SPRING IN CHICAGO—DUTCH SAMPLERS

Note:  I have enlarged most of the photos on my blog starting at the beginning. This will help you get a better view of the samplers and stitching so go back and look at them a bit closer. --Nancy

Spring is finally here in the Chicago area!

The crocuses are in bloom by my front door, and the snow drops are blooming in the cold back yard, but I hear we might have a touch of snow over the weekend.

This is a photo of Lizzy (skinny Golden) and Henry who were visiting here last week. Once one decided to bark, the next one started in on it! Noisy! Here they are looking at our squirrels in the back yard.

This is my Murphy with Henry lounging in the kitchen.

Yesterday was my monthly Sampler Group meeting here. I have volunteered to have it here most months because then I make myself clean the downstairs a bit. There were ten of us which makes for a nice group. I understand that the First Ladies meeting went well on Eleanor Roosevelt's chidhood. The gals in this subgroup are dividing up her life since there is so much material written about her.

When I returned home from yoga, everyone was eating lunch. Karen brought wonderful milk chocolate brownies with mints melted in the middle for dessert. They were complete with green icing for St. Patrick's Day. Yum! After lunch we talked and stitched. I had to rip out two birds on my Quaker Lady as I had forgotten about the inside border of the cartouche and counted from the outside border—so my two birds were to the right by 2 threads. Decided I couldn't live with that mistake. Ripped them out while talking to all my friends. Used some scotch tape to remove any lint left on the linen. You can still see a bit of the black of the birds but I think it will disappear once the cartouche is completed. Tonight I hope to finish the piece and then move on to the Quaker Gentleman. My colors are a bit garish, but am not going to change them. All I have left to do are the large empty cartouche and a tiny butterfly to the left of the girl's head and the year.

ANTIQUE SAMPLERS and REPRODUCTIONS

Over the years I have bid on samplers at a local auction. One of these was a Dutch sampler which I won.

 This is the reverse side—what a mess!

 Close-up of top

 It is very difficult to determine her name.

 Again, the reverse side

This is the backing board on which the sampler was laid. The sampler was sandwiched between the glass and this board. One might almost stitch from the impressions on the cardboard! I did not reproduce this sampler.

This is the Trinie Pieters sampler from the former Carrie B. Neely Collection at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Trinie stitched her name at the top of the sampler in large capital letters with cross stitch over 3 threads! That makes you alert when stitching! Above this line, she made tiny picots (knots) on the edge of the sampler. The date on this sampler is 1706. In addition to the cross stitches and picots, she used eyelet and some satin stitches. The finished size of the reproduction on 35 count linen is about  18" x 9".

Notice the eyelet stitches in the last alphabet. 

We do not know who "PB" is—maybe her teacher or a friend?

This is the reproduction. The satin stitches are on the two birds in the lower right corner.

I hope spring is creeping into your neighborhood. It has certainly been a long winter. I'm trying to finish up a scarf for my granddaughter as I don't knit much in the summer but try to do a lot of stitching then while my hands are soft and smooth! --Nancy