Sampler Verse.92

“1. Labor for learning before you grow old for it is better than silver or gold.

2. When silver is gone and money is spent then learning is most excellent.” (stitched in 1732 0r 6)

~~Sampler Verse # 29, American Samplers, Bolton and Coe (1921)

Sampler Verse.9

“When in love I do commence

May it be with a man of sense…” (stitched in 1769)

~~Sampler Verse #9, American Samplers, Bolton and Coe (1921)

Hmmm…words that are still relevant today!

Liberty Sweet Liberty

“The Love of Liberty with life was given

And Life itself is the inferior gift of heaven.” (stitched in 1770)

~~Sampler Verse #1, American Samplers, Bolton and Coe (1921)

Happ 4th of July y’all!

Sampler Verse.187

“Though young in age And small in stature

Yet I have skill To form a letter” (stitched in 1787)

~~Sampler Verse #187, American Samplers, Bolton and Coe (1921)

Another Year Has Begun

One year and 20 days ago I launched This Needlework of Mine. Its’ success continues to exceed my expectations and I marvel at how much I continue to learn because of it. While it might seem pretentious to quote him, I agree with Machiavelli’s thought that “whoever wishes to forsee the future must consult the past…” Over the next 12 months I will continue to look to the past but with an eye always on the future. Some new things I’m looking forward to are my new memberships in International Old Lacers, Inc. (http://www.internationaloldlace.org) and the Embroiderers’ Association of Canada, Inc. (http://www.eac.ca/). I am especially excited about a class that I will soon be starting with EAC.

And, thanks again y’all for helping to make this blog a success!

Here’s One for the Dads

“There’s something like a line of gold thread running through a man’s world when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough for you to pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that feels like love itself.”~~John Gregory Brown, Decorations in a Ruined Cemetary (1994)

Happy Father’s Day, y’all!

Sampler Verse.28

“I have seen the bright azure of morn

With darkness and clouds shadowed o’er

I have found that the rose has a thorn

Which will wound when its bloom is no more.” (stitched in 1806)

~~Sampler Verse #28, American Samplers, Bolton and Coe (1921)

A Day for Remembering

“How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!”

–Maya Angelou

The Old Sampler

“Faded the square of canvas,/And dim is the silken thread,/But I think of white hands dimpled,/And a childish, sunny head;/For here in cross and in tent stitch,/In wreath of berry and vine,/She worked it a hundred years ago,/ELIZABETH, AGED NINE.”–excerpt from The Old Sampler written by Mrs. Margaret Elizabeth Sangster, a poet, author and editor. It was published in McGuffey’s Fifth Eclectic Reader in 1879.

Photo courtesy of McGuffey’s Fifth Eclectic Reader. To read the entire poem search Google Books with the following terms: the old sampler mcguffey fifth eclectic reader.

One for the Ladies

“Two unique features have contributed to the popularity and the satisfactions of both creating new and collecting old needlework. Foremost is the fact that throughout history no other tangible art has been so associated with women. It is true that men have pursued (and are pursuing) this art form, but their contribution, as amateur needleworkers, has been a minimal one.—Betty Ring,  in the introduction of Needlework-An Historical Survey (1975)