Valley residents will be among the first in the state to help make an embroidered wall-hanging of a famous U.S. postage stamp that has raised millions of dollars for breast cancer research.
And two Scottsdale embroidery shops, Old Town Needlework, 7134 E. Fifth Ave., and Quail Run Needlework, 8989 E. Via Linda, are helping to sponsor the event.
Several cloth patterns of the breast cancer research stamp are being circulated nationwide through the National NeedleArts Association. It’s all part of the "Stitch to Win Against Breast Cancer" campaign to raise money for the Women’s Information Network.
The network is a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing public awareness about breast cancer, and helps ensure that lowerincome Americans get access to treatment for the disease.
The stamp, issued by the U.S. Postal Service in 1988, has since raised more than $45 million for research.
The pattern of the stamp will be available to stitch 6 to 8 p.m. today at the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, 3641 N. 56th St.
For a minimum $5 donation, anyone can stitch a square-inch into the 4-by-8-foot pattern, which will then be sent to other locations in the nation until it is eventually completed. Other patterns also will be stitched throughout the country. The finished embroideries will be presented to the National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C.
Two smaller 15-by-20-inch mosaics are available to stitch at the church for a $5 donation. Funds raised by one of the smaller mosaics will go toward the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation based in Asheville, N.C.
"The mosaics do not have a pattern," said Alice Borge, owner of the Old Town Needlework Shop. "Each embroiderer is invited to use the thread type, color and image of their choice to fill the space."
"You do not have to be a professional embroiderer," Borge said.
For information call (480) 990-2270 or (614) 237-0070.
