BOOKS and SCOTTISH SAMPLERS

Finally sitting down to write after a busy week so far. Have yoga on Monday and Wednesday mornings and my stitch/knit group here on Tuesday mornings, and my Sampler Group of 25 years met here yesterday. I had a pile of papers to go through on my desk and was able to plow through them at last. So much for a paperless society! On Sunday I went to my mom's house, which we are trying to sell, to help my brother clear out the debris from the crawl space. We are under contract for the 3rd time and want the inspection to go through with no problem. It is an interesting time in real estate these days.

Finished reading both Zoya and Jewels by Danielle Steele. My friend Zeena had recommended them, and I think they are better than her newer books. Read her for a non-thinking experience. Decided I don't like her detached style. She really just observes the characters and doesn't get inside their heads. But they are a diversion. Have now started Saving Cee Cee Honeycut by Beth Hoffman. Like it so far. It is about life in Savannah and an "orphaned" girl and the characters she meets when she goes to live there with her Great Aunt Tootie. I have found that I really love many of these books that take place in the South.

I'm still working on the Prairie Schooler ABC. The problem is that they are not all the same dimensions! So I have to adjust here and there. Makes life interesting.

SCOTTISH SAMPLERS—Part I
ELIZA JONES 1834—
There seem to be a lot of Scottish samplers out there. This is one from a private collection. Eliza Jones came to the US from Scotland. As is typical of Scottish samplers, she stitched the names of family members. Her sister Mary must have died because her name is stitched in black. I would imagine that the braided hair at the bottom of the sampler might be Mary's. Eliza's father went to California to the gold rush but got sick and died. He never returned home. I love the way Eliza labeled her parents, brothers and sisters.  Sorry the first photo is blurred. I took it years ago. You can still get the idea of the layout of the sampler. It is on a very fine count linen. We did not reproduce this sampler. Didn't know where to get the hair!

Love the "continued" under the right basket! Look closely at the rosebuds in the border. I think that they were overstitched with a red at a later date. What do you think?

The flower below the basket is similar to Quaker flowers.

 The hearts on either side of the hair "trellis" are done in queen stitch. I think that the gold color on the large flowers and flower basket was also added at a later date.

AGNES BROWN 1782—

Agnes Brown is in the collection of my friend Genevieve. Notice the various sets of initials on the sampler. I started charting the sampler but never finished it. Found that more stitchers prefer a pictorial sampler and are tired of stitching the ABC's.

Genevieve took this photo while laying the sampler on her vinyl kitchen floor. That is what the reflection  at the bottom of the sampler is. The peacock, trees and large flowers and vase motifs are typical of Scottish samplers. As I recall, the sampler was stitched with wool thread on a linen fabric. 

More floor reflection on this photo. Love the large red grape vine border. Notice more family initials.

My BETTY KEY 1807 sampler is also Scottish.

antique sampler—————reproduction

ELIZABETH TRAILL 1827—

Genevieve also owns Elizabeth Traill. This is a lovely Adam and Eve sampler. It is stitched with wool thread on linen. Note that all the samplers either have selvedges or hemmed edges—no excess linen. 

The large elaborate letters at the top are the initials of her parents.

When I chose the color for Adam and Eve and had the sampler stitched by Marge Gaebel, I thought I had picked the correct color. But when I received the sampler from Marge, I decided that the pink was too purple. Poor Adam and Eve looked cold! I took out the stitches and restitched them myself. It is not easy taking out one's own stitching, but another's—not fun!

Because Elizabeth stitched all these wonderful initials on her sampler, I was able to find out some information on her and her family. I did reproduce this sampler and her family history is included with the chart.

Typical Scottish trees.

REPRODUCTION—

speckled snake and speckled dog

I have a big order to get out. Better get going on it. Also want to do a bit of gardening as we are supposed to get a lot of rain here this weekend. If you like my blog, tell your sampler/stitching/quilting friends about it. I love receiving your comments. Bye for now. --Nancy

GERMAN SAMPLER; SAMPLERS FROM THE EARLY INTERNET

The next sampler from the Museum of Science and Industry is a German Sampler. It was stitched on what I believe is a linen fabric, but note in the closeups that it is a checkered fabric and that the stitches are embroidered not counted. This sampler was stitched in 1758 and measures a whopping 13" x 52." This is why I was not able to get a photo of the entire piece. I have taped several photos together to get it all. There is the Lamb of God and a crucifix. I believe that northern Germany was a Catholic area at the time. The 1939 appraised price was $8. It sold at Sotheby's in a group of 2 for 632 pounds sterling.

The verse reads:

God will
take care for
today and
tomorrow

God with us

The blessing, of the Lord,
Stay with you, from children
to children's children

SAMPLER PURCHASES FROM THE INTERNET—

Years ago when I was on AOL and the internet was just a baby, I was on some antiques group, and a gal in California mentioned that she wanted to sell 6 antique samplers. I jumped and bought them. Sorry, don't remember what I paid. I sent her a certified check for the first, and she sent one to me. Then she sent me the rest, and I paid her.

The first was Betty Key 1807, a Scottish sampler. I know this because she stitched various family initials  on the sampler. Love the extra large ABC. I reproduced this sampler on 25 count linen. There are cross stitch and eyelet stitches, and it measures 7" x 15."

The next was Mary Prescott 1820. It is an English sampler and not in great shape but I like all the little people and dogs and the castle, etc. 

Next came Ruth Morries 1835. This is also an English sampler and is stitched with wool thread. GR is King George—George Rex.

Robina Drysdale Jack stitched her sampler in 1850. Because she stitched so many of her family's initials, I was able to find her. There were 13 children in the family who resided in Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland. The black CWKJ is her sister Christina Wilson Kelly Jack who must have died as her initials are in black. I reproduced this sampler on 28 count linen with 7 colors of thread. There are cross, eyelet, and rice stitches. The size is 7" x 14."

I don't remember the name of this sampler below, but I do think it is Scandinavian as noted by the AO after the Z in the alphabet. It must have been stitched around 1850 or later because of the Berlin work style of  motifs at the bottom.

I took this photo through the glass on the frame. It is really difficult to do!

I believe that Julian Cherrier 1839 is a French sampler. Imagine my dismay when I looked at it closely after I received it to find that it had been cut off at the top! I wonder how long it originally was... This sampler was stitched on linen with wool thread. 

OTHER HOBBIES—

I love to do all kinds of handwork. This is my first attempt at rug hooking—primitive style. He was a kit that I received in a class. Love him. Tried to work on another rug hooking pattern a year ago. I had bought it in Massachusetts and had cut all the wool for it. Worked a bit too hard and must have injured something in my forearm and had to quit. My forearm was sore for a year! Now if I am in the mood for hooking, I do punch needle instead. Much easier on the body. Speaking of the body, I'm off to yoga class. I go twice a week and take Iyengar yoga and have a fabulous teacher and lot of nice gals in my classes. It keeps me young in mind and body. Talk soon. --Nancy