Cyber Stitchers passing on our love of needlework in memory of Rita Lenkin Hawkins and the Holocaust victims and survivors.

Barbara Rucket

Georgia, USA.

Mizrach

Off-loom bead weaving.

Amy Samin

Israel

Women of Valor: Esther

Cross-stitch mini-quilt wallhanging

Roslyn Schneider

 Florida, USA.

quilting

Terezin

The heaviest wheel rolls across our foreheads

To bury itself deep somewhere inside our memories.

We’ve suffered here more than enough,

Here in this clot of grief and shame,

Wanting a badge of blindness

To be a proof for their own children.

A fourth year of waiting, like standing above a swamp

From which any moment might gush forth a spring.

Meanwhile, the rivers flow another way,

Another way,

Not letting you die, not letting you live.

And the cannons don’t scream and the guns don’t bark

And you don’t see blood here.

Nothing, only silent hunger.

Children steal the bread here and ask and ask and ask,

And all would wish to sleep, keep silent and just to go to sleep again...

The heaviest wheel rolls across our foreheads

To bury itself deep somewhere inside our memories.

Mif

1944

Fran Schuster

California, USA.

Cross-stitch/embroidery 

A needlework adaptation of an original illustration, "Feast of Freedom", by Dan Reisinger

reproduced with permission of the artist.

Arlene Spector

Pennsylvania, USA.

Aleph Bets

cross-stitch

Lois Stanley

Michigan, USA.

Dancing Miriam with Ch'ai cymbal

quilting, wallhanging

Maura Stone

New Mexico,USA

Matzah Cover

canvaswork, trianglepoint

Nancy Taffel

Georgia, USA.

Happy Chanukah

needlepoint

My Chanukah Design

    Atlanta’s ANG president asked someone to design a Chanukah project as an alternative to our July Chnstmas Tree Ornament selection. I decided to do it. I have a menorah that was my inspiration and added the latkes, the Jewish Star and the Dreidi. In the class were ladies of other faiths who wanted to acknowledge their relatives or friends who were Jewish. One lady made an ornament for her tree. Several Atlanta women that year were sending stockings to the White House. I decided to make another pece to add to the Clinton collection assuming Jewish people also visited. Several months later, I received a printed card saying “Thank you for your donation to our Christmas celebration!

    Rita Needle invited me to her house for the Chanukah party of her local guild. I took copies of the “ornament” for her Baltimore group to make. One of the ladies suggest I mail it in to the Pomegranate Newsletter Chairman. I was one of five who won the privilege of having a piece that will be printed in a future publication! JPG even paid me for the design.

    I am happy to donate the project in Rita’s memory. Had she not encouraged me to come to her Chanukah party, this piece would not have become “famous”. I also entered the piece for the Six Million Stitch book in memory and in honor of my father, Captain Liebert I. Mossier, who enlisted in World War II, served for three years and earned the respect of all of his Indianapolis, Indiana friends.

    Thanks Rita for your hospitality and for being such a delightful hostess to me, my daughter-in-law and two of my grandchildren last Chanukah. I will always remember your lovely home, your amazing family and all your friendly Pomegranate Guild members.

Madlain Yunkers

Washington (state), USA

Santa Maria La Blanca

blackwork

Carole Zelcer

Surrey, United Kingdom

Ch'ai for life

assisi wallhanging

    (The story of my life---just about) CAROLE ZELCER (nee GOTLIEB)

    I am originally from New Zealand, but have been living in England for the past 9 years. Ever since I can remember I have stitched. In fact I like doing things with my hands except housework! (just like a woman) At first the pieces that I embroidered were on commercially stamped designs, which my Grandmother crocheted around for me, but then taught me how to do it for myself. After getting married and with 4 sons, I sewed for myself and for the boys, until they asked for ‘bought’ things instead. Oh what I would have given for a Daughter.

    I was also a knitter, but not too many items were made, so when I was introduced to Weaving, in 1973, I thought that this is a way of using up all that wool that I had intended to knit with. At this time I also learnt to spin, more wool was acquired. Weaving took over my working hours, and I advanced from a small 24” table loom, to a 32”, to a Floor Loom, 45”. I enjoyed all this creative work and learnt a lot about texture, types of threads and colour, the latter was achieved with the little bit of Painting that I was beginning to learn, but I didn’t produce many items, until I moved to England. (this move is a long story in itself!)

    So now I find living in England has helped me in so many ways, especially in helping me to be ‘re-educated’, for I have begun to learn to Paint in earnest, water-colour, and joined some very interesting and advanced Embroidery classes. This is especially so, with a course that takes 4 years. It is a Creative Design course, where a lot of drawing, sampling, painting with paints like a child does, and therefore realising that these painted images are very good as fabric colour designs, etc. Stitchery is then applied to these fabrics with other types of imagery. Several assignments are set where specific directives are given, and creative ideas are applied. Personally I feel a lot of the original ideas of Embroidery have been lost, although we all have to be able to achieve the various stitches that have been used since time immortal! The finished pieces are truly interesting, even if I don’t like some of the ones that must be made according to the curriculum. Others I have finished, have shown me that there is more to design than just applying thread to fabric, or to Hand Made Paper, which I have really enjoyed doing. Time to explore this further after finishing.

    Life after my course will entail delving further into perfecting some ideas, and to learn more deeply on a few certain techniques. My weaving, which has been put on hold these past few years, will now take on a new meaning, with the chance, hopefully, to mix both weaving and embroidery.

Please remember, if you copy a project's directions to donate $1.00 per project to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. or your local Holocaust Memorial Center  in memory of Rita Lenkin Hawkins. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's address is http://www.ushmm.org/ Go to the lower right corner and click on Join and Donate.

Thank you.