Queen Victoria’s Shawl A Chinese Export Embroidered Silk Masterpiece Shawls produced in China for export to Europe and the Americas during the nineteenth century display some of the finest embroidery ever produced. This example, now in the collection of the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts, was a wedding present from Queen Victoria to one of her ladies-in-waiting. By Karina H. Corrigan All That Is Lovely in Fabrics and in Lace: The Collections of Mary Perkins Quincy Mary Perkins Quincy dedicated her life to preserving handcrafted textiles and other colonial artifacts and strove to revitalize the cottage lace industry in America in the early twentieth century. Although her dream of establishing a museum in her Litchfield, Connecticut, home was never realized, much of her collection is preserved at the Litchfield Historical Society. By Jean Daly Randazzo Chamba Rumals: Miniature Painting in Thread These elaborately embroidered cloths from India were used to wrap state gifts and also served as gifts themselves. By Brinda Gill The Timeless Tree of Life A common motif in needlework, the Tree of Life has different meanings in the many cultures that have adopted it. By Kax Wilson Poetic Needlework Embroidering lines of poetry or song onto vintage textiles collected from flea markets and antique shops is therapeutic and produces thoughtful, individualized gifts. By Jehane Flint Taylor The Beaded Glory of Czech and Slovak Folk Dress Colorful beaded and embellished clothing and accessories have been a hallmark of Czech and Slovak culture for centuries. Once indicators of status and believed to ward off evil spirits, these items remain an important element of weddings, christenings, and other festivities. By Helene Baine Cincebeaux Things to Make A Lace Edging to Macramé This fine lace edging, designed and worked in macramé by Meg Grossman, features a palm leaf motif adapted from Weldon’s Practical Needlework, Volume 6. A Choker with a Slovak Motif to Bead Embroider The motif on this choker was inspired by the brightly colored roses on a vest in the collection of Helene Baine Cincebeaux. Designed and stitched by Juliana Van Meter.