A stitch in time saves nine but Aaron Fein is hoping many stitches will, in time, foster peace.
There are no guarantees. Still, Mr. Fein hopes his effort to sew into white cotton duck fabric the flags of all 192 countries belonging to the United Nations will at least make people think about it.
All 192 flags are scheduled to fly in a premiere showing in April at Vassar College in New York to mark the 9/11 terrorist attacks. To get the flags finished in time, he’s inviting Central Virginians to meet him at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 190 Rugby Road, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday.
“When 9/11 first happened it was a jarring event, especially because I grew up in New York City close to the World Trade Center,” Mr. Fein said. “In the months after, I saw the bumper stickers and magnets that people had put on their cars start to fade to white.”
The flags fading to white were not symbols of surrender to Mr. Fein. They epitomized change, integrated wholeness, the common plight of man stripped naked of the colors and distraction of politics and division.
The more he saw, the more he wondered: What would the world be like if we retained our identities, but focused on our commonalities rather than differences?
“There was something really resonant about seeing it and there was something that was calling me to do more,” he said.
His inner designer came out. A professional artist but amateur stitcher, Mr. Fein sought help from the Husqvarna Viking Sewing Gallery inside Jo-Ann Fabrics in the Rio Hill Shopping Center.
The gallery backs Saturday’s event and is even supplying machines so that seamsters and seamstresses can try a hand on various Husqvarnas.
“I’m not really a sew-er. I build. I like to work in different media, but I’d never sewn before” Mr. Fein said. “I needed a computer program for embroidery and a lot of help and they were really kind in helping me figure out what I was doing.”
Armed with a Husqvarna Viking Diamond sewing/embroidering machine and friends who helped stitch and iron, he’s completed 140 of 192 flags.
“I really put the pedal to the metal last year to get it done for the 10th anniversary of the attacks,” Mr. Fein said. “Unfortunately, some of the flags have changed and I’ve had to redo them. For instance, the Iraqi flag is different now than it was.”
Although not completed, Mr. Fein is happy with the results, so far.
“It’s turned out pretty amazing. As the flags move, they change,” he said. “You either see the embroidery and the symbols of the individual countries or you see all white. It really makes an impression.”
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