We Celebrate Labor Day!

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, honors the accomplishments of working people -- but to be honest, I always associated this holiday with the unofficial end of summer and the beginning of school. But today is a memorable Labor Day for me, a milestone of a 7-month-long project. "272 Words" has been stitched and framed. This blog, however, continues on. After all, President Lincoln's Bicentennial year extends to February 12, 2009 and there's lots to talk about. It's rather a luxury to have an entire blog devoted to one design. I will publish a chart of the design in the coming months -- details to be posted in mid-September, along with stats (design size, framing specs, etc.).

Today's story is told in pictures. Please click on the photos for a close-up view. Your encouraging comments over these last months continue to inspire, going forward into the next chapter of this sampler's life. I very much appreciate your taking the time to visit!

At times friends asked whether I tired of the project. Apart from a bit of physical fatigue (eye strain, finger cramps), I never tired of Lincoln's message. As stitchers, you are well acquainted with the amount of time involved in stitching even a small piece. With each stitch, the prose slowly appears on the linen, letter by letter -- that gives us time to meditate on each word. The Address unfolded in slow motion, allowing the stitcher time to absorb the depth of Lincoln's message. The Gettysburg Address is a national treasure. Thank you for joining me today.

"272 Words" -- The Gettysburg Address

"Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation . . ."

". . . conceived in Liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."

"Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live."

"It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this."

"But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract."

"The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us . . . "

". . . that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom . . . "

". . . and that government of the people, by the people, for the people . . . "

". . . shall not perish from the earth."

Wrought by Elizabeth C. Gorski, in Honor of
President Abraham Lincoln's Bicentennial Year

New York City

July 4, 2009

"The Gettysburg Address is not a pangram . . . "

Breaking news from the city desk at The American Stitcher: "The Gettysburg Address is Not a Pangram"

This makes me very happy.

What's a pangram? It's a sentence or piece of writing that uses all 26 letters of the alphabet. You know, like . . . "The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over A Lazy Dog."

In certain corners of the literary world, scorekeepers judge works based on their pangrammatic features. A reductio ad alphabetum . . . reducing prose to component letter features, rather than the literacy of the words themselves. I never bought the whole pangram thing, as good writing is remembered for reasons that transcend individual letters.

Pangrammatic sentences are useful for keyboard testers, but to extend it any further would be akin to checking whether Beethoven crammed all the tones of one key into the first stanza of his Fifth Symphony.

Scholars have challenged the story of Lincoln's last-minute preparation of the Address -- like the account of his jotting the Address on the back of an envelope during the train trip to Gettysburg. Rather, evidence suggests that Lincoln took his charge seriously (as was his practice) and prepared drafts of the Address well before his trip, knowing there would be little time to write the speech during his trip or upon his arrival in Pennsylvania.

Not surprising. Good writing -- especially good, terse writing like this 272-word Address -- evolves from numerous drafts which are honed and refined. Those characteristically-slim volumes of Strunk & White tell the story, short and sweet -- S&W practiced what they preached. It's easier to write longer than shorter. It reminds me of a quote from a correspondent/essayist whose name I can't remember: "I apologize for this long letter. If I had more time, it would have been shorter."

And so, kudos to great writing that is driven by carefully-chosen words and not individual letters.

Sampler update: The sampler is in the capable hands of our framing expert, and so I've enlisted other samplers as substitute models for the blog essays . . . like the one above which provides the pangrammatic alphabetic display. Pangrams are perfectly fine for samplers that feature alphabets. :)

Last week Lili asked about the logistics of framing a cross stitch design on linen. The linen is stretched over a piece of acid-free foam board, and then secured (laced) in the back almost corset-style, evenly stretching the fabric across the board. I'm searching for a good on-line tutorial to link to . . . it's an interesting process. I'll get back to you on that.

Talk to you soon . . have a good Monday eve! Cheers, friends!

"The Other Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863"

The first Gettsyburg Address preceded President Lincoln's by about two hours. Delivered by Former Secretary of State Edward Everett, the first oration on that day lasted 2 hours, as opposed to Lincoln's 3-minute address. Everett, a distinguished Boston orator in the tradition of Daniel Webster, opened with these words:

Standing beneath this serene sky, overlooking these broad fields now reposing from the labors of the waning year, the mighty Alleghenies dimly towering before us, the graves of our brethren beneath our feet, it is with hesitation that I raise my poor voice to break the eloquent silence of God and Nature. But the duty to which you have called me must be perfomed; grant me, I pray you, your indulgence and your sympathy.

Everett's 13,607-word speech is quite a contrast to Lincoln's 272 words. A Mahler Symphony followed by a Chopin etude. Or a Dickens novel followed by an Emily Dickinson poem. What a juxtaposition of scale! But art assumes all sizes, and the two men, each in his own way, honored the fallen soldiers at Gettysburg with grace and humility.

The next day's correspondence between the two men began with Everett praising Lincoln's brevity, to which Lincoln replied: "I am pleased to know that, in your judgment, the little I did say was not entirely a failure."

I'm trying to remember the last time I heard today's crop of politicians speak with such humility and elegance.

We have new followers to this blog - welcome all! A few of you have asked about "272 Words" -- will there be a chart? The sampler is still a work in progress and I'll post the answer here by mid-September. I'd like to make the decision after the piece is framed. Your inquiries and kind words have inspired beyond measure.

Back to the matter at hand . . . the sampler is on its way to the framer, and, for the first time in my stitching life -- I hated parting with the linen! Usually there's a happy dance, but not this time. That piece of linen has been a part of my daily life for months. No more tweaks or color changes. No more frogging, reconfiguring, re-stitching. It's time to let go.

Anyone interested in stitching the first Gettysburg Address -- Mr. Everett's -- on linen? It's a mere 13,607 words. :)

I'm taking a couple days' break from stitching, starting tonight . . . can you hear the Apple Martini being made? I hope you'll indulge in a cool drink as well . . .

Cheers, see you in a few days!

"There's no 'I' in team . . . or the Gettysburg Address . . . "

Imagine that. In his address at Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln never uses the personal pronoun "I." He uses "we" throughout. Wow, that's quite an accomplishment for an orator, especially a politician. No wonder these words endure. His priority was to preserve the union, that the nation "shall not perish from the earth." The entire Address has an inclusive feel, that Americans (the "we") were all in it together.

I apologize for my absence these last few weeks. The work schedule took over and the weeks flew by. Liz from Philadelphia recently visited and we toured the town in a whirlwind, with a bit of nostalgia. She and I met as freshmen at Barnard College (same dorm floor), and we've been friends ever since.

Liz gave me a wonderful souvenir from the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia -- a Betsy Ross Thimble. There's Betsy in the photo, stitching the flag, with the sampler as a backdrop. A thimble is the perfect prop -- I just love it. Thanks, Liz!

It's a good thing that Betsy Ross referred to herself as "Betsy" and not "Liz" (her given name was Elizabeth) -- otherwise this post would be intensely confusing, lol!

Isn't it fantastic that a stitcher plays a key role in the founding of this nation?

Betsy Ross is a Founding Mother, an American icon, a revolutionary figure -- a stitcher!

". . . we can not dedicate ~ we can not consecrate ~ we can not hallow ~ this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract." ~ Abraham Lincoln

Memorial Day has its roots in the post-Civil War era, when individual towns started to observe Decoration Day. People "decorated" the graves of Union and Confederate soliders with flowers. The "Birthplace of Memorial Day" is Waterloo Village, New York -- it is credited with the first Decoration Day observance on May 5, 1866. Most of us know Decoration Day, now called Memorial Day, as a national holiday observed on the last Monday in May.

In his address at Gettysburg, President Lincoln honors soldiers as having "consecrated" the land through their ultimate sacrifice. To consecrate -- to sanctify, to make holy.

In the modern interpretation of Memorial Day, the concept of "consecration" extends to all U.S. soldiers who fought in any war. The men and women who have given their lives for our country have indeed blessed us, the living, with a way of life that is defined by freedom.

I grew up on the New Jersey Shore and so, today marks the start of beach season. Yay! (Tonight, every bar on the Jersey Coast will be packed to the gills -- which exit on the turnpike? Every exit.) The scent of tanning lotion is in the air. Bring on the fun -- let's picnic, barbeque, swim, play tennis, surf, travel, garden, clean our closets, relax and . . . stitch.

Here in New York City, it's Fleet Week. The Yankees are home, playing at the new Yankee Stadium. (We're on a 9-game winning streak!) The Town is abuzz with visitors and us locals who love long weekends in the city.

This weekend of leisure is made possible by the same sacrifices that Lincoln described at Gettysburg. I'll make sure to take time on Monday, to honor the servicemen and servicewomen who gave their lives -- in order to preserve our way of life.

Have a good Memorial Day Weekend!

"that the government of the people, by the people and for the people, shall not perish from the earth" ~Abraham Lincoln

The sampler is coming along slowly, but surely -- this photo captures a section of the first 100 words. I'm way behind, as I should have been farther along as if this date. (Sigh) Work, life, stuff -- they're wild cards. I'm getting concerned about making my July 4th deadline, but there's still time to regroup . . . eek, I better get back on schedule!

The next time you write a speech, be sure to study the Gettysburg Address for form and function. Abraham Lincoln uses an age-old oratorical technique called parallel construction -- rhythmic word/sound repetition. The stunning last phrase -- "of the people, by the people and for the people" -- is an example of this technique.

Parallel construction has been around for centuries -- consider Julius Caesar's not-so-humble "Veni, Vidi, Vici" ("I came, I saw, I conquered"). Not a day goes by when we don't see VENI clued as "Part one of Great Caesar's boast" in a crossword puzzle.

And there's . . . Henry David Thoreau's "Simplicity, Simplicity, Simplicity!" Timothy Leary's psychedlic credo of the 1960s, "Turn on, tune in, drop out." (Dopey advice, if you'll pardon the pun.) And Gertrude Stein's mantra-like "rose is a rose is a rose is a rose."

Apropos to the mission of this blog, one of the most notable examples occurred in August 1963 -- 100 years after the Gettysburg Address, when Martin Luther King delivered a speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Dr. King repeated the phrase "I have a dream . . ." so memorably that the speech is referred to as the "I Have A Dream" speech.

And King sustains the momentum. He repeats "Let Freedom Ring . . . " (evoking the image of a ringing Liberty Bell perhaps) that leads to the final parallel construction: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

* * * * *

Happy Mother's Day to all . . . this earlier essay pays tribute through Lincoln's words about his own mother.

" If people said what they thought, most conversations would be brief " ~Author Unknown

Though this quote isn't ascribed to Abraham Lincoln, it sounds like something he'd say.

Brevity -- the soul of wit, according to Shakespeare. It's also the mark of a great writer. In this case, Abraham Lincoln used brevity -- a solemn, dignified brevity -- to honor the memory of fallen soldiers. Few orators -- indeed perhaps only those at President Lincoln's level -- could write a two-page speech that would become one of the most quoted addresses in American history. The Gettysburg Address contains 272 words, arranged in only ten sentences.

The Gettysburg Address is shorter than this blog entry.

As you can see, I decided to make the upper-case letters, the sentence starters, extra large -- to break up the density of the text. The sampler is configured in an east-west design, with sweeping lines of text, running from coast to coast. Those extra-large capital letters add variety to the long lines. I think they'll make the prose easier to read.

And now, it's time to introduce two hard-working cast members: Linen and Thread. [Polite applause.]

The sampler is stitched (over two threads) on 32-count Lambswool Linen from Wichelt Imports. The thread is Nutmeg from The Gentle Art. This design calls for a huge amount of Nutmeg -- enough to spice up 272 gallons of egg nog.

Why am I even thinking about egg nog today? It's 91 degrees in New York City. You could fry a block of tofu on the sidewalk. Entirely too hot and humid for April! We have no choice but to cool off with the appropriate beverages. This evening we'll mix up some Sour Apple Martinis (Apple Schnapps, Vodka, Maraschino Cherry, Ice, Ice, Ice). Jeeves, please turn on the Casablanca fan . . .

I wonder if The Gentle Art makes Sour Apple Martini thread . . . Happy Sunday to all, and I hope you'll partake in some pre-prandial beverages this evening!

"Four score and seven years ago . . ."

Liz M. from Philadelphia asked about the font specs for the sampler. Well, here they are, photographed with a ring as a proportional gauge. The letters are a cross between primitive-style sampler letters and handwritten script.

Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address in November of 1863. "Four score and seven years ago" refers to 1776, when "our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation conceived in Liberty . . . " I recently watched the HBO "John Adams" series which brilliantly chronicled the events leading up to 1776. How gratifying it was to see Paul Giamatti in a formidable role, as John Adams. I'm probably the only person on the Upper West Side of Manhattan who hated "Sideways" -- an insipid film that squandered Giamatti's great talent. (But what do I know? -- "Sideways" won an Oscar.) The film is set in California wine country and supposedly had an impact on the wine industry. Heck, all I remember was a non-stop kvetch-fest between two guys. Seems to me that "Sideways" was all about the whine industry.

Hey, if you're on Jeopardy and Alex asks about the year of the Gettysburg address, simply add "four score and seven years" (87) to 1776 -- and that equals 1863. When you're stitching words at geologic speed -- usually after midnight, at an average of one word per hour -- there's time to think about these things.

Folks have asked about the photos on this blog -- the stitching, designs, etc. In a parallel universe I'm the owner of Primrose Needleworks and this is a homespun blog chronicling the creation of "272 Words," a new design. All the needlework shown on this blog is designed and stitched by yours truly. I'm using photos of published and unpublished designs under the Primrose Needleworks copyright. Most closeups are snippets of larger designs, like the scottie pic.

Holly asked that I post a photo of the scottie sampler . . . this is "Colette's Dog Sampler" and I'm sure President Lincoln would have agreed with Colette, the French author whose quotation is featured herein.

Daily Practice

Liz from Philadelphia -- violinist, lawyer and person extraordinaire -- is ahead of the curve on good stuff. Years ago she introduced me to the Ashokan Farewell. If you watched Ken Burns' The Civil War, you heard a beautiful violin solo -- a lonely waltz that weaves through each episode. That's the Ashokan Farewell composed by Jay Ungar.

As research for the sampler, I've revisited the Burns documentary. I'm still haunted by Ungar's waltz. Yesterday I tried it out on the viola . . . hey-hey, it sounds good a fifth lower (in G major now), with the open strings and double stops. I love the dark viola sound, so intriguing, mysterious -- the Edgar Allan Poe of stringed instruments. I've arranged Beethoven's Spring Sonata for the viola, only now it sounds like a Late Autumn Sonata. That's okay by me.

This week's task is -- experimenting with fonts and thread colors for the Gettysburg Sampler. Every mega-sampler starts with a single stitch.

Happy Birthday, Mr. President!

Last night PBS aired some great programs about Abraham Lincoln, a tie-in to this day's bicentennial -- it is Lincoln's 200th birthday. It's a big day for me -- I start stitching "272 Words," the Gettysburg Address sampler which is the subject of this blog. I finally located a cut of linen large enough for the job -- leaving room for design elements that will accompany the text of the speech.

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is hailed for its simplicity. He used plain and direct language -- a practice honed when, as a young lawyer, he reduced legal boilerplate documents to everyday language. There's no clutter in Lincoln's speeches -- but I'm surprised to learn that his office was a disaster zone. Much to his law partner's dismay, Lincoln's workstation was a cluttered mess; he kept a folder on his desk labeled -- "When You Can't Find It Anywhere Else, Look Into This."

Wouldn't "Miscellaneous" suffice?

A Proclamation

Three weeks and two days ago, I decided to embark on a project that, for years, has bounced from one to-do list to another, and mentally filed away under "Some Day." Well, "some day" is here. Next week our country celebrates the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth. There is no better time to start on said project -- a cross stitch sampler featuring the 272-word text of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address of November 19, 1863.

Here's the plan: I commence stitching next week, on Lincoln's 200th birthday -- Thursday, February 12. The goal is to complete the sampler on July 4. These historic dates seem like practical punctuation marks, though I suspect that Life will intervene and send my neat little plan into a tailspin. That's okay . . . I work best with a deadline.

Pre-stitching prep work is a needleworker's mise en place -- fabric is purchased, floss is selected, a stitching chart is designed. I've named this cross stitch chart "272 Words." It's time to go to work.