Evening journal., 1907-09-02
NEEDLEWORK STUDY FACTOR
TN MOULDING CHARACTER
History Of the Graft From Its Earliest Days
r to the Present Time--.Display at
County Fair
County Fair

among women. were unknown. Lace
making was a quiet and peaceful oc-
cupation. and when women made
call in the homes of friends, they took
their lace work with them. just as
the women in cur land were won't To
take their samplers or their patch
work with them when they spent the
day with each other When Wolsey
begged an audience Of Queen Kather-
inc. she was not at first disposed 10
grant it because she was at that moo
ment so much engrossed with her
maids in needleworlS that she did net
care to grant an audience to anyone
but she finally appeared with skeins
of silk around her neck. The dulness
and possibly the despair of the long
captivity of Qeen Mary were lessened
nv the way in which she constantly
occupied herself with her needle, many
OF her beautiful embroideries being
still preserved.
Nor was the use Of the needle con-
fined to the women. for there is extant
some remarkable speciments OF
needleworlx executed bv the monks Of
the sixteenth century 1t would be
an obvious loss to art should the max
ing of lace by hand become extinct for
machinery, as skillfully devised as
possible. cannot do what the hand
does. Lace must inevitably lose the
best features Of its delight for use on
the day that It ceases TO be precious
and relatively rare
To Norway the land of the mid
night sun. we owe thanks for much
| that is beautiful. and not lest among
these is Hardanger needlework. which
takes its name from and owes its birth
TO the little city Hardanger, so beaut-
full and picturesque, nesting close to
the ford Of the same name in south
western Norway. In this beautiful
work we find much that is character
istic of the people who make il, the
beauty and sterling worth Of which
| have made it known in nearly every
large city Of the world. In Norway
nearly every school child has TO learn
! Hardanger. and even in the peasants
homes many a mother Will exhibit
with pride whole sets Of sheets, pillow
! case scarfs. spreads, covers and
aprons adorned most olaborately with
| this embroidery by the young chill
! dren of the family. and you can read
ilv- see what wonderful schooling that
/ is. in industry. patience, accuracy
/ care and neatness. when you remem-
| her that in doing Hardanger each tiny
/ thread of the foundation cloth must
be counted accurately TO form a de-
! sign. not one may be overlooked. What
| this means to the characters Of these
young women can scarcely be appre-
ciated. as it develops and shows clear
ly in all they do.
The wiseacres among needlework
people arc prophesying that Wala-
chan embroidery, which has recently
] been introduced here, viii prove one Of
the most popular Of stitches, al
! though it is really not n new stitch at
all. but our own buttonhole-stitch
utilized in the manner characteristic
of the artistic needlework of the
peasants of -Wallachia.
Another peasant work. from across
the seas. but surely one that deserves
recognition in any foreign land, and
! especially in our beauty-loving Ameri-
ca is German Spachtel Embroidery.
Where the exact origin of its name
had its birth is not positively known,
but supposedly from one Of the small
towns or provinces near Wallachia.
Spachtel has its distinguishing char
acteristics in design and workman
shin. and unlike most peasant work,
instead of following the mechanical
and geometric designs. branches off 20
the floral decoration.
These Austrians are noted for their
energy and thrift. and not a moment
seems lost of an the day and each
spare minute possible is given to their
needleworlz, often with fingers so thick
and rough you can hardly imagine
their passing in aud out in these intri-
cate designs. without tangling but it
is as natural 20 them as eating and
sleeping. so much so that even the
children are made familiar with it
from infancy. The schools teach
needlework. and a girl whether rich or