Today is George Washington’s birthday. In
honor of the day, I thought it would be nice to talk about the woman in his
life and her favorite household task—needlework.
Martha Washington was an accomplished
needle artist, a skill deemed highly prized in women throughout much of
history. In well-to-do households slaves and servants were tasked with the
spinning, weaving, and constructing of their own garments and many of the household
linens. Hired seamstresses and tailors constructed the finer garments worn by
the gentry. However, the ladies of the house created the fine needlework
embellishments of lace and embroidery that decorated their own garments and
household linens.
Rarely did a day go by
that Martha didn’t spend some time on her needlework, either sewing, knitting,
or doing embroidery. Her handiwork can be seen throughout Mt. Vernon on chair
cushions, footstools, and more. She enjoyed partaking of these pastimes with her
daughter, granddaughters, friends, and even her female slaves, often acting as
teacher who expected the same precision and attention to detail from others as
she gave to her own work.
In 1766, Martha acquired the
materials to create a dozen chair bottoms from a London upholsterer. She spent the next thirty-six years
cross-stitching a scallop shell pattern, which she may have designed herself.
The above cushion is one of six that can be found at Mount Vernon and is a rare
example of Martha’s talent.
3 comments:
Amazing! Thanks for the post.
Thirty six years? I can't even imagine being that devoted to one project. A hundred hours or so on a cross-stitched landscape is more than enough for me!
I guess we have to keep in mind they had limited options for leisure activities back then, Michelle. After all, there were no TVs, computers, movie theaters, etc. ;-)
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