The Guild of St Clare sponsors a stitch

Lucy writes: The Royal School of Needlework has a project to preserve knowledge of stitches with an online archive, called the Stitch Bank. Benefactors can sponsor an addition to this bank, in honour of a living person or in memory of someone who has died.

The Guild is pleased to have been able to sponsor a stitch, in memory of the youngest daughter of our much valued friend and supporter, Olga Watkin. Evelyn, who some will remember from last year's Sewing Retreat, died shortly before Christmas after a 22 month battle with bone cancer, aged 16. 

Requiem aeternam dona ei Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei.



More about the Stitch Bank. The bank was launched by Royal School of Needlework in 2020. The website conserves and displays embroidery stitches, with information about the history of each one along with instructions on how to work them.

The RSN hopes that, eventually, they will be able to create an entry for every stitch in the world, including historic stitches. At the moment there are 475 entries, and the creators of the Stitch Bank are expecting to reach the 500 milestone in March this year.

This is a project very close to my heart, as in its spirit and aims it is aligned very closely with the work of the Guild of St Clare. It is an attempt to capture and preserve skills which may otherwise be lost, and to make them available freely, in order to nurture and spread them.

The Guild's sponsorship has been made possible by the generosity of our many benefactors. We have been assigned the Fence Stitch, and its entry on the Stitch Wall will carry an acknowledgement of our gift, and of Evelyn.