Embroidery is Kira’s special skill in Lois Lowry’s young-adult novel Gathering Blue.
Kira is a girl with a physical disability who lives in a harsh, tightly controlled community. Although some members of the community consider her vulnerable, the Council of Guardians preserves her life because of her exceptional ability to embroider intricate designs.
Kira is assigned to repair and extend the Singer’s robe, a garment covered with images that represent the community’s history and beliefs. Her work appears artistic, but it also becomes a form of cultural memory. As Kira learns more, she begins to question whether the official version of the community’s past is complete or truthful.
Gathering Blue is set in the same broader thematic world as The Giver, but it does not continue Jonas’s plot directly. The novels share questions about authority, memory, and social control while following different protagonists and communities.