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Message:: [QUOTE="Northern Lights Lodge, post: 9822486, member: 13464"]Hi Debora,What a charming little piece!My guess is that it was post mortem. Yes, it is possible that they used hair from the deceased sisters. It is also possible that living sisters, lovingly donated their hair for the piece and one sister worked it. There are 11 hearts at the bottom of the monument and 10 names. One heart may have been for an unknown grave. My gut feeling is that it was worked this way. Convents were a bustle of handiwork. Much their ecclesiastical clothing, altar cloths, chalice covers, albs, and other linens were embroidered, designed and worked by nuns. Huge amounts of bobbin lace and needle laces were done by nuns. That said; I do think that even there was a huge amount of needlework done in convents, I do NOT think that the norm was hair work. I do not feel like the ailing nuns or even post death, their hair was gathered....it seems more likely, that the hair was donated by loving sisters after they passed. It is not a far jump to suggest that this piece was made by a loving, young postulant. All just a guess!Cheerio,Leslie[/QUOTE]