Samplers Galore!

A couple of weeks ago I picked up Ann Hair (The Scarlet Letter) from my framer.  I am so glad that I persevered with this sampler.  It took much longer than I had imagined, probably due to all the over-one stitching. Plus you may remember that I ripped out all of the grass at the bottom and restitched it.  I love the final result!

You can see details of this sampler on some of my previous blog posts by typing "Ann Hair" in the search engine in the sidebar on the left side of this page.

Bringing home a new sampler always presents a dilemma as to where it should be hung because my walls are very full.  (I think there are 27 samplers in my family room alone.)  I wanted to be able to see Ann when I stitch, so I decided to hang her over the sofa.  This meant that I had to rearrange some of the samplers on that wall to make a place for her.  Ann got a prime spot, even if it meant moving another large sampler to my upstairs hallway.

Below is a new photo of the sampler wall where Ann now hangs..  You may recognize some of the other samplers from previous blog posts, but others have previously been elsewhere in the house.

While Tom was photographing this wall, I asked him to take a photo of another sampler wall in our family room.  This narrow wall is to the left of where I sit to stitch.

Dutch Beauty is so large that it sits on our fireplace mantel.

When I picked up Ann Hair from my framer, I dropped off another one to be framed.  I've debated showing it to you because the chart has long been out of print.  I've decided to show it to you anyway.  I just ask that you not write me about getting the chart from me.

Sovine Palphryman (Handwork Samplers) was one of the samplers that I took with me to Florida in February when we were down there following my father-in-law's surgery.  I had pulled all the silk threads before leaving home.  However, I ran into a predicament when I started stitching her, because I discovered that the colors appeared to be quite a bit different than those on the antique.  (The orgininal Sovine Palphryman sampler was part of the Whitman Sampler Collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  I don't know if the museum still owns the sampler or not.)   There wasn't a shop in town with the threads I needed, so I packed Sovine away until I got home and could go through all my threads.

Anyway, here is Sovine.  The main color is more coral than shows up in this photo.

This week I've been fine-tuning the designs for my new teaching project, Kindred Spirits.  In the wee hours of the morning, I've been working on my Snooty Parrots sampler.  Since I last showed it to you, I have completed the upper case alphabet and numerals, and added the two large parrots and house.

I think I'll be putting the sampler away for a bit as I stitch on my new teaching model.

I was excited yesterday to receive a new sampler book, Needlework Samplers Wrought by Tradition. This book shows samplers that were part of the recent sampler exhibit at Pilgrim Hall in Plymouth, Massachusetts.  I would have loved to have seen the samplers in person, but alas that wasn't to be.  I think as soon as I finish writing this blog post that I'll make a cup of tea and sit down with my new book.  It looks wonderful!  (If you're interested in the book, you can order it on-line at the Pilgrim Hall website.)

  

I'm very excited that tomorrow I'll be spending Mother's Day with both of my children and their families.  It was been around 20 years since we've all been together for Mother's Day.  I can think of no better gift than to spend time with them.

I hope you are having a great weekend and are able to find some time to stitch, even if it is only for a few moments.