Description:
Table runner, with paper label (1.75” x 2 .75”) on back: THE SOCIETY OF BLUE/ AND WHITE NEEDLE/ WORK M.C.W. / no. 7 / “Royal blue (on “wood gray”) / DEERFIELD … MASS.” Margaret Christine Whiting (1860-1946) was one of the founders of the Deerfield Society of Blue and White Needlework. Polychrome linen embroidery on plain weave linen ground, dyed blue linen appliqué, depicting abstracted floral motif at either narrow end. The Deerfield Society of Blue and White Needlework was founded by Margaret Christine Whiting and Ellen Miller in 1896 initially as a way to preserve 18th-century needlework and domestic textiles that were suffering from the ravages of time. Their decision to use naturally dyed linen embroidery floss, rather than the wool (crewel) yarns of the 18th century, was done in part to protect against factors like moth damage. The Society's works won numerous awards both nationally and internationally before disbanding in 1926.

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