My Stitching Heritage

If someone was to ask me about my most prized possessions, I would have to include this little piece of linen that my great-grandmother, Calisca Diana Hoy Corman cross-stitched on her 17th birthday. As a child, my Grandfather was sharing our family history with me, including some old family Bibles. As we were leafing through the pages, I discovered this little piece of linen. It is about 3.5 inches in length and 2 inches in width. We were both confused with the "f" in her name, which I later learned in German class was properly used for a double "s." The Hoy family by this time spoke and wrote in English, so the "s" must have just been a little leftover from their German ancestors. My Grandfather also thought the "7" was a "9," since she was married in 1875, it makes sense that she stitched this on her 17th birthday.

As a stitcher, I have become fascinated with how small the stitches really are. They are absolutely miniscule. I can't imagine stitching them, especially without very strong magnification!! I have no idea why she decided to stitch her name and date on this piece of linen, other than it was her birthday, but I am glad she did. I don't know much about her besides her basic statistics, but I know that she could stitch. I hope that someday my great-granddaughter can look at one of my workes and feel connected to me through the stitches as I do with Calisca.

All my Best,

Beth