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Needle's I: Stitching Identity
  • Welcome to Needle’s I
  • Memory
  • Craft
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Needle's I: Stitching Identity

Family

Family

Stitching is an intimate act. Needlework does more than merely document personal connections. It forms them, reinforces them, and repairs them. The pieces in this section trace family support, connections, and aspirations.  


Select an image to learn more.

  • Needlework
    Golden Book Alice
    Charlene Fossum
    Brooklyn, New York; 2017
    Cotton (repurposed bedsheet), cotton Liberty Lawn, DMC floss, DMC 24k gold thread
    Courtesy of Charlene Fossum
  • Sampler  
    Sophie Bailly  
    Mackinac Island, Michigan; 1828  
    Linen, silk  
    Museum purchase with funds provided by the Henry Francis du Pont Collectors Circle 2010.0030a,b 
  • Needlework coat of arms, embroidered hatchment
    Member of the Hall or Fitch family
    Boston, Massachusetts; 1730-40
    Silk, metallic thread
    Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont 1958.1524ab
  • Sampler
      Sarah Ann Major Harris 
      Possibly Saybrook, Connecticut; 1822–28
      Linen, silk
      Museum purchase with funds drawn from the Centenary Fund 2017.0032a,b 
  • Quilt
    Possibly Irena Robinson
    Lafayette County, Missouri; 1851-1860
    Wool
    Gift of Charlotte Goodman Hansen 2014.0015

Needles are powerful tools for making and metaphor. We stitch clothes and relationships together, rip apart seams and arguments, mend holes and hearts. With needles, we make and re-make ourselves and the world around us, yet most of that work has historically remained invisible, or at least unrecognized. The Needle’s I: Stitching Identity traces threads of memory, craft, and family that connect needleworkers past and present, finding an “I” in the needle’s proverbial eye. 

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  • Welcome to Needle’s I
  • Memory
  • Craft
  • Family
  • Works