Grandmother's Piece

7½" x 10"

The story of "Grandmother's Piece" - My Ancestral Legacy

I inherited my passion and talent for stitching from both of my Grandmothers, my Mother and various Aunts on both sides of my family.

My maternal Grandmother, Frieda Gross, worked as a seamstress and created handwork just for the pleasure of it , while living in New York and later in Cleveland, Ohio.

Elsie Sole, my Mother, carried on the tradition by sewing clothes, and stitching the background of needlepoint ,which seemed to be the hobby of her day. I suppose that my Mother's crafts needed to be portable to allow for our various moves within Canada from Kirkland Lake to Kitchener to London to Toronto.

The only tangible proof that I have of all of this talent is in the framed needlepoint picture that is pictured here. This wonderful old needlepoint was given to me by my Aunt Susie, shortly before her passing in her eighty-fifth year. Aunt Susie was my Father's youngest sister, one of seven siblings. This needlepoint was stitched by their Mother, my Grandmother, Regina Berman in the late 1800's in Hungary.

On June 26, 1998 I went to Aunt Susie's apartment to visit. I took some "show and share" so she could enjoy seeing what I was stitching. She was fascinated with *Trois Oiseaux which I was carrying, in hand, unfinished. Aunt Susie prided herself on being the family historian. (I believe that she handed me the need to chronicle for the family.) Aunt Susie and I both knew that she was reaching the end of her days.

She offered me my Grandmother's needlepoint but I had to choose between two of them. I wanted both. I gently told her that I would love to have it and that I planned to exhibit all of my pieces in some way, including this one, hoping that she would give me both of them. She didn't take my hint because she had someone else in mind for the other piece.

I was reluctant to take the piece from her as a symbol of her shortening days, but I eagerly accepted it as my birthday gift for the following day.

Aunt Susie inscribed on the back, according to my wish, "To Roz on her 60th Birthday, with love, Aunt Susie, June 27/98".

This piece fascinates me with this very romantic image.
It silently informs me that my Grandmother was romantic.
I can feel her whispering to me that I'd better credit her for my own romantic legacy.

* Trois Oiseaux can be seen in the Orchestral Gallery.