America is a land of immigrants - and sampler making traditions have traveled to this country in the heads, hearts, and hands of women from all parts of the world. Earliest, and most obvious, is the influence of English sampler making traditions. By the middle of the 18th century, however, uniquely American traditions had begun to emerge, in response to a more diverse group of immigrants and a developing sense of national identity. Regional differences also emerged, leading historians to document the distinguishing features of samplers from specific parts of the country, specific states, and even specific towns and schools. In this exhibit are examples of three influences on American girls' education, and thus their samplers: a specific teacher (Westfield Samplers); a national fashion (Family Record Samplers); and a religion (Quaker Samplers).

Sally Noble's sampler and introduction to "Samplers International" exhibition. Sally Noble 1798 Close-up detail

Sally Noble, 1798 Materials: Silk on line" Dimensions: 10" H x 8.75" W Stitches: cross, satin, stem Collection of the Bush House Museum, Salem, OR Sarah (Sally) Noble was born January 13, 1785 in Westfield, Massachusetts. Westfield is a small town in Hampden County in the Connecticut River Valley, approximately 10 miles directly west of Springfield, Massachusetts. From its founding in 1669 until 1725, Westfield was the westernmost settlement in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Sally was the 6th child of Asa and Rhoda (Fowler) Noble. Ancestors of both parents had been in the American colonies since the 1600s, and Sally's mother was descended from Peter Brown, a passenger on the Mayflower. During the American Revolution Sally's father had served as a corporal. Sally stitched her sampler in 1798 when she was 12 years old. Its major components include a single alphabet, the numbers 1-5, three stylized flower motifs, and a signature. On three sides there is a double border comprised of satin stitches in a saw tooth pattern and flowers in a zigzag arcade. What is most unusual in this sampler is the way the entire background is covered in stitches, offering a high level of contrast and visual appeal. Sally's sampler is one of at least 10 distinctive samplers stitched in Westfield toward the end of the 18th century. Their similarities strongly suggest they were stitched under the instruction of the same teacher. On March 13, 1814, at the age of 29, Sally married Asahel Bush (b. 1788) son of Aaron and Martha (Judd) Bush, also of Westfield. Sally and Asahel remained in Westfield all their lives and had six children: Luke (b. 1814); Mary (b. 1816); Amelia (b. 1818); Seth (b. 1820); Asahel II (b. 1824); and Edmund (b. 1829). Sally died June 3, 1863 at the age of 78. Their fifth child, Asahel Bush II traveled to Oregon in 1850 at the age of 26, settling in Salem by 1853. Asahel Bush II became a successful and wealthy publisher, banker, and politician. In 1878 he built and moved into a new 12-room home on Mission Street in Salem. He was a widower with four children, two of whom were in the East finishing their education. Bush's second daughter Sally, named for her grandmother, moved into the home after completing her education and remained there the rest of her life. She is remembered for her love of gardens, devotion to animals, and assistance to families in need. The Bush family home became the Bush House Museum in 1953. Sally Noble's sampler in on long-term loan to the museum from the estate of Samuel Bush, the great-great-great grandson of Asahel I and Sarah (Noble) Bush.

It is rare to have more than one sampler from the same family. The Benton County Museum has the good fortune to own two samplers from the Benjamin Parker family of Southborough, MA, stitched by stepsisters Anna and Dolly Parker. The samplers were donated to the museum by descendants of Dolly's brother, having been in their possession for more than 125 years and traveled more than 3230 miles.

Captain Benjamin Parker and his family lived in Southborough, Massachusetts, a small rural town 28 miles directly west of Boston. Southborough was first settled in 1660 and officially incorporated in 1727. At the time that Anna and Dolly Parker stitched their samplers, the Southborough community was largely agricultural with most families living on a farm, including the Parkers. A variety of mill industries had begun to tap into tributaries of the Sudbury River, including Stony Brook that ran through Southborough. At first these mills were largely sawmills and gristmills. By the middle of the 19th century, however, the town was home to numerous manufacturing industries making plaster, shoes and boots, fabric for clothing, and woolen blankets.

In an early history of Southborough, Peter Fay (1888) described the "old brick school-house" he attended as a child and aspects of the education available to local boys and girls. He is often quite descriptive, even to the point of mentioning that the schoolroom windows only opened "three inches at the top". Peter Fay was born in 1807 and so undoubtedly knew both Anna and Dolly Parker and Dolly may have been one of the young girls dressed in "a sort of linsey-woolsey, some calico, but very light under-clothing" who would nonetheless "go through snow-drifts from two to three feet deep". Fay also describes the colorful characters chosen to teach in the local school, and some of the curriculum, but does not mention needlework instruction or the making of samplers. Fay deemed the educational circumstances somewhat "barbaric", as the building did not have either a woodshed or a "privy" until 1822.

Anna Parker, 1811
Silk thread on linen
5" H x 4.5" W
Benton County Historical Society Collection

Anna Parker was born August 12, 1798 in Southborough, Massachusetts. She stitched her simple alphabet sampler in 1811 when she was 12 years old.

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Dolly Parker was born February 5, 1814 in Southborough, Massachusetts. She stitched her sampler in 1824 when she was 10 years old. The donor indicated that Dolly may have owned or managed a store selling ladies' accessories prior to her death in 1838.

A chartpak for this sampler is on sale at the Benton County Museum store.

In the early to mid 19th century it was popular in certain regions of the country to document a family's genealogy. The tools and materials varied - calligraphy on paper, carvings in wood, or embroidered stitches on fabric or paper. The documents, regardless of the medium used, were often labeled with words like "Genealogy", "Family Record", "Family Tree", or "Family Register".

Family Record samplers were especially popular in New England, where regional variations have resulted in a variety of designs and layouts. One of the most common was to stitch birth, marriage, and death dates in columns, starting with the sampler maker's parents and then listing the children in the order of their birth. The intention was to add dates over time (as individuals married and died), but these Family Record samplers frequently remain incomplete. Particularly poignant on these samplers is seeing the names and dates of children who died young, often within their first two years.

Naomi Bliss Sampler
Circa 1817
Materials: Silk on linen
Dimensions: 8.75" H x 13.5" W
Stitches: cross
Courtesy of Be Davison Herrera

Naomi Bliss was born July 26, 1792 in Longmeadow, Hampden County, Massachusetts.

Verse: "Family Register / Jesse Meacham was born / Naomi Bliss was born July 26, 1792 / Married Jan 23 1"

J. E. Herrera, whose mother of Pennsylvania German (Dutch) ancestry made alphabet samplers as a young girl, purchased this sampler in Pennsylvania as a Valentine gift in 1982 for the Herrera Family Fiber Collection.

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Roxana Hardin, 1829
Materials: Silk on unbleached linen
Dimensions: 17.75" H x 16.5" W
Stitches: cross, queen
Collection of Lynne Anderson

Roxana H. Hardin was born in August 1821, the fourth and last child of Thomas and Mehitable Harden of Abington, MA. Roxana did not label her sampler a Family Record but she included full names and birth dates for all members of her immediate family, except herself:

Thomas Harden born June 26, 1787
Mehitable Harden born July 5, 1787
Married June 29, 1811
Sarah H Harden born July 16, 1812
Nancy W Harden born Feb 3, 1815
Harriet Harden born Dec 4, 1818

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The family of Jonah and Sophronia (Bradford) Brooks lived in Lunenberg, Essex County, Vermont. As listed on their Family Record, Jonah and Sophronia were the parents of eight children, born between the years 1828 and 1846. The Brooks Family Record was stitched in stages over a period of approximately 66 years, making it one of the few Family Record samplers of this format with complete information for all individuals listed.

Early Quaker samplers were not distinguishable from those of the region in which they were created. By the beginning of the 19th century, however, a transformation had occurred. Samplers produced in Quaker schools on both continents adopted similar alphabets, motifs, and formats. Prominent was use of the Roman style alphabet, in both capital and small letters. Motifs associated with Quaker instruction include small wreaths, paired doves, swans, natural looking sprays of flowers, and eight pointed stars. Unique to Quaker samplers was the inclusion of bold and intricate medallions and half medallions, often lined up along the edge as a border. In short, widespread adoption of the same alphabets and motifs led to 19th century samplers that are easily recognizable as having been created under the instruction of a Quaker teacher or one trained in a Quaker school.

Mary Brightwell Fitz Randolph was born in 1813 in Redstone, PA, and stitched this under the direction a Quaker teacher. She was 16 when she completed the sampler: Quakers say an child is in the first year of life at birth so someone in their 17th year is only 16. Mary married Strickler Forry in 1831 and died in 1834 in Redstone.

A chartpak for this sampler is on sale at the Benton County Museum Store.

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Susanna S. Furman, 1831
Materials: Silk on linen
Dimensions: 16" H x 17.75" W
Stitches: cross, queen
Collection of Lynne Anderson

Many of the motifs on Susanna Furman's sampler are typical of samplers stitched under the instruction of Quaker teachers. These include the central wreath with a pair of doves and the various sprays of flowers. The style and border of her Susanna's sampler suggest an affinity with the Quaker samplers and schools of the Delaware River Valley and Burlington County, New Jersey. Although the 1830 census lists multiple Furman families living in Burlington County, no birth, death, or marriage records for a Susanna Furman from this area have been found.

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Rosanna Price, 1834
Materials: Silk on linen
Dimensions: 12.5" H x 16.5" W
Stitches: cross, tent
Collection of Lynne Anderson

Rosanna Ferris Price was born in 1820 to Ferris and Martha (Smith) Price of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where her father was a very successful (and wealthy) master carpenter. She was named for her paternal grandmother, Rosanna Ferris, who married Joseph Price in 1783. Rosanna attended Nine Partners School, a private Quaker school in Dutchess County, New York. She stitched her sampler at the age of 14, her last year at the school.

England has a long history of producing superlative embroidery, for both secular and religious purposes. The country even gave its name to a rich, luxuriant form of embroidery developed for the medieval church, opus Anglicanum. Although English samplers and other girlhood embroideries are a more humble and domestic form of needlework, English needlework teachers seem to have consistently set high standards for their young students, resulting in products of astounding composition and skill. This exhibition has focused on English samplers from the middle of the 18th century to the middle of the 19th century. In addition to fine needlework, features typical of this period include: (a) a color palette of muted greens, golds, and browns; (b) signatures identifying girls by their full names and often including date, age and location; (c) a strong sense of symmetry in design and layout; and (d) verses written or adapted for children with the goal of teaching moral behavior and religious piety.

Elizabeth Midford, 1747
Materials: Silk on linen
Dimensions: 14" H x 7.5" W
Stitches: cross, double running, stem, French knot, eyelet, braided
Collection of Lynne Anderson

This finely stitched sampler was the work of Elizabeth Midford, a member of the aristocratic Midford/Mitford family in Northumberland, England. The alphabets are missing both the letter "J" and the letter "U" - two letters that had not yet been adopted into the English alphabet.

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Sarah Baston, 1830
Materials: Silk on linen
Dimensions: 15" H x 16" W
Stitches: Cross, four sided, eyelet
Benton County Historical Society Collection

Sarah Baston stitched this fine sampler at the age of 11, in 1830. It shares many features with other English samplers of the period. Most notable is the strong sense of symmetry, especially in the bottom half.

Sarah has stitched two different verses on her sampler, both of which come from longer works.

The first verse reads: Lord give me wisdom to direct my ways. I crave not riches, nor the length of days. Popular on samplers stitched in America as well as England, its first appearance on American samplers seems to have been about 1725.

The second reads: I have done this that you may see, what care my parents took of me. Another popular sampler verse, these lines are often preceded or followed by additional stanzas thanking her parents for the opportunity to learn.

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Charlotte Rowlison, 1835
Materials: Silk on linen
Dimensions: 12.25" H X 12.25" W
Stitches: cross, satin
Collection of Lynne Anderson

Charlotte Rowlison's sampler illustrates England's tradition of fine needlework instruction combined with verses for literacy and moral education. Poems and hymns were frequently included on English samplers, many written or adapted specifically for children. Although the author of Charlotte's four-stanza poem is unknown, a version was included in an anthology of moral songs for young children, published in London in 1845 by S. Wilderspin and T.J. Terrington.

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Ann Swatton, 1837
Materials: Silk on wool
Dimensions: 12" H x 12" W
Stitches: cross, satin, straight
Collection of Lynne Anderson

This sampler is stitched in muted colors of green, gold, and brown. The symmetrical layout is typical of English samplers in the 19th century. Ann included two verses on her sampler. The first is one of the most popular of all sampler verses:

Jesus permit thy gracious Name to stand
As the first efforts of an infant's hand
And while her fingers on the canvas move
Engage her tender hear to see thy love.
With thy dear children let her have a part
And write thy name thy self upon her heart.

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Mary Stockwell, 1843
Materials: Silk on linen
Dimensions: 15.5" H x 12.75" W
Stitches: cross
Collection of Lynne Anderson

Mary Stockwell was the sixth child born to William and Ann Stockwell in the small town of Isleworth in the western part of greater London. Mary stitched her sampler when she was 12 years old.

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Ann Fuller stitched a sampler that has something to please everyone: great graphic appeal, excellent needlework, a detailed signature, a local landmark, and a verse full of religious piety and filial love. The central motif is "The Grand Pont House in Berkshire", a Georgian home built on the arches of a medieval causeway south of Oxford, England. It is likely that Ann was the daughter of William and Sarah (Rawlins) Fuller of Albury, Oxfordshire, a small village about 11 miles from the Grand Pont House.

Sampler making continued in France and some other European countries long after the tradition had been abandoned in the United States. Prior to 1882, educational opportunities for young French girls were haphazard at best, with most instruction provided in private boarding schools and convent schools. In 1882, the French government passed a law requiring all communities to provide free education to children, rich and poor, from the age of 6 to 13 years. Needlework instruction was a mandatory part of the curriculum for girls, and resulted in a large number of small samplers being produced though out the remainder of the 19th century, and well into the 20th century. The quality of stitching is mediocre but they have a certain visual and historic charm. Referred to by teachers and students as "les petit rouges et blancs" (little red and whites), these three small examples of sewing reflect important changes in French educational focus.

The verse reads in part:

O bien heureux mille fois
L'enfant que le seigneur aime
Qui de bonne heure entend sa voix
Et que ce dieu daigne instruire lui-meme

Loose translation:

Happy a thousand times over
Is a child loved by the Lord
Who from an early age listens to his voice
And who the Lord himself intends to teach.

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This is a darning sampler made by Clotilde Bouhon. Learning to mend clothes by darning was an important part of a girl's needlework education, and yet not all countries had a tradition of requiring girls to practice and demonstrate their darning skills on samplers. The most common darning samplers are Dutch and English.

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Juliette Poux, 1901
Materials: Cotton on linen
Dimensions: 7.25" H x 8.75" W
Stitches: cross
Collection of Lynne Anderson

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Gabrielle Menard, 1912
Materials: Cotton & wool on linen
Dimensions: 12.75" H by 10.50" W
Stitches: Darning, cross
Collection of Lynne Anderson

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Mariette Pibouleux
1916-17
Materials: Silk & cotton on Penelope
Dimensions: 7.5" H x 11" W
Stitches: cross
Collection of Lynne Anderson

Scandinavia is an area of northern Europe comprised of multiple countries - the best known being Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Together they have a shared history, a common culture, and similar languages. The kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden have existed in one form or another since the 13th century, but over time there has been considerable shifting of boundaries and alliances due to wars and treaties. Although each country has its own unique customs, Scandinavia is seen as a cultural and linguistic entity because of its shared history and culture, and because of its mutually intelligible languages.

Scandinavian samplers

A Scandinavian sampler is called a "navneklud" in Danish or "navneduk" in Norwegian and Swedish. Both words translate to "name cloth". As examples of girlhood embroidery, they reflect the unique needlework traditions of the sewer's country, as well as shared cultural roots and the influence of shared neighbors.

This sampler was stitched by Henrik Ingberg's "dotter" in Sweden. We do not know her name, but she was undoubtedly related to Karolina Ingberg, who wrote details of the girl's genealogy on the back of the framed sampler. Karolina wrote, in Swedish:

Sewed by a daughter to wagon maker and alderman Henrik Ingberg, married to Eva Charlotta J. Kallstrom, natural daughter to the Baron von Duben.

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Marte Henrikke Olsen, 1895
Norway
Materials: Silk on linen
Dimensions: 9.75" H by 10.4" W
Stitches: Cross stitch, satin stitch, eyelet stitch, herringbone, drawnwork, kloster blocks, needleweaving
Private collection

This is a Norwegian sampler stitched by Marte Henrikke Olsen. Marte was born in 1885 in Eidanger, Norway to Ole Andreas Olsen and Maren Lovise Christensen.

Marte's sampler is representative of the needlework taught in Norwegian schools in the last part of the 19th century.

Marte's two complete alphabets include the Dano-Norwegian vowels of Æ and Ø. The first is formed from the letters a and e, and the second is a uniquely Scandinavian letter. Also interesting is Marte's inclusion of two forms of the small "s" in her lower case alphabet, unusual in a sampler dated late in the 19th century. Both alphabets lack the letter "w" which wasn't adopted into the Norwegian alphabet until 1917.

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Marie Christensen was born August 26, 1893 in or near Koge, Denmark. Koge is a seaport about 28 miles southwest of Copenhagen. Marie stitched her sampler when she was twelve years old. According to the inscription on her sampler, Marie was a student at Vallo Syskols (sewing school) and she completed her sampler in December of 1906.

Around the age of 21, Marie Christensen immigrated to the United States where she married Carl Philip in Miami, Florida. Marie and Carl traveled cross-country by train to San Francisco, and lived most of their lives in San Carlos, California.  Marie (or Mimi as she was called) and Carl were paternal grandparents of Nancy Tonkin, Benton County resident since 1977. Marie's sampler remains in the family.

The Spanish terms for sampler are dechado, or muestra de bordado. Mexican samplers tend to use vibrant colors, and often demonstrate multiple techniques and traditions in a single piece. Most use reversible stitches, so the back is as neat as the front. Mexican samplers were not generally meant to be framed so motifs are often placed haphazardly.

Mexico is a large and diverse country whose history is filled with the influence of many different cultures. Each has had a significant impact on Mexico's needlework traditions and together provide insight into the diversity of Mexican samplers.

cross stich detail

Aztec stitch

lace detail

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This sampler is filled with motifs illustrating a uniquely Mexican blend of cultures.

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Bonifasa Flores
Circa 1860
Materials:Silk on fine linen
Dimensions: 15" H X 17.5" W
Stitches: Satin, Long and short, stem, French knots
Collection of Lynne Anderson

Bonifasa Flores probably stitched her beautiful motif sampler at a convent school in one of Mexico's urban areas. This is suggested by her use of the difficult shaded embroidery technique, the presence of motifs suggesting academic religious instruction, and a signature in cursive letters.

Scottish samplers tend to be quite distinctive and therefore easily distinguishable from samplers stitched in other parts of the British Isles. Some of their distinctive character derives from centuries of strong political and economic ties with European countries on the mainland, especially the Netherlands. Political union with England did not occur until 1603 after which Scottish needlework teachers began to incorporate patterns found on 17th century English band samplers, and continued to use these patterns long after they had gone out of fashion in England. The economic difficulties in Scotland encouraged the use of homegrown materials instead of imported ones, hence the frequent use of wool instead of silk threads.

This small sampler was stitched by E. Mitchell when she was 15 years old. It has many characteristics of Scottish samplers, including the heavy use of red and green thread and the inclusion of family initials.

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Jane Leslie, 1856
Materials:Crewel wool, cotton, and silk on linen
Dimensions: 16" H X 17" W
Stitches: cross, braided, eyelet, stem
Collection of Lynne Anderson

This visually interesting sampler was stitched by Jane Leslie when she was 9 years old. Buildings are popular on Scottish samplers and usually depict the girl's home, her school, or an important building in town. Another common Scottish motif is the male peacock with his tail feathers spread.

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Catherine Tait stitched this colorful sampler in 1889 when she was 13 years old. The sampler's design is common to many samplers stitched in Scottish schools in the mid to late 19th century, and similar to the one stitched by Jane Leslie 33 years earlier.

This sampler displays a collection of small unrelated motifs, stitched entirely in petit point. The motifs are stitched in a style called "Berlin woolwork," using patterns first produced in Berlin in the mid-1800s. The stag was probably the first motif to be stitched, as published instructions of the time suggested stitchers start in the center, and then work out towards the edges in order to create a balanced design.

Interesting is the motif of two African American children holding hands and dancing for joy. Above their heads are the words "We's free," indicating this sampler was stitched after the American civil war had ended and emancipation had begun. However, the motif itself, without the words, has earlier origins. It was frequently used to decorate kitchen potholders sold at abolitionist fund raisers. In this context, the motif was accompanied by the words "Any holder but a slaveholder." Stitching petit point samplers with a collection of motifs on a dark background was a popular pastime for adult women of average means in the last part of the 19th century, made possible by an increase in leisure time and the availability of inexpensive materials and patterns.

According to family history, the sampler was stitched by Cordelia (Evans) Whited (1814-1896). Cordelia Evans Whited was the great, great, grandmother of Edith C. Ingram (1892-1988), who donated the sampler to the Seaside Museum, at Seaside, Oregon.

This monochrome spot motif sampler is filled with alphabets and motifs meaningful to the stitcher's family, with emphasis on the letter "H", for Hart. The owner's grandmother taught her to stitch at the age of 12, and encouraged her progress by giving her a small embroidery kit. At that time, a lifelong needleworker was born!

A Young Girl's Sampler
Be Davison Herrera, 1956
The Hague, Virginia
Materials: cotton thread on linen
Dimensions: 7.5" H X 9.25" W
Stitches: lazy dazy, chain, cross, running, feather, stem, satin, raised edge buttonhole, outline buttonhole, and French knots
Loaned by: Be Davison Herrera

This sampler demonstrates the owner's knowledge of stitches when she was 13 years old. The sampler is in the tradition of schoolgirl samplers because it was used for learning and documenting a variety of stitches. The sampler was made at the stitcher's birthplace--Linden House at The Hague, Virginia, USA. Instruction and encouragement were provided by the stitcher's grandmother and mother. Bloodstains occurred during construction.

A sampler with a twist--on display is a variety of fibers and colors instead of a variety of stitches. The fibers in this sampler were hand spun on a Navaho-style spindle. The different fibers include silk, bamboo, Rambouillet, Icelandic and Romney sheep's wool, angora rabbit, angora goat (mohair), llama, and alpaca. Most of the fibers were dyed with Jacquard dyes and then stitched together with straight Gobelin stitch.

First Sampler by ART
Amelia Rose Tolonen, 2011
Materials: cotton thread on cotton
Dimensions: 5.25" diameter
Stitches: cross
Loaned by: Amelia Tolonen

Amelia Rose Tolonen is learning the art of needlework in the spirit of her Scandinavian ancestors. At the age of 6, Amelia took an interest in her dad's work, preparing for the "Samplers International" exhibition at Benton County Museum. Amelia's great-aunt Judith Herendeen Roberts helped her start on a first needlework project--her initials and a cross-stitch heart. Amelia persevered to finish the piece for this exhibition, and has now started on an alphabet sampler from a traditional pattern.

An interest in needlework runs in Amelia's family. Her great-great Aunt Hilma Tolonen Salvon (1895-1984) emigrated from Finland in 1904 and brought with her a passion for embroidery and lace. Guests to Hilma's table enjoyed fresh rye bread at a table set with elegantly embroidered table cloths, napkins, and lace "pitsi" doilies. This passion is shared by Amelia's great-aunt, Judith Roberts. Amelia knows that to be seated at the Roberts' table is a treat, not only for the homemade jam and "Freda Pickles" but also for the fiber arts that decorate the room. Judith accents her decor with samplers, wall hangings, needlepoint coasters, and quilted table runners. Amelia is clearly on track for continuing the family's domestic needlework traditions.

This sampler was stitched in Winslow, Arizona from a chart in the May 1961 Woman's Day magazine. The sampler is a modified reproduction of a sampler in the Brooklyn Museum, stitched by Eliza Ann Edwards in 1826.

This sampler is a reproduction of an antique sampler originally stitched in 1789. Joyce Skogen stitched this in 1990 for her father, a man who valued a good name. He died in 2007.

This is a reproduction of a sampler originally stitched by Ann Hair in 1762. The original is in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England. The verse reads:

"All you my friends that now expect to see a piece of work thus performed by me, cast but a smile upon my small endeavor I'll strive to mind and be obedient ever.

Then I'll not be proud of my youth nor my beauty since both of them wither and fade, but gain a good name by doing well my duty this will scent like a rose when I am dead.

Blessed by the Lord that sent His son to take our flesh and blood, He for our lives gave up His own to make our peace with God.

In all misfortunes this advantage lies, Make us humble and they make us wise. Let's bear it calmly tho' a grievous woe and still adore the hand that gives the blow.

Long live the king. Long live the gracious queen. Our grateful isle perpetually shall sing, transported see that she can boast alone the happiest pair upon the brightest throne.

Let title be the name of truth this is the practice of thy youth. With care and court I have this wrought and finished with a virgin thought."

This sampler includes alphabets and motifs associated with samplers stitched in schools founded by Quaker educators. The sampler was stitched over a 2-year period during the Carolina Sample Guild (Charlotte, North Carolina) study of Quaker samplers. It was designed by Susan Patterson and includes several Quaker half medallions, a motif unique to Quaker samplers. In addition, the sampler includes a Carolina Sampler Guild medallion, miscellaneous smaller motifs, initials of family members, a darning piece with the year 2008 surrounding it, alphabets with some ligatures (letter combinations) and a pious verse.

The original sampler is dated 1714 and was stitched by Anna DePaw. In keeping with early band samplers, the alphabets did not have a U and J. These were added by the stitcher of this modified reproduction. She also centered the verse and corrected the misspelled words. The verse is from Proverbs 31, v. 30-31, and was very popular on 17th and early 18th century band samplers. It reads:

"Favor is deceitful and beauty is vain. But a woman that feareth the Lord she shall be praised. Give her the fruit of her hands and let her own works praise her in the gates."

The sampler includes a second verse:

"Delight thou in the Lord and He shall give thee thy Heart's Desire."

Verse: "Be clothed with humility for God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble."

This sampler is typical of band samplers from the 1700s. The verse reads:

"Let her who cares for needlework and wishes to perform the same,
Learn thoroughly and never shirk, and she'll obtain both praise and fame."

The bottom band recognizes the sampler group that completed this sampler together.

"Shared in friendship, our sampler guild, Judy, Joan, Betty Ann, Fern, Kelley, Kris, of Linn-Benton county, Oregon, 2003-2004."

The verse recognizes the sampler group. "Shared in friendship by Judy, Betty Add, Fern, Joan, Kris, of Corvallis, Oregon."

Celtic Band Sampler
Kimberly Hart, 2008
Materials: cotton thread on linen
Stitches: cross, blackwork
Dimensions: 23.25" H X 8.25" W

Pattern by Homespun Sampler

Merrie Ziady purchased this cross stitch kit in 1975 and stitched it in the same year.

The pattern for this sampler was purchased online.

This sampler is stitched in the tradition of historic French red and white samplers. It was the stitcher's first try at a French red sampler. The linen was purchased in France and was a gift. The original French alphabet is used; note that there is not a "J" or "W". Missing the "J" is common on historical samplers, as it was a later addition to the alphabet. The "W" was also added to the alphabet later, to accommodate words of foreign origin.

Traditional Alphabet Sampler
Freda Vars, 1991-2011
Materials: cotton thread on linen
Dimensions: 15" H X 9.75" W
Stitches: cross

This sampler is similar to many early alphabet samplers stitched by young girls in school. The sampler is stitched on "antique" linen and features four alphabets, numerals, and a geometric floral border. It is worked in two strands of cotton floss over two threads of linen.

The stitcher's interest in making a sampler began after seeing one dated 1796 that had been passed down in her husband's Rhode Island family. She found a pattern in a book from the Corvallis library, bought the fabric at Friendship Crossing and started the project in 1991. Twenty years later, across two centuries and many other cross stitch projects, the museum's call for samplers inspired her to finish. The dates at the bottom indicate the start and finish of the sampler. Freda Vars lives in Corvallis, Oregon.

Alphabet Sampler
Kim Lewis
Dimensions: 7.5" H X 5.25" W
Loaned by Be Davison Herrera

A contemporary primitive style sampler designed to look like it was stitched by a young girl. It was found at a yard sale.

This sampler was a gift for the stitcher's mother, Alice V. Henderson, of Corvallis. When she died in 1995, it came back to the original owner and sampler maker. The verse reads:

"The wisdom of the wise is an uncommon degree of common sense."

This sampler is an original design and verse, created by Frances Stilwell. Below she describes what prompted her to design a sampler with an iris and how she came to write the enigmatic verse: "Beauty Is In The Iris of the Beholder".

"At the start of my adult art career in 1981 I was hell-bent to get into shows. When I saw the announcement of the Keizer Art Center one I figured all the entries would be paintings and drawings and I needed something unusual to be accepted. Calling All Kids magazine used to have riddles in the back that we children always read. They gave ideas for supper conversation at my grandparents house where we would challenge each with such things as "Prestidigitator--spell it with two letters." My grandmother brought that to the table. So my brain was trained to work with riddles.

For my entry in Keizer, I bought a garden iris at a florist shop, drew it, and placed the drawing on a big sheet of graph paper. I quite naturally came up with the riddle since my brain was trained that way; I bought the thread for the blue iris in a shop in the Old Cannery, then was stumped as to what colors for the others. During frequent trips back there with my graph paper and the sampler, the saleswoman there helped me decide on colors."

This sampler was successfully exhibited at the Keiser Art Center in 1984. In addition, it has been exhibited at Stevenson's Fine Framing and at the United Methodist Church, Corvallis, Oregon.

African Violets
Walter Frankel, 1987
Materials: cotton thread on linen
Dimensions: 12.75" H X 10.5" W
Stitches: cross stitch, back stitch

The sampler was made for the stitcher's mother-in-law, Helen K. Kiefer. The pattern is a contemporary design that was not signed by the designer. The verse reads: "To grow 'em is to love 'em."

This sampler is from the American Heritage Designs of Sandra Sullivan. It reflects our American Shaker Heritage and includes the words to a popular shaker song: Tis a Gift to be Simple.

Blue Sampler
Kimberly Hart, 2002
Dimensions: 14.5" H X 4" W
Stitches: cross

This monochromatic sampler is stitched with the ever popular blue thread on white background. In style it is similar to 17th century band samplers stitched by young girls in England. The verse reads: "The Needle's Work Shall be my Heart".

I purchased the original pattern for this sampler from Friendship Crossing in Corvallis, Oregon. The verse reads:

"See how the lilies flourish white and fair
See how the ravens fed from Heaven are
Then ne'er distrust thy God for cloth and bread
Whilst lilies flourish and ravens fed."

This sampler is a reproduction of one that dates to 1795 and is in a private collection. The verse reads:

"Give me a house that will never decay;
And garments that will never wear away.
Give me a friend that will never depart;
Give me a Ruler that can rule my heart."

The top of this sampler is a reproduction of a darning sampler that dates to 1914. Darning samplers were popular as a way of teaching young girls to mend clothing. The goal was to match the weave of the original fabric.

The verse was added by the stitcher. It reads:

"Reweave, repair, patch-up, make do.
My darning skills I here review."

This sampler was a project completed by a local group of sampler enthusiasts and stitchers. The bottom band recognizes the group's collaboration: "Shared in friendship, our sampler group, of Linn-Benton County, Oregon, 2005-2006."

Kathryn Jane's Birth Sampler
Judy Juntunen, 1987
Materials: silk and perle cotton on 32 count linen
Dimensions: 8.5"H X 9" W
Stitches: cross, straight
Loaned by: Mary Gallagher

"I did a lot of cross stitches, I enjoyed the challenge of the counted cross stitch. My cross stitch career ended when I discovered quilting about 25 years ago." The pattern for this counted cross stitch was found in a pattern book.

Pattern by Butternut Road

Exhibitions:

1985 Woodlawn Plantation, Mount Vernon, Virginia
First Place, Men's Cross-Stitch
Best in Show, Men's Division

1986 National Arts Program, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Third Place

2002 Community Open, Corvallis Arts Center, Corvallis, Oregon

Artist Statement:

Curtis L. Kiefer and I bought our first home in 1983, during the second year of our continuing relationship. While I have never been a devotee of samplers, the new home created an opportunity to design and execute one under the guidance of Jean Farish, who did a two-day workshop for Quaker City Stitchers.

Several decisions were made before the beginning of the workshop. Obviously, our new home would be a central figure, so this is a house sampler, not a stitch sampler. I also chose to work on natural linen, using Danish flower threads. I was seeking a muted palette rather than anything bold. I knew there were elements that I wished to include in some way: Curtis, our dog, books, music, etc.

I went to the class with linen and threads, and after the introduction, decided to work the design directly on the linen without charting the whole pattern. The basic cross-stitch would be over two threads, allowing smaller half-crosses (vertical or horizontal) for various elements. For purposes of space, the only element I charted (onto paper) in advance was the view of our home; to include it, I had to know its height and width.

I began in the upper left corner of the border. (As I recall, this corner later had to be ripped and redone, because when I got to the bottom left corner I realized the element I used for the turn would not work in all directions!) I then worked the first letter or two of each alphabet. The dividing lines were created as the work went along, stitching a single length of thread to begin each. Some dividers are very traditional, or variants of what you might see elsewhere.

While the lettering may appear to be taken from existing models, each was created as worked. This allowed for variations to make elements fit. It also expressed my personal interest in letterforms-calligraphy and typography.

Eventually, four elements (the two tree designs, the crab, and berries of the bottom panel) were all adapted or taken directly from existing patterns.

The finished sampler is a very personal expression of who I am and where I was.

Walter A. Frankel
April 2002

A Benton County Sampler
Walter Frankel, 2011
Dimenisons: 12.75" W X 16.5" H
Fabric: 28 ct linen
Thread: cotton floss
Stitches: cross-stitch, half cross-stitch, back stitch
Designer and stitcher: Walter A. Frankel (Corvallis)

The idea has been to illustrate several significant things in "Benton County, Oregon, est. 1847."

It begins with the left "border" being a Douglas fir and the bottom depicting Marys Peak. The top and right borders are an undulating pattern of blue and green, the blue representing the rivers and streams and the green, the fields, hills, and mountains.

The tower of the County Courthouse in Corvallis and the tower of the Philomath College building (presently the Benton County Historical Society and Museum in Philomath) are depicted. Rather than selecting an "image," the initials of Oregon State University are present in the school colors, orange and black.

A map of Oregon depicts the size of Benton County in 1847, showing the two pieces removed in 1851 and 1893, as well as its present size.

The remainder is filled with names of communities, though this is not complete, particularly from a historical point of view. The concept is for the stitcher either to use these names (highlighting the community in which they live) or to replace them with family names, or natural features, or a combination of anything in and about Benton County that has meaning to the stitcher.

The pattern (and actual sampler) will be donated to the Benton County Historical Society and Museum, with the hope that it will be made available for sale to stitchers who might want to create their personalized version of A Benton County Sampler.