Healing Stitch by Stitch is the culmination of a two-year project by the Mien Needlework Group in Oakland, California, funded by the Creative Work Fund, a collaboration of the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, the Columbia Foundation, the Miriam and Peter Haas Fund, and the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund. Many Mien refugee families that came from rural regions of Laos after the Vietnam War (1954-1975) found it challenging to negotiate life in the United States. Many suffered from depression and post traumatic stress disorder. Asian Community Mental Health Services formed the Mien Needlework Group to provide Mien women the opportunity to practice traditional arts, to express themselves creatively, and to support one another in adjusting to a new culture. Since the inception of the group in 1992, its members have created more than 100 pieces of Mien embroidery that are available for sale, including quilts, handbags, and pillowcases. In 2004 the Creative Work Fund launched the most ambitious project undertaken by the Mien Needlework Group: the creation of four complete traditional Mien costumes. Traditionally, it was important for Mien women to know how to embroider in order to make their own clothes as well as clothes for their family members. These Mien costumes (without the silver ornaments) were the daily style of Mien men and women. Today, they are worn only at weddings and special events.
From the description of Mien Needlework Group costumes, 2004 - 2006. (University of California, Irvine). WorldCat record id: 646518449
