The History Of Sewing, North Lincoln Historical Museum

A new exhibit titled, "A Stitch in Time: The Sewing Arts," explores the history of hand sewing at the North Lincoln County Historical Museum in Lincoln City."Sewing has a rich and wonderful history," Anne Hall, curator and director of the museum, explained. "It is an ancient art. In its simplest form, it involves the stitching of cloth or other materials using needle and thread, but that is only the beginning. Sewing has evolved into something quite extraordinary over time."While sewing isn't a necessity for women today," Hall continued, "hand sewing was an essential skill in the 1800s. It was taught very early to young girls; and if a woman was not cooking, cleaning, or attending to her children she was sewing. It wasn't exactly a leisurely activity, just something that needed to be done. Today women are interested in the finer aspects of sewing. A short walk through history will show you how sewing went from a chore to a fun and creative hobby."
Hall said she considers sewing an "art" because, "Sewing is the foundation for many needle arts and crafts. 'Fancy' sewing is primarily decorative, including techniques such as needlepoint, tatting, embroidery and quilting. Anyone who has been to a quilt show or examined a fine piece of embroidery or needle point will agree that they are works of art."The North Lincoln County Historical Museum exhibit includes early sewing tools, examples of sewing techniques and information on the origins of different kinds of sewing and sewing tools. Many of the artifacts are on loan from private collectors and date from the mid 1800s to the 1950s. "Of special interest is a 1932 hand-made spinning wheel on loan from Arlene and Lyle Gowing," Hall said. "Toni Brodie loaned us just a small portion of her extensive collection. Some items are very rare. All of them are beautiful and interesting."The exhibit opens Saturday, June 23 and will continue until Dec. 15. The museum is located at 4907 SW Highway 101 in Lincoln City. Hours are from noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.
Source Newport News Times