An 18th century schoolgirl Sampler came up for auction in Maine and has commanded the highest price of any Sampler sold: $465,750, according to Antiques and the Arts Online. A photo of the piece, which was expected to sell for much less, appears on their website:
Be patient. The remote site takes a long time to load.
Ever since a friend who was leaving the area gave me a framed mola, I have been interested in knowing about them and the people who make them. They are an unusual textile that many people confuse with Hmong embroidery. Anthropologists suspect that long ago, the Kuna Indians and the Hmong people were connected.
The Kuna Indians are known for their geometric configurations and this one is outstanding with its brilliant green fabrics! This one is for sale: eBay #380001096616. All cotton cloth is brought to the islands where they live.
I have updated the Mola file on our website today, adding some beautiful photos, links, and additional resources. Yes, my interest is ongoing in any subject I peruse with initial research. I love to learn and I like to pass on what I have learned to you!
This is just a brief announcement. “A History of Molas” file is long and full of wonderful new images, courtesy of a friend. If you are looking for me, you might just find me in Panama!
Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications
First of all, we live in the city on a busy street (in Concord, New Hampshire). This morning, I heard Jim hooting and hollering and I followed the hoots to the third floor of our home that overlooks a flower garden. There was a young deer munching out on the floral foliage there. He was within a short distance of the sidewalk and bustling traffic.
Last winter, we had a deer eating the dried Rose Hips on the Roses, after wading through about four feet of snow. Rose Hips are full of minerals and vitamins. Jim snapped a lot of pictures today. I’ll show you some of them, in succession.
This is a young buck. It was an overcast/ off and on, rainy kind of day. The green foliage is looking lush!
Another view. Remember, the photographer is taking these photos from “on high.”
Third photo
Another image of this hungry, young deer
Deer getting more nervous
He’d finally “had it” with the street noise, and headed down back again to the comfort and privacy of the stream bed area that is present in our lower back yard.
We had a pair of deer wandering around in the snow here, last winter. One of them was limping badly. They kept showing up until they were chased by a surveying crew on the street who ran after them.
I didn’t realize this was a young buck but Jim pointed out that he has little nubs where his antlers will be.
As man encroaches on the customary habitat of wildlife, animals will continue to wander into “our space.” Hunting is restricted in residential districts and this seems to be exactly where the Wild Turkey, Deer, Bobcats, and other wildlife currently take up residence.
The result is more deer/car collisions; and children sometimes are attacked by Wild Turkeys in their own backyards. I don’t mind an occasional visit, but I really hope that this deer doesn’t start eating the annual flowers for which we paid out good money at our favorite local greenhouse.
Here is a needlework design that Jim enlarged and cleaned up. It was originally published in the 1890s Cunnings catalogue. Jim Cummings features other designs both on his new cooking blog, and on our recipe pages on the main website. Enjoy!
For many more designs for outline stitch embroidery, see our website books about Redwork; and/or purchase our brand new CD: Redwork Renaissance Revisited, an e-book on CD, available on our Products Available page.
Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications – home page for our main website
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.
No matter what mailing list I have ever participated in, sooner or later, the subject of copyright law rears its ugly head. A while back, we had the self-named “Pattern Piggies” whose mission was to scoop up every possible design they could find and share the designs with each other, online. Since they were so busy with their illegal activities, one would wonder when any of them had time to pick up a needle. They were too busy giving someone else the needle.
No matter. “Sharing” is a word that has come to have a different meaning these days. A person will order a book or a pattern that is original to the writer or bookseller, and that person will “share” it with their friend, or their guild. This deprives the artist or other creative person of money lost to potential sales, and it also usurps their intellectual property rights. In this manner, “sharing” really equals “stealing” and “putting one over on” type of activity.
The copyright law is not concerned with the financial ramifications. They are concerned about intellectual property rights – that is, the rights that a creative person has to their own creation, in whatever form that may be, including paintings, sculpting, music, etc.
There are a lot of details to the law and some exceptions.
I would not be writing about this at all except that I was speaking with a needleworker who told me that she is posting patterns to a Flickr site because she is so angry that someone is selling old patterns of the same designs on eBay for $10. In her mind, she is doing a “good thing.” I told her that two wrongs don’t make a right. I guess at that point, I’d disagreed, and it was the end of the discussion.
Sometimes, I get the feeling that while people are told about copyright, they simply don’t care. They only want to do whatever they want, to gain popularity in groups, or for whatever reason. I will continue to do my best to express the idea that the law exists for a purpose. It’s not the first time I’ve taken an unpopular stance. Given the chance, I’d rather err on the side of truth and justice.
So, today, if you are inclined to be creative, why not start with a pencil and paper, or a photograph YOU have taken. You don’t have to be a bona fide ARTEEST to design something of your own. If you are having trouble getting started, take an art class. Most communities have them. There are also plenty of good art methods books, or how-to-paint, or how-to-quilt shows on TV. Go to your local library and check their resources and videos. Go to the bookstore, or friends, even take a ride in the country or look in your own backyard. Anything that has color, or grows, or moves can be inspiration for a new work. Be proud of what you do, and enjoy the process. We only go this way once.
Patricia Cummings
