Guild Lecture and April Release

Yesterday I had the honor of sharing my private sampler collection along with a presentation on sampler research to the Sampler Guild I am a member of.  I focused on the genealogical research of the first two samplers I released which were Susanah Rayment and Margaret Morley.  As always the ladies were wonderful and I had such a good time pulling all of the information together for our meeting.  I also had the opportunity to share my new April Release as part of the Online Needlework Show, which is Mary Utley.  Mary stitched her sampler at the age of 8 and it is dated July 7, 1837.  I love this sampler it has very bright colors and to me is stitched in some respects as a child would draw a picture.  

Fabric - Lakeside Linen – Meadow Rue 36 Count using one strand of silk

Silk Threads - Needlepoint Silks, Inc

Model Stitched by - Kyla McKay-Dewald

Framing  - Total Framing, Fairfax Virginia

If you love bright colors then this sampler is made for you!  As you may have imagined researching her may be a bit of a challenge.  The sampler style definitely has English influence and there are a couple of Mary Utley's who were born around the time I estimate her birth may have been.  However, there are numerous individuals with her name in the States.  Given she may have actually been in America instead of England will probably make determining who the actual stitcher is a bit of a challenge.  We shall see though.

Sampler Research

I was recently asked to share information about my original samplers and the associated research for a group of ladies next month.  Now my task is to pull my raw notes and data together in presentation format. This is something I have been meaning to do, but time just gets away before you know it.  Now that I have a true deadline it will help me compile everything into nice neat notes, family trees and supporting documentation.  I am actually looking forward to it - for some reason I love deadlines.  Researching my original samplers makes them truly come alive to me.  It gives me insight into the stitcher's life and what may have been influencing her as she was stitching.  I believe that is why I love them so much they truly are a work of art and full of information if you willing to take the time to find the treasure trove.  I will share more later but for now I definitely have a task at hand.