Spring is around the corner

This weekend has been a little chilly here, but that hasn't stopped my bulbs from starting to break thru the ground which is a sure sign spring is finally around the corner.  Another sign of spring is Woodlawn's Needlework Exhibit which is in its 50th year.  My mom and I are scheduled to docent on the 16th with the guild I am a member of.  We look forward to it every year, unfortunately I missed last year due to not feeling well.  Being a docent is a great opportunity to see the show enjoy the wonderful lunch Nelly's Needler's offer and of course stop by In Stitches which is just down the street.  I was pleasantly surprised this afternoon, when I was catching up on all the blogs to see their latest post.

Sarah Leigh - 1847
Original Antique Sampler

While reading their post I realized I had not shared a photo of the original Sarah Leigh sampler.  As you can see the colors are nice and soft.  The verse was stitched in black and there is some bleeding of the dye into the surrounding linen.  When the original arrived it had been framed into a fairly modern frame which obviously was not original to the piece.  When I took the sampler out of the frame I was really surprised to see it had been cut to fit the frame.  Whoever put it in the frame also thought it would be a brilliant idea to use an adhesive mounting board.  Fortunately I was able to separate the two from each other.  Sarah is now safely stored in archival paper and box.  I am always amazed when receiving an antique sampler how these items have been treated throughout time and are resilient and still beautiful.