2004 NAN Lifetime Achievement Awardee

Kathleen Mackie

Kathleen completed her Teacher Certification with the Valentine Museum (precursor to NAN) in 1981. In 1985 she began to design the NAN Judges’ Certification program, and it was introduced at Assembly in 1986. She was a judge for the U.S. Figure Skating Assn. and used that experience as a basis for the program. Kathleen went on to design a similar, but different judging certification program for ANG.

When she created these programs, a certified needlework judge was an unknown quantity. Through her efforts, Kathleen introduced rigor and credibility into needlework competitions. She wrote the book A Practical Guide for Judges of Embroidery, for many years the standard work in the field.

Kathleen was a student of art who regularly exhibited her paintings and operated a studio where she taught, designed, and stitched. In addition to judging needlework shows, she taught stitching and judging seminars at national meetings. She shared her expertise through numerous essays for needlework publications.