Stitchers

Vicki J. Brown is an embroiderer on the New Hampshire tapestry panel. A resident of East Kingston, New Hampshire, she has been stitching for over 50 years. Vicki's mother taught her basic embroidery stitches when she was in elementary school. She embroidered many pillowcases and dish towels before teaching herself more stitches from a Coats & Clark mini-book called "100 Embroidery Stitches," published in 1964, which she acquired in 1973 and still refers to it today. Prior to joining America's Tapestry, she practiced surface embroidery including crewel and raised embroidery.

While working on the panel, Vicki has utilized petit point (continental tent stitch), stem, back, split, stab stitches for applique, satin, French knot, and running stitches. The continental tent stitch was used for the faces of Timothy Bedel and the nine Patriots. She was intrigued by the many unknown stories of the Revolution and wanted to learn about New Hampshire's history. Since joining, Vicki has learned about the Pine Tree Riot of 1772, the raid on Fort William and Mary, the Freedom Petition of 1779, and the New Hampshire Constitution, drafted near her hometown in Exeter six months before the Declaration of Independence. Vicki hopes that American democracy and the promise of equality and liberty for all will endure, sustained by the founders' system of checks and balances.