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More than 100 years ago at the dawn of the 20th century one of America’s most distinguished authors, Rose Wilder Lane, was asked to write a report on the history and development of the needlework arts in America. Mrs Lane was the ideal writer for this worthy task being herself an expert needlewoman, historian, novelist, and essayist.

Her words gave radiance and meaning to the great needlework canvas and provided encouragement for the creative women of the time to carry on the great tradition of American needlework. This creativity brought beauty to their lives and homes and everlasting satisfaction to themselves and their families.

Mrs Lane’s original report has been split up into this five-part series of articles and is virtually unchanged from her original script.

Needlework is the art that tells the truth about the real life of people in their time and place. The great arts, music, sculpture, painting, literature, are the work of a few unique persons whom lesser men emulate, often for generations. Needlework is anonymous; the people create it. Each piece is the work of a woman who is thinking only of making for her child, her friend, her home or herself a bit of beauty that pleases her.

So her needlework expresses what she is, more clearly than her handwriting does. It expresses everything that makes her an individual unlike any other person – her character, her mind and her spirit, her experience in living. It expresses, too, her country’s history and culture, the traditions, the philosophy, the way of living that she takes for granted.

The first thing that American needlework tells you is that Americans live in the only classless society. This republic is the only country that has no peasant needlework. Everywhere else, peasant women work their crude, naive, gay patterns, suited to their humble class and frugal lives, while ladies work their rich and formal designs proper to higher birth and breeding.

American needlework is not peasant’s work or aristocrats. It is not crude and it is not formal. It is needlework expressing a new and unique spirit, more American than American sculpture, painting, literature or classical music.

Three hundred years ago the colonies in America were European. Gentlemen and their ladies brought to North America the absolute monarchies of the Continent, the feudal system of England, and the arts and cultures of the Old World. They also brought the lower classes to do the hard work.

The workers who cleared the forests, planted the crops, hunted for the fur traders, and did the brewing, building, spinning and weaving were peasants hardly more free than serfs, bound servants no more free than slaves, poor families imprisoned for poverty who were herded out of debtors’ prisons and shipped to America, and poor girls who, having no dowries, were auctioned in American ports to woodsmen and freed servants who could afford to buy wives.

They came from the hungry classes in all the famine-plagued kingdoms of the Old World. They had nothing in common but their poverty, their humanity, and a wild hope. Long before British victory in European wars had seized for the British Empire all the colonies in America except the Spanish Floridas and New France west of the Mississippi, the land that is now these States was the home of all mankind.

The Dutch built the town on Manhattan Island, and the patroons’ large estates on Long Island and up the Hudson River valley. German peasants slowly defeated the Pennsylvania wilderness. Scotch-Irish struggled into the Carolina mountains. Swedes settled Delaware. New France ran from Maine to Detroit to St. Louis and up the Mississippi from Mobile and New Orleans to Illinois, Missouri and the Dakota headwaters of the Missouri River. New Spain stretched from Peru and Mexico to San Antonio, Los Angeles, San Francisco. The Russians came down from Alaska to Monterey.

Among all these pioneers, only a few at first, were Italians, Danes, Poles, Armenians, Assyrians, Czechs, Slovaks, Finns, Greeks, Norwegians, Hungarians, Africans, Arabs, Egyptians, Levantines. Protestants ruled New England; Catholics governed Maryland; Jews were in all the colonies. All varieties of humankind were here, and all the languages, faiths, cultures.

By painful stages on wagon tracks through forests and by boats sailing along empty coasts, the English, Irish, Scottish, Dutch, French and Spanish gentlemen were meeting on the neutral ground of their lofty social class. Beneath them the lower classes were mingling and intermarrying with each other and with the Indians – the farmers, the peddlars, the sailors, the little merchants, the wilderness fighters; the first Americans.

John Wigham has been a professional author and editor for 20 years and is a co-founder of http://www.patternspatch.com an online cross stitch club dedicated to counted cross stitch. Sign up for
Cross Stitch Tips & News at ppp_totw@aweber.com.

Kite flying is one of the oldest pastimes in the world. No one can say with certainty precisely how old it is, but we do know that it goes back for many centuries, and that the beginnings of the story have an eastern setting. On the latter point, more will be said in a moment. In the meantime, this may be said. In its general significance, the invention of the kite stands out as an expression of man’s age-old and universal longing to conquer the air.

It cannot be said with precision just how or when thoughts about flying began to occupy man’s mind. What is known, however, is that from the time he began to write and to draw, the idea of flight was present; an idea which was born, no doubt, through watching the birds in their travels, doing what he himself could not do. The ability which he himself did not possess he bestowed upon the beings born of his imagination. In ancient stories of superhuman mastery of the elements, gods and devils transport themselves with wings, and men and beasts also navigate the air. Thus in one way or another man’s interest in flight was sustained, and in the course of time this interest led to various attempts to achieve mastery of the air.

In the story of man’s conquest of the air, kites have an important place. It cannot be said with certainty who invented them or when they were first flown. Ancient Greek tradition ascribes the invention to Archytas of Tarentum in the fourth century B.C. The Koreans attribute the origin of the kite to a general who, in the dim and distant past, put fresh courage into his troops by sending up a kite to which a lantern was fixed. They believed that it was a new star and a sign of divine help.

Above the mists of speculation the fourth century B.C. stands as a landmark. It is established that by this time kites were well-known in China. It is said that the first Chinese kites were probably made of wood. This could well be, though a case could be made out that they might have had a bamboo framework with a silk cover, since silk is said to have been used there as far back as 4,000 years ago. It is probable that by the fourth century this material was being used. About the year A.D. 105 the Chinese discovered a method of making paper sheets from vegetable fiber. This made available another suitable covering material.

When we turn to the purposes for which kites were used in those far-off days, much that is of interest may be noted. Ancient Chinese historians have recorded that they were employed to carry ropes across rivers and gorges. The ropes were made fast and wooden bridges suspended from them. It is said that a general of the Han dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 221) put the enemy to flight by flying musical kites over their camp at night. The enemy fled, because they believed that the music was the voices of their guardian angels, warning them of coming danger. There is a tradition, too, that man-lifting kites were used in attacks on cities, and to drop men behind enemy lines. It is difficult to say when this strategy was first employed, so no date can be given. It is known, however, that the Chinese and the Japanese used man-lifting kites to survey the enemy’s position as early as the seventeenth century A.D.

There is a tradition that kites were known in Ancient Greece and Rome. One should not be too dogmatic on this point. On the other hand, taking fourth century China as the starting point, one may confidently trace the spread of kite flying all over Asia and beyond, extending to such countries as New Zealand. The Maoris are said to have fastened perforated reeds to their kites. It was believed that the sounds which they made would scare off evil spirits.

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Three hundred years ago the then colonies in America were inhabited largely by a European hierarchy who’d brought their lower classes with them to do the hard work. There was much mingling and intermarrying with each other and with the Indians – the farmers, the peddlers, the sailors, the little merchants, the
wilderness fighters — the first Americans…

The Dutch built the town on Manhattan Island, and the patroons’ large estates on Long Island and up the Hudson River valley. German peasants slowly defeated the Pennsylvania wilderness. Scotch-Irish struggled into the Carolina mountains. Swedes settled Delaware.

New France ran from Maine to Detroit to St. Louis and up the Mississippi from Mobile and New Orleans to Illinois, Missouri and the Dakota headwaters of the Missouri River. New Spain stretched from Peru and Mexico to San Antonio, Los Angeles, San Francisco.

The Russians came down from Alaska to Monterey. Among all these pioneers, only a few at first, were Italians, Danes, Poles, Armenians, Assyrians, Czechs, Slovaks, Finns, Greeks, Norwegians, Hungarians, Africans, Arabs, Egyptians, Levantines. Protestants ruled New England; Catholics governed Maryland; Jews were in all the colonies. All varieties of humankind were here, and all the languages, faiths, cultures.

By painful stages on wagon tracks through forests and by boats sailing along empty coasts, the English, Irish, Scottish, Dutch, French and Spanish gentlemen were meeting on the neutral ground of their lofty social class. Beneath them the lower classes were mingling and intermarrying with each other and with the Indians – the farmers, the peddlers, the sailors, the little merchants, the wilderness fighters; the first Americans.

Struggling for bare life itself, against the forests, the grudging soil, the weather, the sea, they learned that differences between human beings are superficial and that a common human nature and a common need, a common hope, unite all humankind on this hostile earth. In sharing danger and hardship, they learned that every person is self-controlling, responsible for his acts; that each one makes his own life what it is and that all alike must struggle to survive and to make human living better than it is.

This truth was not in the feudal idea that God creates inferior and superior classes of human beings. It was not in the Acts of Parliament and Kings. It was not in the schools that taught gentlemen’s sons the duties of their privileged status. It was not in the arts and writings that expressed the Old World’s concept of the nature of man, and it was not in the colonies’ social order of authority above, obedience below. But it was in the first American needlework.

Needlework is a pretty occupation for a woman’s hands. No governor and no scholar noticed it, and the women who made it did not guess that their needles were prophesying the World Revolution. They believed that they belonged in the class where they were born; they thought that they were loyal subjects of their King. But they did not like the old needlework patterns.

They made new patterns. A hundred years before the time when their grandsons would attack the Old World belief that persons are merely particles of the State, American women rejected that ancient fallacy as it was expressed in European needlework.

In typical Old World needlework, each detail is a particle of the whole; no part of the design can stand alone, whole and complete in itself. The background is solid, the pattern is formal, and a border encloses all.

American women smashed that rigid order to bits. They discarded backgrounds, they discarded borders and frames. They made the details create the whole, and they set each detail in boundless space, alone, independent, complete.

They did in needlework what Americans would later do in the human world of living human beings. As Americans were the first to know and to declare that a person is the unit of human life on earth, that each human being is a self-governing source of the life-energy that creates, controls, and changes societies, institutions, governments, so American women were the first to reverse the old meaning in needlework design. They no longer copied the stiff, formal order imposed upon enclosed patterns; they made each detail free, self-reliant, complete by itself, not quite like any other, and they let these details create their whole effect.

Just as individual freedom suddenly released the terrific human energy that swept the Old World’s Great Powers from this hemisphere and wholly transformed North America in a third of the time that those Old World Powers had held it, so this reversal of meaning gives American needlework an almost explosive energy that would gather inreasing momentum.

John Wigham has been a professional author and editor for 20 years and is a co-founder of http://www.patternspatch.com an online cross stitch club dedicated to counted cross stitch. Sign up for
Cross Stitch Tips & News at ppp_totw@aweber.com.

Gift baskets are always popular and a great idea to give as a gift whether for Mother’s Day or any other time of the year. Moms love to receive gift baskets. Making your own gourmet ‘mom’ gift basket is cheap and easy. You can fill your gift basket with a variety of inexpensive quality items; you have lots of choices.

I’ve put together a few great tips and ideas for making ‘mom’ gift baskets, complete with instructions on how to make them. You can make inexpensive gift baskets or expensive gift baskets depending on your budget. You can easily customize each basket to your recipient.

First make a list of the mom’s hobbies and interests. List everything you can think of that might possibly pertain.

Suggestions: sports, books, television shows, in-house hobbies, outdoor recreation, camping, workshop, tools, golf, fishing, computer-related, environment friendly, golf, tennis, relaxation, food, chocolate, wine, spa, bath and body, fruit, cookie, etc. These are just a few ideas.

You can find many inexpensive items and products for use in making your gift baskets or filling your gift baskets, at ‘dollar’ stores, craft stores, party stores, discount outlets, flea markets, close-out stores and even at garage sales providing the items are new, etc.

For gift containers you can use: any type of basket, wicker basket, straw basket, bucket, laundry basket, plastic container, purse, tin, seasonal container, large tea pot, large upside-down hat, red hat or plastic storage container-put lid underneath.

Other items: extra-large coffee mug, boot, potted plant holder, wire basket, large pasta bowl, large popcorn bowl, cooking pot, clay pot, colander, skillet, antique trunk, champagne bucket, hamper, Asian-style trunk or picnic basket.

For gift basket liner you can use: tissue paper, shredded paper, shredded newspaper, tea towels, dish towels, hand towels, kitchen towels, colored towels, colored napkins, placemats, or fabric pieces.

For gift basket filler you can use: shredded colored paper, straw, Easter basket grass, crumpled newspaper comics, a bed of wrapped chocolates or other wrapped candy.

For items in the container it’ll depend on the specialty or theme of the gift basket – in this case a mom. Here is a small random sampling to give you a few good ideas:

Gift certificate for massage or spa visit, scented oils, scented massage oils, gift certificate to favorite store, gift certificate for restaurant, loofah, fragrant candle, matches to light candles, CD of nature sounds, favorite artist CD, DVD of newer release movie, how-to video or CD, handwritten poem, perfume, cologne, watch, framed photo, inspirational book, spa pillows, bath pillows, spa supplies, bath and body products, facial and body scrubs, handmade soaps, fragrant soaps, shampoos, hand and foot lotion or fluffy towel.

Flavored teas, green tea, specialty tea, herbal tea, biscotti, tea infuser, healthy snacks, fancy chocolates, boxed chocolates, chocolate bars, hot chocolate mix, specialty coffee mix, homemade cookies, homemade brownies, homemade jams, popcorn, caramel corn, giant-size boxed candy, candy canes, suckers, lollipops, apple, pear, orange, persimmon, mango, papaya, chips, pretzels, nuts, gourmet pasta, gourmet olive oil, pre-packaged food items, pancake mixes, brownie mixes, cookie mixes, wooden spoons, your best chocolate chip cookie recipe, Italian recipes, Mexican food recipes or other ethnic recipes, coffee mug, or potholders.

Garden trowel or other garden tools, garden gloves, work gloves, cold weather gloves, leather gloves, garden picks, seeds, hand lotion, flower pot , small tools, gadgets, playing cards, travel-size games, small puzzles, t-shirt, tickets to events,
small plant, disposable camera, a small book,

Computer-related items, mouse pad, yarn, painting or artist supplies, golf balls, golf tees, golf knick knacks, tennis balls, tennis knick knacks, key chains, small calendars or desk calendars, barometer, outdoor thermometer, science gadgets, electronic gadgets, health-related items, auto-related items or cinnamon sticks.

For gift basket wrapping you can use tulle netting or better yet, cellophane wrap. If you’re going to use a lot of cellophane you can purchase it in large rolls wholesale through the packaging specialty stores throughout the U.S. but should be easily found in craft stores.

Tie off the wrapped basket with ribbon. Wired fabric ribbon is best if you have it.

For bows: You can use pre-packaged bows but making your own bow is easy and a better presentation if you can do it. Use a huge beautiful bow.

Assemble all your gift basket items, the tools you need, etc. Now line your selected gift container. Then stuff the selected filler into the gift basket to give added height to your items. Place, layer and arrange your selected items on the filler in the gift container. Put the larger items in the back, the smaller items in front.

Fill in the holes or prop up with more filler (shredded paper, Easter basket grass, wrapped chocolates, napkins or holiday napkins etc.)

Also you can use ‘picks’ of artificial flowers to fill in small open spots.

Place your cellophane or other wrap under the gift basket. Center the gift basket on the wrap. Bring the cellophane or other wrap over the top of the gift basket and tie it with ribbon and/or a beautiful bow! Use ribbon and bows to match your theme colors.

Tuck a personalized card in the ribbon and that’s it!

General tips: You can find fabric or wired ribbon cheaply at Costco — especially in the fall prior to Christmas or around holidays but often throughout the year in most stores. You can shred colored paper in a paper shredder.

Try to use non-perishable items except, of course, when making fruit baskets. Use freshly packaged food items; packaged crackers and cookies can go stale in a couple of months.

You can find filler flower ‘picks’ at garage sales cheaply. If you buy ‘picks’ wholesale they are usually around a dollar each.

Try not to mix chocolate or other food fragrant items with non-food fragrant items in the same basket.

Also there’s nothing like learning how to make gift baskets from a video or DVD for making cheap and easy gift baskets. You can view it over and over again and share it with your children, other family members and friends. You can even charge for classes with your new-found knowledge and/or start a home based business if you so desire. In any event, making a gourmet mom gift basket can be cheap and easy.

For more information on how to make gift baskets and how to start a gift basket business, go to http://www.HowToMakeBeautifulGiftBaskets.com a website specializing in making gift baskets, gift basket business tips, help, advice and resources including information on drop shipping gift baskets