Many countries and cultures have a celebration giving thanks for their harvest and good fortunes. Canada has already celebrated their Thanksgiving Day which occurs on the second Monday of October. This Thursday is Thanksgiving Day for Americans. Abraham Lincoln had proclaimed the last Thursday of November to be the official holiday. That was later changed by Franklin D. Roosevelt to the 4th Thursday of the November.

While doing research on Thanksgiving, I found that the original meal was quite different from today's "traditional" dinner. According to Kathleen Curtin, Food Historian at Plimouth Plantation, their menu may have looked like this:

• Seafood: Cod, eel, clams and lobster
• Wild fowl: Wild turkey, goose, duck, crane, swan, partridge, and eagles
• Meat: venison, seal
• Grain: wheat flour, Indian corn
• Vegetables: pumpkins, peas, beans, onion, lettuce, radishes, carrots
• Fruit: plums, grapes

Besides food, people often associate the cornucopia with this holiday. This word dates back to 1508 from Latin, cornu copiae meaning a horn of plenty. We often see it used as a centerpiece overflowing with fruits, nuts, and vegetables. (reference link)

Okay, I know you are beginning to wonder what this has to do with stitching....we thought it would be fun to see if we could provide you with a...

CORNUCOPIA of CANVASWORK

...reflecting the menu from the first Thanksgiving.....here goes!

Let's start with the cornucopia. We know there were baskets used to gather and serve folds. Most of them were probably woven so these stitches come to mind: basketweave and woven.

ENTREE

For our meat, I would offer up these possibilities-the Turkey, Herring(bone), and Shell(fish) Stitches.

The turkey on their table was much different from the commercially grown turkey of today. It had a very colorful plumage which Columbus associated with the peacock.. He referred to the bird as "tuka" which means peacock in India. Another source said that the name came from the Native American's word for the bird, "firkee". Yet another source said it came from the Hebrew word "Tukki" which means large or big bird. I find that funny because Big Bird's costume from Sesame Street is actually made from white turkey feathers died yellow....literally making him a Big Bird!

Back to our subject...

Shell(fish) of various types were part of the celebration. Let's add them to our "menu".

VEGETABLES

Our cornucopia will have a variety of leafy vegetables and something the colonist called wild rice.

First let's explore our leaf stitches, which are very versatile.

Next we have the wild rice. However, according to the International Wild Rice Association "Wild Rice is (not really a rice, but) an aquatic cereal grain that grows 'wild' in isolated lake and river bed areas located primarily within the continent of North America. This evolutionarily ancient grain has been found in layers of the earth dating back some 12,000 years." (reference link)

Just like the rice recipes we have today, the Rice stitch has many variations.

BREADS

The Colonists had corn and wheat flour available to them for their baked goods. We use Indian corn today as decoration primarily because it is a very hard corn, taking a long time for preparation. The Indians at the First Thanksgiving were from the Wampanoag tribe.

The next two stitches are very similar in construction.

SWEETS

Pumpkin pie would not have been on the First Thanksgiving menu. However, pumpkin soup was a staple on many tables throughout the year. A pumpkin is a member of the squash family, so does that make it a fruit or a vegetable? It is a fruit, which is defined as being a seed or containing seeds. Therefore, nuts, peas, tomatoes, and even beans are really fruits. Vegetables are plants that don't have seeds. They include leaves, such as cabbage or lettuce; roots, like carrots; bulbs, like onions; and tubers such as potatoes.

Not many sweets would have been present at that first meal. One reason is because sugar and flour were expensive and hard to come by. One possible dessert was a Betty which was a baked pudding where the fruit was layered with bread crumbs. A Cobbler was another probable offering where the fruit is put in a pot and biscuit dough was dropped on top then baked. Both of these desserts were baked probably in a Dutch oven.

I was unable to find a "fruit" stitch so we will finish with the Double Dutch.

I hope you enjoyed our Thanksgiving Day twist. There is so much you can learn about that first Thanksgiving and about Canvaswork, with hundreds of stitches and variations. Check out these fun resources to learn more on either topic.

Many resources were used to compile the stitches and information in this newsletter including:

• The Complete Needlepoint Guide
• The Needlepoint Book
• Needlepoint Stitches
• SuZy's Mini Stitches
• SuZy's Portable Stitches
• Stitch Sampler
• A-Z of Needlepoint

History Channel has a lot to say about Thanksgiving at their website. Visit Brownielocks and the Three Bears website to take a Thanksgiving Trivia quiz.

People Making a Difference

"More than 60 years ago, a young archaeology enthusiast named Henry Hornblower had a vision to create a museum dedicated to recreating the life and times of 17th-century New England." Plimoth Plantation exists today because of the tenacity of Mr. Hornblower, with powerful personal experiences of history. When you visit you are immersed in life as it was when the colonists settled in America. There are also on-line resources for all ages to learn the real stories about the Native Americans and the Colonists. Research continues today through the examination of archeological remains, writings, and oral histories.

One fascinating aspect of the Plantation is their rare animal breeding program. "Animals were an integral part of agriculture in England as well as in New England, providing not only food and hides but also manure for fertilizing fields. The colonists imported livestock to help create a permanent settlement. Plimoth Plantation raises Wiltshire Horn sheep, San Clemente goats, Red Dorking chickens, and Tamworth pigs. Each of these breeds has been selected as an animal that best represents the livestock found in Plymouth Colony in 1627. All of the breeds raised at the museum are traditional livestock breeds that are in danger of extinction and are included in the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) Conservation Priority List. For example Kerry and Milking Devon cattle and Arapawa and San Clemente goats are listed as "critical" conservation priorities with fewer than 200 annual registrations in the United States and an estimated global population of less than 2,000 animals." There is an adoption program if you want to help them with their mission of preserving these rare and interesting breeds. Many of these breeds do not look like the farms animals we think of today. To learn more about visiting the Plantation go to their website.

SWEET AND SALTY PUMPKIN SEEDS

NOTE: You can start with fresh pumpkin seeds that have been cleaned, rinsed and patted dry. Heat your oven to 300 degrees and spread the seeds on a baking sheet. Bake them until dry throughout, about 50 to 60 minutes. Or you can start with pre-roasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds. Get the ones without salt.

• 2 cups roasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds, unsalted
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar*
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

*Healthy Option: unrefined sugar (Sucanat or Rapadura)

Turn the over up to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together until the seeds are well coated. Spread the seeds on a rimmed baking sheet and bake, stirring occasionally until brown, about 10 to 15 minutes.

FREE SHIPPING

Take advantage of our FREE SHIPPING OFFER (up to $9.99) off an order of $75 or more. You don't have to fight the crowds to find the right Christmas present. Now through Sunday, the 29th, shop from the comfort of your home, and get more for your money with this limited time 4special.

Hardanger Card Club - Announcing the first ever Hardanger Embroidery Card Club! Every month Club Members will receive a new exclusive Hardanger pattern, available only to Club members, a beautiful embossed greeting card and envelope, a specialty thread, and instructions to stitch a new card design every month. Another great feature of this Limited Edition Club is the assortment of threads we will send you. We are not using your normal DMC or Anchor pearl cotton but we are featuring several different specialty threads like Leahs, Dinky Dyes, Caron Wildflowers, ThreadworX, Silk Elegance, and Crescent Colours. This is your chance to experience these unique threads while stitching a new Hardanger design every month. Here is how the Club works.

When you enroll in the Hardanger Card Club, you will receive an Introductory Pack that includes the 28 count white Lugana fabric for all twelve months, a pack of tapestry needles, general Hardanger stitch instructions, and a special surprise free gift - all for the low price of $11.50 with no additional charge for shipping within the USA. Through the months of November and December, 2009, we will be accepting your memberships. The Introductory Pack plus the January, 2010, Card pack will be sent to you in January, 2010. Each month the shipment will include the card and envelope, the design and instructions, finishing instructions and the thread to complete the design - all for the low price of $11.99 per month. The first shipment will include both the Introductory Pack and the January design for a total of $23.49 with no additional shipping charges. (Foreign members will be charged actual shipping charges.) No charges will be made to your credit card until we ship in January, 2010.

If you enroll between now and January, you will receive the shipment in January. If you enroll in February, we will send you the Introductory pack, the January design and the February design. If you enroll in June, you will be billed and receive the Introductory Pack and all the monthly designs from January through June. Every month after your initial enrollment you will automatically receive that month's design pack and it will be charged to your credit card for the amount of $11.99 with no additional shipping charges. (Foreign members will be charged actual shipping charges.)

We encourage you to become a Hardanger Card Club Member and get your friends and stitching groups involved as well. What fun to get together once a month and stitch your special new Hardanger card as a group. Remember, these exclusive designs by Roz Watnemo are ONLY available to Club Members and only for the year of 2010. Most kits include enough thread to stitch more than one design and additional cards are available to purchase separately so you can stitch them over and over again, trying other threads and colors on your own.

Additionally we welcome you to our new Save the Stitches! Forum - as a Hardanger Card Club member you will have the opportunity to an exclusive Members Only Forum. All you need to do is register for the card club with a valid e-mail address, then register at the forum with the same e-mail address. Once your membership is approved you will be given special access to the forum to chat with other members and Nordic Needle staff!

Click Here to Register Today

Fargo has the pleasure of being one of the communities hosting the EGA National Tapestry project. We have had visitors from Kansas and Iowa that we know of who came to see the beautiful work done on these panels. America the Beautiful has five panels depicting the fauna and flora of the United States in various needlework techniques. The tapestry will be on display at the Plains Art Museum until February 3, 2010. It's worth the trip!!

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For those interested in using this article or others published by Nordic Needle, Inc., please use this copy when referencing the information: "The following article was written by Debi Feyh and Ryan Evelyth of Nordic Needle and published in their weekly e-mail newsletter. Permission was granted by Nordic Needle to share this article in (name of your publication). For information on subscribing to their weekly e-mail newsletter, visit www.nordicneedle.com. A free mail-order catalog is available to you upon request if you live in the USA or Canada."

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