April 2025 Update

Happy April! I hope you all are well and enjoying the many beautiful experiences spring has to offer. Time to pack away all our woolens and prepare for sunnier days to come!

What's new

We had the wonderful opportunity to attend VA250's A Common Cause to All Conference at Colonial Williamsburg. Virginia's 250 Commission invited planners from across the U.S. to learn & discuss what each state was up to for our Semiquincentennial. With 40 states in attendance, it was the largest gathering in the conference's three year history.

With a stirring rendition of Patrick Henry's iconic "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" speech & a special screening of Ken Burns' upcoming film The American Revolution, the event was inspirational from start to finish. It was an honor to represent America's Tapestry and foster many important connections that will help our project reach communities across our country.

Our trip was highly fortuitous - we managed to stop in & help the Virginia stitchers set up their slate frame at the Muscarelle Museum of Art in Williamsburg. While not a stitcher by any means, I did possess the strength to help staple the twill tape to the embroidery frame!

The state of the art classroom, just off the museum's main lobby, is the perfect setting for our talented embroiderers over the next 14 months. Isn't their work exquisite?

April Spotlight - The Connecticut panel

This month we are thrilled to present the Connecticut Panel, depicting the various activities of the "Provision State." In the foreground, editor Hannah Bunce Watson is shown at work on The Connecticut Courant. Upon her husband's death, Hannah inherited the newspaper and became one of the first female editors in chief at just 27 years old in 1778. She used the newspaper to spread information about the Revolution & to further the Patriot cause.

Additional patriotic activities can be seen throughout the panel, highlighting the cannon foundries of Salisbury, marble quarries in Canaan, and saltworks in East Haven. The interracial 7th Connecticut unit, featuring soldier Prince Simbo, is depicted in the upper righthand corner. Simbo's powder horn is now in the collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The design was completed by the incredibly talented Sarah Naidich, a student at the Rhode Island School of Design. Her work has been recognized by Doodle 4 Google, Scholastic Art and Writing, Celebrating Art, and the Fairfax County Student Human Rights Commission. The Connecticut Panel is directed by Laura Kasowitz, founder of the Hartford Stitch in West Hartford.

What's next

All remaining panels will be sent to our State Directors this month. Please get in touch with any questions regarding the logistics of transportation & materials!

That's all for now. Thank you for reading & happy stitching.