Betty Ring and her incredible needlework collection

As many of you already know, Betty Ring's incredible needlework collection will be auctioned Sunday, January 22, at Sotheby's in New York City. Perhaps like me, you have already purchased a copy of the catalog. What a feast for the eyes it is!!  The photographs are so wonderful!!

If you haven't yet bought a copy, you might want to contact Sotheby's to see if they still have any remaining. The catalog will certainly be a wonderful addition to your needlework library. Sotheby's has put the catalog on-line.

In addition to the printed auction catalog, Sotheby's has made several of Betty's books available on-line, American Needlework Treasures  and Girlhood Embroidery Volume I and Volume II.

Sotheby's has exhibited the auction items since January 14. There are 197 lots. The pre-auction exhibit will run through this Saturday, January 21. Can you imagine how fantastic it must be? I had really hoped to make a trip to NYC to see the exhibit, but unfortunately I won't be able to make it. Hopefully some of you will be luckier than I am.

I was very fortunate to have heard Betty lecture on several occasions. What a thrill that was! One of the most memorable times was when I asked her to lecture for my newly founded sampler guild, the Queen City Sampler Guild, in Cincinnati. I wrote her a letter and within a short time my phone rang. The voice on the other end said, "Ellen, this is Betty Ring". I almost fainted! So on October 5, 1996, Betty came to Cincinnati to lecture for our guild.

Betty was very concerned about the audio-visual equipment set-up. She wanted two projectors to run simultaneously, but she was very specific with her request that the projectors not be operated by remote control. She had had problems with such a set-up previously. Our programs chairperson, Debra, had quite a time finding projectors that met Betty's specifications, but in the end Debra was successful in not only doing that but also in finding us a wonderful auditorium for the lecture. Betty was certainly impressed with the set-up. She told us she even had a dressing room for the first time.

Sue Sudebaker, an Ohio sampler expert, offered to host Betty in her lovely home. I think the two of them had a wonderful time together. When Tom and I drove Betty back to the airport at the end of the weekend, Betty told me what a gracious hostess and wonderful cook Sue was.

Below are several old photos I found that were taken when Betty was in Cincinnati.



Betty signing books after her lecture



Betty and Sue Studebaker



Here I am with Sue and Betty.



You can read more about Betty here or here.  What wonderful tributes!

PS By the way, I could never call Betty by her first name. When addressing her, I always said "Mrs. Ring".