获得哈佛大学的访问奖学金就像大海捞针。 
  
Fortunately, Christy Gordon Baty, a 2023 太阳城娱乐官网历史硕士 alumna and professional needlework historian, knows a thing or two about needles.  
  
Since finding that needle in the haystack, Baty and her business partner Erin Harvey Moody were awarded a visiting fellowship to Harvard’s historical 霍顿图书馆, home of Harvard’s rare books and manuscripts. 
  
Beyond “fellow fellows” as Baty likes to joke, the two are long-time friends and co-owners of the successful business 原地文物, where they research and share their expansive knowledge of historical embroidery and textiles through in-person and online lectures and workshops. 
  
Though she is “very happy to brag” about this once in a lifetime opportunity now, when she first received the news of the fellowship, she was not so quick to share. 
  
“I was in complete shock, like utter and complete shock when we got the letter. 所以我没告诉任何人。 I just couldn’t process it,” she said.
  
这对夫妇于2023年10月从加利福尼亚州奥尔巴尼的家出发，旅行了3000多英里，来到马萨诸塞州的波士顿，并于2024年1月再次旅行，花了近四周的时间研究绣边的百年古书。 
  
“We've decided to focus on embroidered book bindings because it really combines economy, status, religion, women's lives, book printing, trade, and literacy all into one,” she said. 
  
Embroidered book bindings typically cover bibles and other devotional books, which were frequently gifted among wealthy European families from the mid 1500’s to the mid 1600’s, making them incredibly rare. 
  
The fellowship allowed them to “participate in Harvard’s academic and intellectual life.” 
  
“What does that mean?” asked Baty with a laugh. “I felt like I should have been walking around with a pipe, but I don’t think that’s what it meant.” 
  
Rather, the two toured Harvard’s massive libraries and conservatory labs, where specialists restore damaged books; indulged in powerful discussions with Harvard’s brightest faculty and librarians; wrote an 哈佛杂志的一篇文章; 在霍顿图书馆（霍顿图书馆）举办了一场刺绣书籍装帧展览； and of course, researched the library’s vast embroidered book binding collections. 

The fellowship also allowed them to work closely with Harvard’s cataloger. 这些对话为他们正在编写的参考书提供了丰富的见解，以便图书馆员更好地理解和编目带有刺绣装订的古书。  
  
“Those were really good conversations to have with people who would be our audience,” she said.

Baty’s niche expertise has propelled her to many far and famous libraries and universities such as 福尔杰莎士比亚图书馆 in Washington D.C., 剑桥大学图书馆 in the United Kingdom, and the 大英图书馆 in London. 
  
然而，她开始为这本书写作的地方是一所她从未涉足过的大学：太阳城娱乐官网。 
  
“太阳城娱乐官网 was on the top of my list because they really did focus on what the student needs in terms of a program and more importantly, the course offerings were right up with what I wanted,” she said. 
  
太阳城娱乐官网’s online 历史 M.A. has a thesis and non-thesis option. 巴蒂选择完成这篇论文，希望以后可以用它作为他们书的基础。  
  
Her education, many years of research, and now her recent Harvard fellowship, have made her feel like she is “part of a team that can contribute to the greater knowledge of humanity, or at least a little bit of information in a catalog.”