PieceWork Winter 2019: The Work of Many Hands

Each and every issue of PieceWork is brought forth by many hands. However, this special issue has been carried forward by more hands than most. As PieceWork and sister magazines Spin Off and Handwoven settle into their new home at Long Thread Media, they are growing and changing. The future is bright, and we have so much in store for you!

A pattern recorded in the Skaftafell Book, which was drawn by an eighteenth-century Icelandic farmer, and colors found in a seventeenth-century bridal bench cushion in the collection of the National Museum of Iceland inspired Justin Allan-Spencer’s beautiful Icelandic endless-knot design. Photo by Matt Graves

In the Winter 2019 issue of PieceWork, we hope you will enjoy learning to decode Estonian lace and learn the difference between true Haapsalu and “rebellious” lace and be inspired to make your very own housewife (of the sewing roll variety). Read about the unsolved mystery of Hepsibeth A. Edwards’s nineteenth-century silver knitting needles, and try your hand at Rhodes stitch with the “A Stitch in Time” recurring needlework column.

Nancy Bush’s small circular shawl or pelerine is a different shape from a traditional knitted-lace shawl or scarf from Haapsalu. Photo by Matt Graves

Each of us at PieceWork has a deep passion for textiles past, present, and future. We are indebted to the makers who came before us as well as the people who have lifted the stories behind textile traditions and makers of the past. For nearly three decades, this unique publication has sought to spread the joy of historical needlework and assure its journey into the future. We hope you will join us as we continue this work!

Kate Larson, Editor
Jeane Hutchins, Editor Emerita
Elizabeth Prose, Associate and Managing Editor
Anne Merrow and Linda Ligon, Cofounders of Long Thread Media