Stich by meticulous stitch, an embroidered panel representing Pennsylvania’s history as one of the original 13 colonies is coming to colorful life in Shaler for this year’s 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
More than 200 people have put in over 2,800 hours of effort since May 2025 to create the 35-inch-by-45-inch panel that will represent the state in America’s Tapestry, said Mary Van Tyne of Irwin, state co-director of the project with Raven Fagelson of Brighton Heights. It is expected to be finished by May 1.
“We are blessed and privileged that the fiber arts community in Pittsburgh has contributed their time and talents to work on this panel,” Van Tyne said.
A panel is being made for each original colony.
“The idea is each colony was quite different from one another,” Fagelson said. “Each of the panels are being stitched in a way appropriate for that particular state.”
While some men have worked on the Pennsylvania panel, participants have been overwhelmingly female, Van Tyne said.
“We have had so much community support,” Fagelson said. She said the panel is about two-thirds completed.
Most of the work on the Pennsylvania panel has been done at the Glenshaw Public Library in Shaler. It also has traveled to points throughout the state — including Valley Forge, Gettysburg and Hershey — for people to have a hand in it. People from across the nation also have contributed by working on slips — there have been more than 40 — that become part of the panel.
“The panel is very much a collaborative effort,” Van Tyne said.
Just the top 8 inches of the panel, the sky, is cross-stitched with more than 51,000 stitches in it.
“It has been a lot of work,” Van Tyne said. “It’s really been satisfying.”
Embroiderers have come to Shaler from out of state to help. On March 8, Angelia Corbett of Medina, Ohio, and Andrea Kennedy of Wadsworth, Ohio, made the two-hour drive so Kennedy could work on it for the first time.
“It’s incredible to be a part of this,” Kennedy said.
Corbett had made the journey several times since October after reading about the project.
“I thought it would be so much fun to be a part of history,” she said.
Each of the 13 panels in America’s Tapestry will feature lesser-known stories important to each colony, Fagelson said.
“These are stories that you don’t hear in school,” Fagelson said. “These stories are still important.”
While Van Tyne said the panels for other colonies are busy, with active scenes, the Pennsylvania panel, designed by illustrator Maggie Weng from the Greater Philadelphia area, features just two people and two buildings.
“The composition is excellent,” she said.
The Pennsylvania panel depicts two flags flown more than 300 miles apart. The left side illustrates Westmoreland County’s “Don’t Tread on Me” flag and an unknown man; the right side depicts flag maker Rebecca Young stitching a flag for the Pennsylvania Navy.
Behind them are Independence Hall and Hanna’s Town.
“It’s very interesting. It’s got a lot of different elements to it,” said Jennifer Mack of Lawrenceville. “There’s just so much to take in.”
Mack got involved after Stefan Romero, the founder of America’s Tapestry, contacted her quilting group, the Pittsburgh Modern Quilt Guild.
“I love community projects,” she said. “That’s a good time to me.”
Carol Andrews of McCandless started working on the panel in September — at the library and at home.
“It’s my opportunity to teach history with what I enjoy doing,” Andrews said. “It reminds me lots of people have put blood, sweat and tears into the country we have now.”
Those interested in participating in the panel’s embroidery can stop by the Glenshaw Public Library, 1504 Butler Plank Road, between 5 and 9 p.m. Thursdays and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays until May 1. While skill is good, it’s not necessary.
“Bravery and enthusiasm are more important,” Fagelson said. “If you’re willing to try, we are willing to teach.”
America’s Tapestry will first be displayed from June to August at the Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va., followed by the Seton Hill University Arts Center in Greensburg in September. It is then scheduled to be at the Passaic County Arts Center in Hawthorne, N.J., from October to December and Millyard Museum in Manchester, N.H., from January to April 2027.