I was time-wastin' for a few minutes today and stumbled over this wonderful old sampler. Check out the third photo down on the right-hand side of the page:
Thanks I enjoyed seeing that.
Dangerous place to browse! It is quite a piece. Must've been a very dedicated young girl.
Ellice
Definitely a dangerous place to browse. I can't imagine staying still long enough at that age.
Nancy
It was another age. No television, often not too many books and a heavy accent on a 'lady' learning to use her needle to advantage and being far more marriageable as a result.
That, and IIRC, a lot of young "ladies" were married by age 14-16 or they were considered a spinster!!! (Wonder what they'd think nowadays....)
Not to mention that samplers were a way to demonstrate literacy, and the exercise of learning letters. It's still amazing that some of these really fine works with tiny stitches were done with only natural lighting, and candles.
Ellice
Learning to make letters also prepared one to monogram and mark household linens. For girls who weren't wealthy, it was a good skill to have if one wanted to be a companion, or, even less, but better than the kitchen, a lady's maid.
Dawne
I have a sampler executed by my maternal great-grandmother ~ it is patently clear she didn't care for stitching and was impatient ~ they say around NS 'the more things change, the more they stay the same' lol
Also if over here where it generally was not easy to purchase household goods, one could buy plain and then decorate and embellish, making the household less plain. I believe they started their trousseaus early, as you say, monogramming towels and sheets and laying them in the cedar chests ready for the Day! Hope Chests.
Beautiful work and a dangerous website for me. She has some very nice things there and I don't need any more stuff.
Lucille
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