People who are cheerful and interested in what you are doing, and in your plans for the future – these individuals are gifts.

The sight of new life in the spring whether it be a rose surviving the winter, when you thought it would not, or the smell of the Lilacs – these are gifts. A carefully-prepared meal made by a loving, doting husband is a gift. The officials at the Police and Fire departments who keep us safe in our homes and in our communities, they are gifts. I can easily think of so many people who serve others and who are true blessings to others. It matters not whether or not you are “gifted”; it matters what you give. I have found the most generous folks not to be the ones who count their pennies and worry about their stocks and investments. The most generous souls are those who do not have much to give but give all they can, in the name of friendship and loving concern.

Today, I want you to think about your gifts. Are you as generous in spirit as you could be, or are you the type to always wonder what is “in it” for you? Do you use other people, or are you free with your kind thoughts and earthly service to others? We pass this way only once. I am as guilty as the next person in not wanting to give someone else the right time of day, when I am in a mood, or preoccupied, or ticked off at someone else because I assess them as being stupid. Yes, I’ve been guilty of that, a lot of times, I am afraid. It is not that the other party is not stupid; it is that I need to pray for more tolerance of others, knowing that in our common lot in life, we all have suffering of some kind or another. The pain we experience could be generated by knowing that we have an unloving family, or that our friends have turned on us. Or, alternatively, we may have physical pain that is chronic and unrelenting, or have recurrent symptoms of illness.

The bottom line is that we never know how much someone else is suffering. The person may have financial woes or be out of work. Being “gifted,” whether you are a medical doctor, a Ph.D., or another professional, does not give you the license to act superior and to exhibit a lack of empathy for those around you. Having a cavalier, holier-than-thou attitude is no gift at all, but a handicap, and potentially interferes with your ability to advocate for others.

We all are given gifts in life. Some gifts are taken away – like our parents who often die before we do, and before we think they should. Death is tragic. It is the end. Future choices are taken away. The final paragraph of our lives is written.

Although we get busy, we should never be too busy to lend an ear, or to accept the gift of friendship, or to miss an opportunity to help. Someone once said that it is a good idea for adults to imagine each other as children. If we did that, we could see each other in a different light, perhaps observe the innocence and the vulnerabilities that were there before life turned us into snarling creatures, and set in the attack mode as in strike before struck.

If you are a “gifted” artist, or quilter, or musician, use those gifts for the benefit of others. If you know how to do something, teach others. Being gifted carries with it a responsibility to share. I do. How about you?

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications

I have followed in my mother’s footsteps of writing down things that amuse me. I would like to share the following quote from a Monty Python skit, in the hope that you will enjoy it. I am including a link to an anthology of their work, that I am surprised is still available. I think I will drop the major hint that this is what I’d like for my birthday. Here goes:

‘e’s not pinin’. ‘e’s passed on! This parrot is no more! He has ceased to be! e’s expired and gone to meet ‘is maker! ‘e’s a stiff! Bereft of life, ‘e rests in peace! If you hadn’t nailed ‘im to the perch ‘e’d be pushin’ up the daisies! ‘is metabolic processes are now ‘istory! ‘E’s off the twig! ‘e’s kicked the bucket, ‘e’s shuffled off ‘is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin’ choir invisible! THIS is an EX-PARROT!

My kind of humor! This is hilarious!

Patricia Cummings who has not yet shuffled off the mortal coil, or joined the bleedin’ choir invisible