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CLAIRE: THE LITTLE GIRL WHO CLIMBED TO THE TOP AND CHANGED THE WAY WOMEN DRESS is the true story of the little girl from Maryland who enjoyed climbing trees and playing sports, but not in dresses. An American fashion icon, Claire McCardell revolutionized how girls and women dress to this day. For readers 6 through 10.

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CLAIRE's CLOSET is the companion coloring book to the picture book, CLAIRE. Like the picture book, it's illustrated by Mary Ryan Reeves, who is a graduate of Hood College and a member of the Frederick Art Club, visionaries of the Claire McCardell Project which brought the statue of Claire McCardell to fruition in Frederick, Maryland.

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LADIES, FIRST: COMMON THEADS celebrates 18 first ladies who, at one point in their lives, knitted, crocheted, embroidered, quilted, cross-stitched, or sewed. Their inspirational stories will encourage an appreciation of craft and creativity, patience and perseverance, sacrifice and service, and most of all, the role of the first lady in the United States of America. For readers 9 and up.

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In LADIES, FIRST: COMMON THREADS, Debra Scala Giokas combines her loves of American history and sewing. With a common theme of experience with needlework, Giokas catalogs eighteen First Ladies, their role in history, and examples of their needlework. One First Lady represented in this book is Edith Bolling Wilson, the second wife of President Woodrow Wilson. Edith Bolling Wilson grew up in Wytheville, a small rural town in southwest Virginia. She was taught to sew, crochet, cross-stitch, and embroider by her mother and grandmother Bolling. A photo of a hand-fringed napkin made by Edith is included in this interesting book by Giokas who has a love of all things sewing. The Edith Bolling Wilson Birthplace Museum is thankful for the inclusion of Edith in LADIES, FIRST: COMMON THREADS and recommends the book for all to read.

Farron Smith, Founder

The Edith Bolling Wilson Birthplace Foundation and Museum

Marilyn Bagel
President of Frederick Art Club

What an imaginative tribute
to a visionary force in fashion
and a great inspiration to
young people with dreams!

Sally Di Marco
Fashion Designer, Author
and Educator

This beautifully illustrated biographical book is highly recommended for young readers
with an interest in fashion.

Sarah Liller
Fashion Designer

Claire McCardell has been one
of my greatest influences as a designer. What a thrill to see her story so beautifully expressed through
illustration and word.
An inspiration to aspiring
young designers for sure!

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The Frederick Art Club celebrated the publication
of the children's picture book
and coloring book
about its hometown hero,
Claire McCardell.

Books are also available on
BarnesandNoble.com, Walmart.com, Target.com
and your favorite independent booksellers,
including a few museum gift shops.

Inspired by an article about Ida Saxton McKinley’s crocheted slippers (4000, all told), author Debra Scala Giokas set to researching other first ladies “who liked to count stitches… and [she] was hooked.”

Welcome to Stitchery and “Ladies, First, Common Threads,” (a misnomer by the way; there’s nothing common about it), a unique book about handcrafts and history that showcases the needlework of president’s wives from Martha Washington to Barbara Bush. Chapters on each First Lady include bios; interesting details about their lives in the White House; and suggested historic sites and museums where readers can see their handiwork firsthand. For staycationers, websites are only a click away from learning more about their favorite First Lady.

Book Review by Rita Plush

Fire Island and Great South Bay News

Alexa Young, Product Manager

Books

My Books

Inspired by an article about Ida Saxton McKinley’s crocheted slippers (4000, all told), author Debra Scala Giokas set to researching other first ladies “who liked to count stitches… and [she] was hooked.”

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Book Review by Rita Plush

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