Quaker Community: Embroidery

Stitching with Sally

Phoebe Thiessen

In October last year, Agnes Knogler’s Year 9/10 Textiles class was given the opportunity to be involved in an embroidery workshop run by Sally O’Wheel, a member of the Friends in Stitches committee which coordinates the Australian Quaker Narrative Embroidery Project.

During the workshop, Sally taught us about this embroidery project and its purpose as well as who can get involved. We learnt how to do different stitches and began a new unit on hand sewing. With the help of Sally, we have been able to expand our knowledge around the skill of embroidery and manage to improve our sewing abilities. The Australia Quaker Narrative Embroidery Project is a community art project which is open towards anyone, no experience required. Participation for all is encouraged even if you just want to design one of the panels rather than help stitch. So far, the group has completed 23 different embroidery panels with another 10 in progress but have enough resources for 70. With this unit, Agnes and Sally are organising our class to each sketch and embroider our own individual design inspired by one or more of the Quaker testimonies. These designs will then be pieced together and transformed into a quilt.

Year 9 student, Esther Falloon, gave her opinion on the unit and how it has allowed her to improve her skills, “I really enjoyed learning from Sally because even though I have done a little bit of embroidery in the past I still learned lots of new stitches. It was also very nice and relaxing because we were able to work outside in the sun and just chat whilst doing our stitching.”

When asking Agnes why she chose embroidery for our new unit, she said that Nadine Frick, a member of Friends in Stitches and teacher at The Friends’ School, suggested the idea and “At that point, we had done a fair bit of sewing so I was keen for my students to learn a new skill.”

Taking some time away from the sewing machines and doing some hand work instead has allowed us all to improve the skills we had and work on achieving a meaningful as well as pretty embroidery design that represents one of the quaker testimonies and shows its importance.

With this unit, Sally has taught us many new skills as well as stitches. During her workshop she taught how to do the French knot, the Quaker stitch as well as reinforce our knowledge on some more simple stitches like backstitch and chain stitch.

We are all very thankful for Sally ‘O’ Wheel for giving up her time to teach our class more about The Friends In Stitches Committee and the skill of embroidery.

Sally with Year 9 Textiles students (from front): Esther Falloon, Phoebe Thiessen, Sophie Kennedy. Photo: Agnes Knogler. Year 9 student Bethany Woolley practising her stitches. Photo: Sally O’Wheel.

Stitch-by-stitch stories

Nadine Frick

For hundreds of years, embroidered tapestries have told and recorded our stories, from the symbolism of family crests to landscapes to important events. Historically—and still, predominantly, although not exclusively—it is women’s work.

Coming from this rich heritage of visual storytelling is The Australian Quaker Narrative Embroidery Project: Friends in Stitches. I spoke with Sally O’Wheel, Co-convener of the Project’s committee, about storytelling and ‘painting pictures with thread’ when she worked with our 9/10 Textiles students last year, passing on her skills and inspiring a younger generation to stitch stories.

Nadine: How long have you been embroidering?

Sally: My first embroidery was on the pocket of my overalls in 1976. It was inspired by walking the South Coast track and it depicted stems of button grass with a mountain back ground. Actually, in Grade 5, (1962), I was shamed when my cross stitch was held up to the class as an example of bad work.

Nadine: How did The Australian Quaker Narrative Tapestry Project come about?

Sally: Two Australian Quakers volunteered at the Kendal Quaker Tapestry Museum in England. On the way home in the plane they dreamt of an Australian Quaker Tapestry.

Nadine: How did you get involved?

Sally: Tessa and Cathy ran a workshop in Ulverstone for our small Quaker meeting in 2012. I learned the Quaker stitch, made a name tag and went away inspired to design my own panel. That became Cherish Our Place, but it took about 10 years before I finished it.

Nadine: How much longer will the project continue?

Sally: We have 24 completed panels and enough fabric for 70 panels. I don’t think it will stop until we have those 70. The fabric was specially commissioned for the project at great expense so Quakers, being very opposed to waste, will want to use it.

Nadine: What happens to the embroidered panels?

Sally: Good question. We hold exhibitions but this has been restricted during COVID. Groups of panels are displayed here and there. Recently, 7 were displayed in the Meeting House in Hobart. Now three are going to Silver Wattle, the Quaker Retreat centre near Canberra. This year, in March, we held an exhibition at the Brisbane Library.

Nadine: How can others get involved?

Sally: There are a lot of stories to tell and we would love others to research stories, design panels, stitch panels or organise exhibitions. You can contact us on our web page. We invite new friends to become involved. We have kits and we can meet you at Zoom Meetings for Stitching.

Nadine: Is there something, about either narrative tapestries or this project, you think it is interesting or important for people to know?

Sally: Narrative embroidery has been done for hundreds of years. It is a really special way to record history. Stitching is addictive, meditative and wonderful to do. Anyone who wants to can do it. You don’t need any special talent.

Nadine: Do you have anything else you wish to add?

Sally: I really enjoyed working with the Textiles Class at Friends’ School. The Friends’ School panel is beautiful and you should all be very proud of it.