Q&A with Janelly Andrade-Gonzales
What makes cross-stitch unique among the popular fiber arts?
Cross-stitch is unique because it uses an x-shaped stitch. Although there are many different styles of cross-stitch, it is mainly characterized by the use of this stitch.
How does cross-stitch intersect with the women’s rights movement?
Cross-stitch intersects with the women’s rights movement as it was traditionally taught in schools through samplers, which are decorative pieces of needlework, and other forms to prepare them for domestic lives. Today, many women use cross-stitch to stitch pieces with empowering messages and symbols to reclaim the craft that was once associated with restrictive gender roles.
What do we know about Susan B. Anthony’s cross-stitching?
Cross-stitch was a skill that young girls were taught in school, so Susan would have learned this skill creating a sampler with her family tree and later added her youngest sisters to the sampler.
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned about cross-stitch in researching for this lecture?
The most surprising thing I learned was how widows of the Revolutionary War used their cross-stitch samplers in the 1830s to support cases for pension. Because other forms of proof could be scarce, the samplers were accepted as evidence of their marriage.
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