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| This is a piece of the towel that my best friend, my guinea pig, laid on as he died. –Erika |
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| Music is in our heart and soul. A string from my guitar, a piece of my heart and soul. –Steph |
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| This string was from my mom’s tassel when she graduated from Coon Rapids High School; it represents what I have to look forward to and all the hard work that will be worth it in the end. –Heidi |
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| I brought a piece of yarn from a baby blanket I made for my son Joshua. He was born June 27, 1984. He had cancer for 3 years and just died January 9, 2005. So this blanket has great meaning to me. And now Joshua will continue to live on in my heart and in this beautiful cloth, woven with the threads of so many lives and love. – Jayne |
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| Here’s a string from an old yo-yo that I made. – Glenn |
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| These threads are from a group of child protection workers in Sydney Australia. And they come with thanks for allowing us to participate in your project. - Renee |
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| The fishing line and loon feather give me a lot of memories of fishing in the evening. I love it when I look across the bay and see a loon swimming around leaving ripples behind it. I also love it when I slowly start reeling and “tap, tap,” a fish grabs my hook. Being outdoors is a big part of my life. – Shooma |
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| This piece of yarn was used in a Navoo pioneer shawl that my grandmother made. The shawl was in style in the 1850’s when Navoo was at its peak, before the Mormon pioneers came west. -- Heidi |
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| The bees-waxed cotton thread is from an awl – my beloved tool which I’ve used countless times to mend “broken ties.” It has given new life to things when all seemed lost. – George |
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| This strand of cotton comes from a Persian rug called a “gleem.” Gleems are small throw rugs used for prayer and to protect larger carpets from dirt and wear. Gleams are woven in animal patterns. – Rahmat |
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| My thread comes from a living-room throw that keeps me warm and cozy. I hope The Thread Project: One World, One Cloth says to people we can form something good out of scraps, leftovers, treasured items, the stuff of our lives, our scars and the celebrations. – Arden |
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| I hope these are useable. They are handmade by political prisoner in Tibet. With admiration for your project. – Losang |
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| My contribution is a canvas strip from a canoe from Moose River/James Bay. – Neville |
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| This strip came from a Bolivian blanket called an Awaigu. The colors used in Bolivian weavings are very distinct, different from Peruvian and Guatemalan. -- Tana |
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| The lightest section of yarn is handspun cashmere from Iran, spun on an African spindle. Also included is the fur of a sea otter, shed on the dock of a friend who has an oyster farm here in Alaska; the fur was full of crushed oyster shells. The dark brown section is the under down of a moose that a friend found, and the feathers are from the Sandhill cranes that raise a brood of chicks in my yard every year. -- Celia |
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| The pink thread represents healing not just for me, but for all of those women before and all of those women after me that will sacrifice their breasts. – Lisa |
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| Little Ashley, my daughter loved panda bears and I found little mitts with panda bears on them. Both of my babies wore these mitts. The best thing that has happened to me is my two daughters. These mitts represent my love for them. – Margaret Kenequanash |
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| This piece of yarn comes from a wall hanging made by the Guambianos, a group of people native to Colombia who live in a small town in the Valle del Cauca in Colombia called Silva. – Wendy |
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| I didn’t come prepared with a thread so I just took my shirt off and ripped this strip from it. That’s so you know I would take the shirt off my back to contribute to the peace and healing of our community. -- Mario |
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| Here are three strands of wool which I spun. One, is from a Scottish sheep, my birth land. One, is from a Canadian sheep, my new homeland. The third is Muskox wool from Devon Island. I dyed the sheep wool with natural dyes from marigolds and goldenrod. The raven feather – a found gift – is a must for Sioux Lookout. May the bell-like calls of the ravens echo in this weaving. |
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| I offer this pink, oh-so-soft piece of baby blanket in honor of a tiny baby once abandoned, now held and loved, and with the hope and prayer that all children everywhere will have all the love they need, and more. – Donna |
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| This thread came from my Grandpa’s Navy uniform. -- Jake |
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| We are a school of 150 children with mental and physical handicaps. The entire school body gathered outside and had a peace walk. Some students carried flags of countries at war. We had each child come to the center and place their class threads into a large basket. We are so happy to send you our ball of string to be woven into a World Cloth and hung in a special place. Thanks for creating beautiful visual reminders for the world. -- Sarah and Phyllis, Exceptional Student Education Teachers and Co-chairs, and Thread Ambassadors. |
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| This is a sampling of what the children were thinking about as they held their threads to their hearts, in a moment of silent reflection, before turning to connect their thread to the person sitting next to them...If you ask for a gun, you get bubble gum instead...How this piece of cloth was from my baby blanket and holding it always made me feel peaceful...A world where everyone has a mom and dad who loves them...My cousin who died in Iraq. -- The Unity School |
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| Shekinah is an intentional faith based community which has been together for 15 years. When the war in Iraq began , we all felt devastated and helpless. We decided that one of the ways to respond was to focus on peace in our own lives and hearts. We became involved in The Thread Project as a way to unite with others in a visible prayer for peace. Thank you for letting us be part of this great project. -- The Shekinah Community |
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| These five ribbons are for the 4 people and 1 dog in my family. -- Cassie |
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| This green thread represents Africa and is the most common color of all the flags of that continent. My parents met and became engaged in Africa. My wife and I were married in Africa. Our younger daughter met her partner in Africa. I am actually an American African. -- John |
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| My red thread represents my family and every Asian person who lost their soul and died for our country of Laos fighting for freedom. -- Sara |
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| This is from the strings that were tied around the newspapers I carried on my first route. -- Angela |
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| I wrote the names of my family on my thread and sewed beads on it. We are from Europe and I want to be part of the World Cloth. -- Kristina |
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| My father is an electrician, and I want to be one, too. My mother braided together these three electrical wires to represent our family. -- Michael |
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| I used these embroidery threads in a quilt for my grandson which pictured 12 wishes for him from his relatives: hope, love, justice...I wish the same for the people of the world through the World Cloth. -- Margaret |
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| My thread is part of the collar of my dog: he is gone now, but he was very special to our family. -- Jenny |
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| I give three threads: red for love, green for Green Hmong, and white for White Hmong. -- Mai Ker |
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| I am in 4H and show dairy steers. This twine is from the hay/straw for them. -- Jordyn |
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| This tartan strip is a piece of the Macleod tartan from my grandmother. The twine is from our family's apple orchard. The length of wool thread is from my homeland, Scotland. -- Margaret |
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| I'm a food manager at a middle school where I've worked for 31 years. I love it. We cooks donated apron strings and cloths. -- Jane |
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| I am from Poland. My blue yarn symbolizes the peace dove. The white is for independence and freedom. This is the symbol of a United European flag. -- Yanusz |
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| In gratitude for the women of Baby Home #3 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. These women care for Ukrainian orphans in an extraordinary manner with very few resources. We will forever remember them for taking care of our now adopted daughter, Codee. -- Jacquelyn and Marci |
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| I chose yellow, green and black because they are the colors of the Jamaican flag. The second piece is from a warm fuzzy I received at a retreat that told me that I could change my life, and I have. -- Z.A.C. |
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| We braided a friendship bracelet for the World Cloth because we are best friends. -- Mariah and Brittany |
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| These threads were coordinated by a Chinese graduate student at Edinboro University on her visit home. The threads come from 40 - 50 eighth grade students in Iron Mine Middle School in Zibo China. -- Patti |
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| I'm sending a strip of fabric woven by lepers from one of Mother Teresa's leper colonies outside of Calcutta. If people who have no fingers or toes can learn to weave, any of us can learn whatever we must to make it though. So weave on. -- Rebecca |
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| Our school is collecting thread from our sister school in Japan. We will join their threads with ours. One of our threads came from the collar of a family pet that died. Another from a mother who braided red, white and blue wires together to represent her son, who wants to be an electrician like his father. -- Carolyn |
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| We painted on yards of white silk in awareness of loss, connection and the community of women. May our hope connect with others. -- Cindy, Paula, Laura, Mary Anne and Caroline |
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| I inserted tags from a very worn tee shirt that my dad used to wear as far back as I can remember. I now wear that shirt "piddling" around the yard as he did. I miss him so very much; he would have turned 60 this month. I am very glad to offer a tiny piece of something that he wore. That's all I could spare, I must say. --Charlotte |
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| For my contribution, I printed one of my peace lily photographs onto a piece of linen. Using red photo oil, I painted the words "PLANT PEACE" across the image. I then cut the linen into narrow strips which I knotted end to end. --Susan |
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| Thank you for your efforts in making the world a better place for all of us. Please accept this strip of fabric which represents our family tartan...as we are a family united by love. --The Livingstone Clan |
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| On World Communion Sunday our church hosted several neighbor churches for lunch. At each table we placed segments of thread and invited the participants to join their threads together. Before lunch was over we had one long continuous thread made from these various communities. We are happy to send them on to you and hope this worthy symbol of unity continues to spread world wide. -- Rex |
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| My mother has sewn for years, so I asked for scraps to cut into thin strips for the Thread Project. Reading the notes she attached to various fabrics -- a shirt for Jonathan, Deidre's wedding dress, Aurinda's Christmas dress -- I began to realize the scraps contained our family's history. They chronicled our lives and important events. I sat there in the middle of the floor, holding the scraps and crying. The memories of my mother sewing made me realize how much she has given of herself through her "threads." Sewing is her art, her expression of love. -- Susan |
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| For the Hope Materializing Project. Netting from the wedding veil worn by my mother June 2, 1916, and satin from my wedding gown worn on May 14, 1943. -- Bonnie |
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| Enclosed is yarn from a covered hanger my mother made before her death. For her 100th birthday party, mama wound yarn around dozens of hangers and gave them as presents to all who attended. --Dixie |
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| Women from a homeless shelter painted and decorated these threads. --Jamie |
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| Sometimes, the smallest of things can cause an uproar in the universe. Let this weaving create an uproar of peace. --Nanette |
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| The three silk threads are from Samarkand along the Silk Road in central Asia. --Mary |
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| The red and blue floss is special. My cousin loved to do hand work. Her thread was sold at her estate sale. --Dale |
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| One family sent threads representing each member: a mother, father, two brothers and a sister. The sister Maureen wrote, “my family has made its own peace after many years of conflict and estrangement. It is possible. It is worth the effort it takes. We symbolically join our threads into these cloths in commitment to peace in our family and in our world. Thank you for this beautiful opportunity in these difficult times. |
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| Trisha sent seven strands with seven silver beads representing the Columbia astronauts who perished on February 1, 2003. In memory of Rick Husband, William “Willie” McCool, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark and Ilan Ramon. |
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| Eileen sent threads from a Princeton University tie that her late husband wore to his 40th reunion at the University. |
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| Olivia, whose son is now 19, contributed a thread from his favorite blanket as a child. She writes, “May the love in these threads spread to all the world.” |
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| John, Karen and Earl contributed a thread from their laundry room which they say represents randomness. |
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| Geeta removed silk threads from a garland of protection. She says her threads come from West Bengal, India and bring blessings of Lord Nrsimhadeva who protects the pure-hearted and removes any obstacles in one’s path. |
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| Eleni is a weaver from Poros, Greece who gives weaving lessons to children. She and her students sent threads and said why they selected different colors. They chose orange for joy, pink and green for the rainbow, blue for the sky, and red and white “that make us feel fine.” |
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| Odette, from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa sent strips of cloth designed and screen- printed by a group of Zulu women in the heart of Zululand. |
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| A scrap of orange fabric was unraveled from the blouse of “Quita,” Lynne’s friend who died at 95. Lynne said, “The path of stitches across this orange strip are my footprints now bound with Quita’s.” |
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| Trudy sent a thread expressive of her. It’s a synthetic hair extension called a “Silky Jumbo.” Trudy wrote, “As an African-American woman, I consider myself a laundry list of quirky and sometimes amusing contradictions topped off by a mane of synthetic dread locks. My decision to wear them is a mixture of impatience with the natural process, fear of committing to the process, and envy of those who dare to make the commitment and take on all the social and cultural responsibilities associated with it.” |
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| Deb cut a strip from a World War II silk parachute to honor a young man who had no home to return to after the war. |
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| A box of 232 pink ribbons were sent by women who joined their hearts, minds, prayers and ribbons in the fight against breast cancer. Many of the women were breast cancer survivors and wanted their ribbons to become part of the World Cloth. |
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| Mandy wrote: “Crowded on a couch, a futon, and one set of bunk beds in a cozy dorm room, 22 of my college classmates and I gathered to tie on to The Thread Project: One World, One Cloth. Our group of friends includes students from Kenya, Fiji, Canada, Vietnam, India, China and the United States. We all tied on blue and white threads, which represent our school colors. We represent a diverse group of friends with a common bond and hope that our threads promote connection among the many diverse groups of people in the world.” |
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| Mona sent 22 special threads important to her immediate family: a strip of fabric taken from the native garment of her adopted daughter from Vietnam, a piece of shirt that she used as "tree-prayer-tags" during her husband's cancer journey, a tassel from a woven blanket that her paternal grandmother brought with her on the boat from Poland, and fiber from one of the alpacas raised on their "Terra Sacra" farm. Mona wrote, "It was a remarkable experience collecting my threads. Thank you for the deep treasure they brought me to." |
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| Kristine sent a wooden spool knitting. She said, “I learned wooden spool knitting years ago when I was a kid growing up in Wisconsin. It seems like everyone in our neighborhood knew how to wooden spool knit. We all made potholders for our mothers.” |
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| Martha sent remnants of cloth and trim she used to sew her granddaughter’s christening dress. “It seems that the birth of my granddaughter Grace on the day after 9/11 is a symbol of hope for tomorrow, for all of us. The trims I used were given to me by my grandmother--Grace's great-great grandmother. I am honored to contribute a “thread “ that represents generations sewn and woven together with love; it is a way of remembering. What a lovely gift this weaving is...so representative of how our lives touch--even if we don’t know each other.“ |
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| Ruth, from New Zealand, offered a red thread from her Tibetan Mala bracelet. |
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| Novelist Sue Monk Kidd cut ribbons from her baby shoes and tied them to ribbons from her daughter Ann’s baby booties. “We offer our ribbons, believing in the power of ‘first steps,’ in the beauty of human beings making our wobbly way toward peace, in the notion that small beginnings bring undreamed leaps.” |
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| Ken, a landscape architect, sent a white string used as survey line. “I specialize in landscapes that are more compatible with Mother Nature. The string is a bit soiled, but it is soil of the earth, home for all of earth’s creatures.” |
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| Milly removed the ribbon from the neck of a stuffed animal in memory of her son who died. |
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| Kathy gathered a group of women on St. Brigid’s Feast Day to weave prayer crosses out of gold ribbon. “The strands were tied together, connecting each woman’s prayers... A story was told about Brigid’s mantel that could spread, when needed, as far as the eye could see. It is our hope that these golden threads that we have blessed and sent forth to The Thread Project: One World, One Cloth will be part of a holy mantle that will reach out to heal and protect where it is needed. Blessings to all the Thread Gatherers and Peace Weavers.” |
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| Lynne cut a ribbon from the wedding pillow carried by the ring bearer at her parents' wedding. "My parents were married sixty years. September 11 robbed some families of the potential for that legacy. Hopefully, our country's spirit of community can weave a fabric of care strong enough to carry them until they can rebuild their lives." |
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| Emily sent grass thread from Swaziland. |
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| Sean, whose backpack traveled the world with him, pulled two threads from an inside seam. |
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| Oksana sent a piece of ribbon from the Ukraine. “It looks a little old and odd but it was my father’s (who died and who was very special in my life); it was tucked inside his copy of BoûHa u Mup (War and Peace) by Leo Tolstoy, given to him by his father in 1945. |
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| Lucian tied on fishing line he used to catch salmon in Sitka, Alaska. |
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| Trisha tied threads as part of a group. “Watching the gathered women so seriously and deliberately select just the right color combination and texture, and patiently sharing the scissors, and then literally tying their individual and unique pieces together brought me to tears. We didn’t have to agree on anything, convince each other, certainly didn’t have to vote on who would tie first, didn’t have to measure or follow dogmatic rules...It was such a pleasure to participate in symbolically mending the world.” |
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| Larry offered the tail of his kite. |
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| Irene and other mothers carefully cut small pieces of cloth from every costume they made for a high school production of “West Side Story.” |
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| Fiber artist Mary Edna Fraser tied on three slender pieces of batik cloth she dyed, each representing a member of her family. |
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| Barbara gathered women to dedicate an outdoor labyrinth to be used for prayer, healing and meditation. “Threading a Sacred Path: Each woman wore a thread around her neck and walked silently to the center. After tying their threads together, the women circled out of the labyrinth, singing and carrying the long thread back into the sanctuary where it was rolled into the small ball we are sending to you.” |
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| Sam pulled a thread from his baseball glove. |
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| Arpi contributed a thread brought with her when she immigrated from Armenia. |
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