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The threads of our lives: Sandra Miesel on how women as diverse as Mary Queen of Scots and Armenian orphans have let their fingers do the talking.

Article Excerpt
THE FATES knew it, the Valiant Woman of the Bible knew it, and countless pioneer women in America knew it: Women and thread go together. Because fiber has been part of our lives for at least 25,000 years, our history could be written in thread as well as ink. Of course, what women knotted, stitched, or wove with those threads has varied so wildly across time that no more than a few small swatches can be stitched together here.

Needlework has long been an occasion for sociability. It seals the bond between mothers and daughters and among friends. The old-time quilting bee is well remembered, although most quilts were actually solo products. The spinning bee, an evening gathering for work and gossip in early modern France and Germany, was so much fun that clergymen objected. They feared that women away from their homes at night must be up to no good.

Items of handmade needlework remain customary gifts for friends and family. They're a favorite expression of charity, whether socks for soldiers, layettes for poor infants, or afghans for the homeless. Thread holds memories, for instance in the friendship album quilt, a collective gift where each square was made and signed by a different woman.

Needlework also has provided solace for women who could control their fibers but...

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