Tapestry of Spirit presents the ambitious and inclusive social project to create a cross-stitched representation of the Torah.  This installation features texts from the books of Genesis, Exodus, and Deuteronomy, along with selections for the Scriptures and the Qur’an. It includes the first five books of the Bible, reflecting on the theme of creation.

It is an immersive installation that has been collectively created by almost 1500 volunteers of many faiths, under the artistic leadership of Temma Gentles (Toronto). Visitors will journey through nearly 1000 panels in three languages (Hebrew, Greek and Arabic) including illuminations and embellishments by stitchers from 28 countries who have interpreted these ancient narratives into contemplative, often highly personal expressions.

Volunteer Barbara Feldman’s cross-stitch —After Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dreams and develops a strategy to save Egypt from future starvation, the king honours him with splendid robes (Genesis 41: 49-52).

The Torah stitchers live world wide.  Upon volunteering, they received a package with fabric, thread and chart. It was necessary to follow the directions exactly so that the design was centred and there was adequate fabric for alignment with other panels and for assembly.  The stitcher was able to add small extras to the panel if there was space.  As you can see from the first photo, there are many embellishments to the text.  I picked  two out of hundreds to show you.  The tapestry is full of birds, animals, flowers and designs as you can see in the first photo.

You can read more about The Torah: Stitch by Stitch Project by going to

The Tapestry is currently on display in the Textile Museum Toronto.

It has been open since June but closes on November 17, 2019.

With great regret,  Marie Fenwick, Susan Clinesmith and myself will NOT be visiting  The Toronto Historical Embroidery on Wednesday, October 23, which is next week.

When we made the date in July we were younger!!  Time has moved on.  We are now older than we were back then.  It saddens us all, but undertaking traveling into downtown Toronto is more than we are physically able to undertake at this time.

Of course, we regret it.  Toronto is now a major city with a lot of traffic and a lot of people. The Subway System is geared to younger folk.  Driving is a challenge and from here, going in to Toronto out of rush hour, is problematic.

Remember, it was 37 years ago that the Embroidery was completed and 43 years ago when it was started.

There is always the phone and the internet.  They allow us to communicate without the hazards of being physically somewhere else.

Bless technology.  Our thanks to the young people who have created it.

Thank you readers everywhere,

Ann

The Toronto Historical Embroidery was completed and installed.  That is Marie on the right wearing the white sweater and Sue is centre front.

We celebrated!!  Why not!  After six years of intensive effort and the participation of 140 stitchers.  The Toronto Guild of Stitchery had achieved an incredible feat.  We were rightfully proud of ourselves. And, we were all so young!

And then what?

Most of us remained members of the Toronto Guild, but we basically went back to our normal lives.  Basements got tidied up and the extra chairs and tables went back into storage.  We stopped being part of each others’ daily lives.  A few people moved out of town; many of us went back to work either full or part-time.

We got on with our lives – as happens.

It is now 37 years later.  Marie and I have remained constant friends but we have lost track of most of the others.  Sue sent me her photos and Marie sent me her advertising brochure of the Embroidery   We each have a copy of the video which has given much of the specific information for you.

Recently, Marie, Sue and I met for lunch.  Although time had wrought physical changes, we were still the same people and we were glad to be together again.  Marie is on the left with Sue in the centre.  We had lots to talk about of course.  Marie continues to quilt and Sue has taken it up since she retired.  I continue to stitch but it has become increasingly sporadic.

We plan to meet again at noon on Wednesday, October 23.  We are going to City Hall to see the Embroidery and I hope to get a few more photos of the embroidery in its new location.  I would like to take a video if possible.

Here is how to find the Toronto Historical Embroidery.

On to the ground floor of City Hall, you will find Cafe on the Square. Behind the cafe, there is a corridor and a staircase going down to the lower level.  The Embroidery is located at the bottom of the stairs.  It has its own lighting system and audio presentation which you can turn on.

Visiting is free.  It is in excellent condition as it was well made, well finished and is protected from daylight and dirt.

If you are in Toronto downtown that day and just happen to be there, we would love to include you in our trip down memory lane.

Thank you for following this blog and I hope that you have found this series on the Toronto Historical Embroidery interesting.

Your comments would be most welcome.

The panels, frieze and end bars were all completed.  The frieze is being joined together.  You will be recognising the different figures in the frieze.  For instance, Joe, Luigi and Mario are continuing to build the subway system – followed by the business lady and the hippies.

A long-awaited moment. Let’s see how it might look.  Though still in the den, it looks,—amazing!!  That is Sue on the right; Colleen Darling on the left. She stitched many of the figures including the Highlander in the kilt.

The organisers checked every figure, every detail and when totally satisfied, they started putting it together.  Everything was mounted on plexiglass padded with Fleecy Pellon and covered with factory cotton.

The eighteen panels were mounted in sets of three.  The frieze was divided into two parts. The end panels were another two long and narrow panels.  All ware laced with linen thread.  This was a huge job and needed a new and specialized team led by Georgina Mentis.

Threads and fabrics were packaged and placed inside the frame along with a panel on which every stitcher embroidered her name.  Sue also has a list of who stitched every figure and the threads they used.

It was completely finished after six years of detailed planning and stitching, with eight days to spare!

All the sections were packed separately and transported to City Hall in a van.

The long sections of the frieze and end panels would not fit into the elevator and had to be hand-carried up the stairs. The installation team of seven and some  City Hall employees installed it in the entrance hallway of the Council Chambers on the third floor.

Presentation Day was memorable.  Marie was president and made the speech.  The gift was accepted by the Mayor, Art Egleton.

Marie Fenwick, President of the Toronto Guild of Stitchery presents the Toronto Historical Embroidery to the City of Toronto. March 4, 1984

There is one final and wonderful photo of Sue in front of the Embroidery which is both dramatic and gives everyone an idea of the large size of the Embroidery.

I wish that a photo of the completed Toronto Historical Embroidery could be included here.  But it is 24 feet long and 6 feet high and that is big.  The city provided a three-section folder which shows the entire embroidery and includes some information.  It is no longer available after all this time.

I have been trying to include a total photo in two sections but this technology will not cooperate.

And then what happened?   The final chapter will be next.

After the end of the First World War, life became more pleasant for awhile.  There are two ‘flapper girls’ of whom only one is included here. Their gowns and hairstyles are elegant. The depression and soup kitchens followed.  This photo was taken from one of the stitching frames.  You can tell this by the extra fabric at the top and bottom edges.  5″ were included so that there would be adequate for the framing and construction of the frieze.

The next group of figures represent those who served in the Second World War. Rosie, the Riveter, is not included here.

Meet Tony, Luigi and Mario, who were named by the stitchers who worked on them.  Note the rock fragments and the light in this scene.

The Italians came to Toronto to work on building the subway line in the 1950s.  This  Italian community increased hugely and have built large sections of our modern city. It is now, or was, the fourth-largest Italian city in the world.  Our city is now home to large populations from multiple countries.  We are a multinational and multicultural city and are proud of it. Immigrants have enriched Toronto in more ways than I am aware of or can imagine.  When you come here, you will be able to enjoy restaurants that feature the cuisine of almost every country in the world.

The final scene on the frieze is of Kensington Market as it was in the 1980s. The market is still there though it has become more organised than it was 40 years ago. The buyers and the seller, as portrayed here, are new Canadians selling canadian apples.  The scene includes children as well as a cat and a dog which you will see when you visit.

Some, but not all of the sections of the frieze have been joined together.  Note all the extra fabric all around the embroidery to allow for mounting. Still in the basement!

There are many historical embroideries in existence all of which are unique.  This series gives you a close view of what is involved in making a large embroidery.  The considerable amount of planning and preparation was successful in precluding problems during the creative process. In fact, I do not recall hearing of problems prior to the stage of assembly.

Next, the assembly of the Toronto Historical Embroidery.

This group of closely packed people represent the large wave of immigrants to Toronto in the 1800s. The artist added more women and children to the design of the frieze at the request of the members of the Toronto Guild of Stitchery.   Notice the different facial features of the people.  Stitching the faces was a challenge which became the speciality of only a few members.  They experimented with different thread colours and stitch directions.  This group appear to be European but you will notice different nationalities in later scenes.

Toronto experienced two major fires which did extensive damage to the city.  I stitched the flames using a technique from my days as a student at the Royal School of Needlework.  It is/was called – stitching to a vein without a vein.  Am not sure how well this worked but it was a technique change from split stitch . This is a snapshot taken while the piece was still on the frame.

The First World War.  Canada sent many men to assist with the war effort despite the fact that it was a young country with a small population.  The soldier in his tartan kilt is a masterpiece of correct detail and stitching.  He was stitched by Coleen Darling and the members noticed that he looked remarkably like her husband even down his red hair. Please pay special attention to him when you go to see the actual embroidery. No photograph does him justice.

There were multiple fabrics used in panels and the frieze.  As colour was so important the right ones were found in cotton, polyester, silk, satin and Ultrasuede.  Ultrasuede was used in large areas of the panels and for the windows of the buildings. As it does not fray, accuracy of size and shape was achievable despite some pieces being the size of a thumbnail.

The sky and lake water in the panels are hand-painted silk.  The threads in the frieze include Anchor, DMC, Cotton a Broder, Appleton’s and Medici wool.

Another peek at a panel being stitched.  This is Doris Spurr who worked on the embroidery extensively and who is the narrator of the video that was made. This frame is the final one set in 1984.

At both ends of the embroidery are vertical panels showing the coats of arms of the city of Toronto.  These are 6 feet high, are worked on tapestry canvas using a variety of canvas work stitches.  Roller frames were used to hold the canvas and as a section was completed, the canvas was rolled forward to expose the next section.  Even this part of the Embroidery was a huge amount of stitching.  I have no close-up photos to show you of the vertical end panels so please look at them closely if you have a chance to visit the embroidery which is located within City Hall in Toronto.

There is lots more to share with you.  The actual ‘stitcbing’ is only part of this huge undertaking.

More, in the next posting!