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Hundreds of hand-stitched works have filled eight rooms at Woodlawn Plantation, where an annual needlework show is drawing entries from across 33 states and three countries.
The exhibition features 600 pieces and runs through March 31. Organizers say participation has surpassed pre-pandemic levels, reinforcing the event’s reputation as the country’s largest and longest-running needlework show.
The judged works span embroidery, crewel, drawn thread, needlepoint, counted cross-stitch, lace, smocking, beadwork, canvaswork and quilting. Their subjects range from landscapes, buildings and people to food, nature and abstract designs.
Among the standouts is Kathy Rabun’s blue-ribbon-winning Quaker sampler wing chair. Rabun carefully stitched personal phrases into the piece, including “Highlights of My Life” and “My Heroes.”
The event is sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Nelly’s Needlers, the group that founded the show and is marking its 50th anniversary. Its name honors Eleanor “Nelly” Custis Lewis, Woodlawn’s first owner and a needleworker herself.
A craft shared across generations
Event co-chair Deb Kempton described stitching as a practice found across cultures, pointing to traditions in Scandinavia and Ukraine. One entry illustrating that reach is Diana Grichuk’s counted-thread Romanian national blouse.
The exhibition also includes work by children. Sixth graders from Bush Hill Elementary School won first place in their division for a quilt created under teacher Jenny Pratt’s supervision.
Each student made a nine-patch square for the quilt, which the class dedicated to Ona Judge. Judge was enslaved at George and Martha Washington’s Mount Vernon estate before escaping and remaining free despite efforts to capture her.
Entries were evaluated by three needle-arts judges according to the maker’s age and the type of work. Eligible pieces had to be completed during the previous year by a living person, stitched using a handheld threaded needle and appropriately finished.
The adult divisions included entrants 18 and older and those 70 and older. Youth categories covered ages 9 and younger, 10 to 13, and 14 to 17.
Judges looked for precisely formed stitches, consistent tension and thread that remained pristine rather than worn.
Stitching as therapy
For several participants, needlework offers benefits beyond artistic expression.
Co-chair Diane Clark of Clifton said stitching supports mental health because it can be calming and relaxing. Dennis Yeatts said the craft helped him recover from a serious injury and later cope with the death of his first wife.
Yeatts first entered a Woodlawn show in 1981 and now designs his own works. His latest entry uses 22 shades of black and gray to portray Confederate Civil War Col. John Mosby alongside a map of the Virginia area associated with him.
He has already finished an entry for next year: a design incorporating 505 colors to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding.
Needlework’s ancient roots
Recent archaeological research indicates that stitching traditions on the continent stretch back roughly 13,000 years.
University of Wyoming archaeologist Dr. Todd A. Surovell and fellow researchers studied proteins in bones found at the La Prele mammoth kill site in eastern Wyoming. Their work identified some of the animals Paleoindians used to produce bone sewing needles, including hares, foxes and bobcats, and possibly extinct cheetahs or lions.
Surovell has local ties, having attended Waynewood Elementary School, Carl Sandburg Middle School and West Potomac High School.
Nelly’s Needlers also created a needlepoint rug that will be raffled in a May 12 drawing. Proceeds from the show support preservation and education at Woodlawn and the neighboring Pope-Leighey House.