Why Stitching Sisters?
A few years ago, my youngest sister, Theresa Ward, sent an email to me and the rest of my sisters. There are six of us—the Ward Girls from New Jersey—and no brothers. The story goes, my father (the only son in his clan), Pat, always wanted a boy. And when mom, Betty, learned she was expecting child #5, they thought finally, it would be a boy. A few months later, twins were on their way and confidently prematurely-named, Patrick and Daniel. But alas, Kathleen and Theresa were born. That made six of us sisters.
Back to Theresa’s email, she addressed us as Sisters and went on to tell us what time to arrive at what house and bring what dish, a normal correspondence that transcribes between families. But the word sisters brought such a feeling of closeness, camaraderie and shared history that I was taken back. We Ward Girls are spread out over the United States and I miss them. Everyday I miss them. I miss all of them—I miss their opinions (solicited or not), I miss their familiar faces and hands, I miss their idiosyncrasies, I miss their quick-witted minds and great lines (we are Jersey Girls, after all), I miss their laughter and their stories. But most of all, I miss my ‘sisterhood’. The communal feeling we get when we’re together. We slip into the roles of our youth, the language of our family and the gentle jesting that makes us a sisterhood.
I experience a similar feeling whenever I teach at a two or three day embroidery seminar. In a roomful of strangers, we quickly connect with our hobby, then its’ the location where we hail from, then maybe the brand of machine we own, and finally, it’s the experience of struggling, learning and enjoying this great hobby. By the end of the event, the sisterhood exists—the faces are now familiar, the individual struggles or challenges are shared and the jokes fly around the room. So when I was asked to name this section of the website where everyone could connect, I immediately thought of Sisters, the Stitching Sisters. Join us, log on often, connect with other Sisters and enjoy. And if you’re a brother—join in too, there’s always room for plenty of brothers.
~Eileen
