Download or read book Threads of Useful Learning written by Mary Uhl Brooks and published by . This book was released on 2015-12-31 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Threads of Useful Learning: Westtown School Samplers is a thorough and engaging look at the needlework produced by students at this Philadelphia-area Quaker boarding school from its founding in 1799 until 1843, when sewing was removed from the curriculum. The needlework - including several types of samplers and embroidered celestial and terrestrial globes believed to have been made only at Westtown - is discussed in the context of the useful education and spiritual formation envisioned by Quakers for their children. Fully illustrated with pieces from Westtown School's own extensive textile collection as well as others in museums and private collections, this work enriches our understanding of this important schoolgirl needlework and the education, religious beliefs, and lives of the teachers and girls who created it.