First panel of the embroidery titled 'The Crimson Thread of Kinship', commemorating the centenary of Australian federation 1901-2001

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Type: Embroidered pictures
Date: 2000
Place: Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia; Australia
Materials: Linen, Wool thread
Collection: ACT Embroiderer's Guild collection
Accession number: 2001.0002.0001

Description

First panel of the embroidery titled 'The Crimson Thread of Kinship'. The arid scene grades from dark brown on the left side through to beige on the right side in a spectrum that depicts an Aboriginal midden. The 'crimson thread of kinship' begins in the middle of the scene and runs to the left side where sheets of paper are swept up into the sky from the ground in a spiral.

About the collection

The collection consists of six embroidery panels worked in stem stich on Glenshee linen using Appleton's wool. The embroidery was designed by embroidery designer Sharon Peoples and is entitled The Crimson Thread of Kinship. Eighty five members of the guild were involved in stitching the embroidery and it is estimated that it took 6000 hours of work to complete. the work was inspired by Sir Henry Parkes quote 'the crimson thread of kinship' used by in a speech in 1890. Although Parkes originally used the phrase to symbolise Australia's British heritage, Sharon has reinterpreted the phrase to provide a different view of Australian history. The embroidery depicts a crimson thread floating across the landscape, carrying with it the unfolding story of Australia. The thread is carried by an embroidery needle, symbolising the act of creating and embellishing history.

Read live from the Museum's Collection API (12/11/2026, 4:58:28 am). Record last updated by the Museum 2025-07-23. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.