While in Tucson, we wandered into a bookstore and I found a book on Ottawa Quillwork on Birchbark. It looks like needlepoint doesn’t it!
Examples of this craft in the book were found almost exclusively in Emmet County, Michigan. The Native population of Ottawa created these pieces. Birchbark contains an alcohol making it antiseptic and resistant to microorganisms. The containers were therefore used for storage of food or other perishables. But, most of the examples show pieces used for decoration.
Layer in the week I found an example of the craft. That’s an inner lining on the upper left corner – not sure what is the purpose of the liner.
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