FINDING SAMPLERS

When we first started our business, Threads Through Time, it was difficult to find antique samplers to reproduce. I sent out a letter (no email in those days) to all the historical societies in the Chicago area searching for samplers in their collections. Always wondered if the person who read my letter even knew what a sampler was. I only received a few responses. One was the from the Downers Grove Historical Society in Downers Grove, Illinois. Their Hannah Kennedy sampler is not local to the area but was donated to the organization. They have no idea as to the history of either the sampler or Hannah. It is a small marking sampler stitched in blues and golds.

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Above you see the antique sampler and also it's reverse. I have found that many of the backs of antique samplers are just like this—though Hannah's does look a bit "angry" doesn't it! While stitching samplers, the girls learned their alphabet, numbers, and sometimes a moral verse, but no one seemed to be monitoring the actual stitching. So, dear readers, this is a message for you:  loosen up. The backs of your work don't really need to be so perfect. The stitching police will never give you a ticket for a messy back on your piece. Just make sure the mess doesn't show on the front! Enjoy your stitching and relax too. I have known stitchers who agonize over every stitch...and they don't get a lot accomplished. When I turned 60 four years ago, I kind of panicked and recognized that I didn't have a "lifetime" to get all my projects completed. Now I work on one project every night for several hours until it is done. I know that that technique does not work for everyone, but it does for me. With only one project in the works, I can concentrate on it and get it finished as fast as I can while enjoying the process and the piece. Every night when I pick up my stitching, I know exactly where I am and what thread to use and how many strands, etc. I seem to get a lot accomplished this way. 

Back to Hannah. This is her small marking sampler. When we started the business, we took on any sampler that we could find—not just the beautiful ones. You have to start somewhere. As the business grew and we built a reputation, we discovered other wonderful samplers to reproduce. At a Questor's meeting where I gave a slide show on antique samplers, we learned of two nice samplers that were owned by a local woman. I'll tell you about them tomorrow after I get home from a quilt show in Hinsdale. I'm going with my mom who turns 89 in a week and who still plays golf and bridge. She used to stitch and sew, but now concentrates on mainly bridge—regular and duplicate. I'd rather be stitching!

I recently finished the Carriage House design of the houses by the sea. Can't remember the name of it but you know what I mean. Stitched it on 28 count linen as I recall with DMC floss. Decided to change the layout and add a verse that I found on the internet and adapted and I changed some of the colors. All these changes added to my stitching time, but the piece is finished and waiting to be framed. I have the frame and tried to pin the piece to the acid-free mat board but didn't have the patience to wrestle with the black outlines. I think I'll take it to someone who can frame it better than me. It was a fun piece to stitch. I stitched it using continental and basketweave stitches over 1 thread of the linen—like needlepoint. Half the stitching and half the time and half the size.

You can see that I did not work this entire piece in half cross stitch (continental or basket weave). I started getting bored with the same old stitch so part way through the stitching I added some needlepoint stitches to the mix. Decided these also gives it some needed texture. You can see them on the large gold moon and especially on the red house. I also stitched the sails in satin stitch to make them stand out. Should have used a darker linen to make my threads stand out but didn't realize it until I had spent too much time to go back.

It is finally beautiful and sunny here in Naperville and the old dingy snow is slowly melting. Even the daffodils are starting to emerge from the cold soil though it will be a while before we see their blooms. Spring is coming to the midwest and it can't come too fast for me! 

SAMPLERS—The Beginning of my Journey

I have been stitching since I was a child. Knit my first sweater—a ski sweater—in the eighth grade. Always loved working with my hands and sewed many doll clothes in my day. I joined the new American Needlepoint Guild chapter Illini Needlers in the 1980's and learned many new needlework techniques, but when I looked back on those projects, I saw that they were lovely but very dated. My beautiful silk and metal thread angel with the avocado green background was never going to leave the back of my closet. I decided that I loved antique samplers and reproductions of them because they would never go out of date. They are classic. I guess that is why I also love most classical music. So I started reproducing and stitching antique samplers. It has been an interesting journey. The samplers like Eliza Ann Marlett that I stitched in 1987 still look great!

Some of the first samplers that I attempted were either stamped on linen fabric like the one above or were needlepoint. The two designs below were hand painted needlepoint canvas by Susan Treglown. I thought they were fantastic at the time! The entire sampler is stitched using continental and basketweave stitches. I thought I was really fancy when I use perle cotton for the colors and wool for the background.

This Christmas sampler I stitched through Illini Needlers ANG. Still love it. 

This sampler was a class taught in 1984 by the late Chottie Alderson of California. It was done on 24 count needlepoint canvas called congress cloth. Each of the strawberries surrounding Adam and Eve was made using a different stitch.

This is another 1984 Chottie Alderson sampler on congress cloth. Each block on the border is a different stitch and each motif area in the center is a different technique. I used to get a lot of stitching done in those days and I learned a lot.

I thought these were terrific samplers until I got involved with reproductions. Now they too reside in my closet with the avocado angel!

As to reading— I just finished the latest Danielle Steele book, Big Girl. It was not the greatest but an afternoon's diversion. It focused on a girl with bad self-esteem and her journey to find love and happiness with someone who loved her whether or not she was fat or thin. I've read better. Just started the John Grisham short stories.

Be back tomorrow with more samplers, etc.

STARTING OUT...Eliza Ann Marlett—An Illinois sampler

For a long time I have been thinking about writing a blog and I have finally decided to go for it! I named my blog for my former business, Threads Through Time, which several friends and I started in 1987. At first we reproduced antique samplers. Later on I owned the business myself and added silk gauze designs to the mix. I think that I am going to talk about the samplers that we reproduced and then get on to stitching on silk gauze. I also want to talk a bit about the projects I have stitched/knitted/quilted just for myself and also maybe a little about the books I am currently reading as I am a big reader.

The first sampler that we reproduced was the Eliza Ann Marlett sampler from 1838. It was stitched in Aurora, Illinois, which is unusual because Aurora was only founded in 1834 as I recall. Aurora is near where I live in the Chicago area. This sampler is owned by the Aurora Historical Society.

This is a photo (not a very good one) of the front of this sampler. It's edges had been glued to a mat board a zillion years ago, and it was framed. We loved this sampler because it included quite a few different kinds of stitches.

Above is a photo of the reverse. Notice how Eliza carried her threads from letter to letter and motif to motif. 

This is a photo of the reproduction sampler. We loved the cute little heart in the lower right hand corner and also the small flower basket on the second line. Eliza was not always perfect in her stitching, but that is the charm of it. When I took the reproduction to be framed, the lady at the frame shop said, "You have lots of mistakes in this piece." And I said, "Isn't that great!"

This is a close-up of the repro. There is a coss stitch alphabet, a 4-sided stitch alphabet, and the top alphabet is a combination of eyelets and smyrna cross stitches. The small dividing lines are various long arm cross stitches.  

 

The signature line at the bottom is cross stitch over 1 thread.  I like this sampler a lot because there are very few samplers originally stitched in the mid-west...and it was our first.

Have to go and take my aging Golden Retriever, Murphy, for his afternoon walk. Hope to be back tomorrow. --Nancy