UFO's

I saw this antique unfinished piece of needlework a while back. It is gorgeous but I find it sad it was never finished as then it could have been spectacular.


Seeing this piece got me thinking about the number of UFO's I have and the guilt made me pull one out last month and finish it up. It only required backstitching, which I find tedious and which is why it was set aside. It has been waiting around for me to finish it since 1997!



So here she is, from Shepherd's Bush!. 15 years is a long time to sit around and it is not the first piece I would pull out of my "want to do" folder today. But she is done and I am much happier because of it. How many UFO's do you have waiting patiently for you to finish them?

!

Some antique samplers

It's a lazy day and I thought I'd upload some unrelated photos of antique samplers. I think they are fun to look at.

Day One--Antique Samplers

If you know me or have been reading here any length of time, even five minutes,this is a pretty obvious and easy to guess love of mine, antique samplers. I don't know what first attracted me to them, probably many things, the history, the handmade crafting of them, the colors, the verses. I never tire of seeing a sampler whether antique or newly designed but the antique ones fulfill something within me. So I thought it was appropriate to start Day One of my 100 things I like in 100 days project with something obvious and a subject most here can identify with. I think they speak for themselves.

Antique Sampler Verses

I've collected sampler verses for quite a while now and thought I'd share a few. Do I know where they came from or what year or what sampler, no I don't. I just collect the verses and not the particulars. Enjoy!

"Fragrant the rose is but it fades in time. The violet sweet but quickly past the prime. White lilies hang their heads and soon decay and whiter snow in minutes melts away. You whose fond wishes do to heaven aspire who make those blest abodes your sole desire. If you are wise and hope that blest to gain...use well your time live not an hour in vain. Let not the morrow your vain thoughts employ...But think this day the last you shall enjoy."

"His Purposes will ripen fast, Unfolding every hour,
The bud may have a bitter taste, But sweet will be the flower."

"The Lord is just in all his ways
And holy is his works each one
He is near to all that on him call
Who call in truth on him alone"

"All our gaity is vain
All our laughter is but pain
Lasting only and divine
Is an innocence like thine."

"Do you wish to be rich: be industrious and frugal
Do you wish to be healthy: be active, sober, and temperate
Do you wish to be happy both here and hereafter: study
your Bible and do what it teaches you. God is my friend
My son if sinners entice thee, consent thou not."

Teach Me Samplers

I love comparing antique samplers that have the same verse. The samplers above all are stitched with "Teach me to feel another's woe To hide the fault I see That mercy I to others show That mercy show to me".

It's interesting to see how each stitcher illustrated a verse to their own liking. If you like looking at old samplers be sure and visit Needlework Antiques where they have a gallery of antique samplers.

Jesus Permit Thy Gracious Name samplers

One of the more popular verses on antique samplers seems to be "Jesus permit thy gracious name to stand as the first efforts of this infant's hand" and variations thereof. I thought it would be fun to post a few of the images I've collected of these verses as I find it so interesting to see how each needleworker chose to illustrate their sampler uniquely.























I don't always remember where I find these images but if you like browsing antique samplers as much as I do then M.Finkel and Daughter have a wonderful website showing all kinds of antique samplers.

Cool!

I love looking at old samplers and I'm always on the lookout for familiar names. So I was pleasantly surprised to find this pair of English samplers with my last name THORPE!!!! One worked by Eliza Thorpe and dated 1822, depicting Ticehurst Asylum; the other worked by Charity Thorpe and dated 1834, depicting Queen's Palace.

Virtue

Needlework samplers were popular in the 19th century and some of the most common verses on samplers had to do with Virtue. Virtues are character traits valued as being "good". The Catholic church taught the seven deadly sins which are: Pride, Greed, Lust, Wrath, Gluttony, Envy and Sloth. The corresponding virtues are Humility,Charity,Chastity,Temperance,Kindness and Diligence



A typical sampler verse about virtue:

"Virtue's the chiefest Beauty of the Mind
The noblest ornament of human kind
Virtue's our safeguard and our guiding star
That stirs up Reason when our sense err"




Women in the 19th Century were regarded as very different in character from men. Men were perceived to be dominant, assertive and materialistic. Women were thought to be religious, submissive and domestic.



Another typical sampler verse:

"The rose is a flower that fadeth away but
a virtuous woman will never decay"



19th Century women were expected to be the "Handmaids of the Gospel" and to help direct the course of sinning men. Women were thought to naturally possess traits of goodness, simplicity and piety.



" A good conscience is both the testimony
and reward of a good life.
Virtue is the foundation of honour and esteem
and the source of an order and happiness in nature"



Purity was expected before marriage and women had the role of maintaining her purity against the assault of the dominant and aggressive male. A book entitled "The Young Lady's Friend" (1837) advised women to "Sit not with another in a place that is too narrow; read not out of the same book; let not your eagerness to see anything induce you to place your head close to another person's."



On Virtue
"Would you the bloom of youth should last
Tis virtue that must bind it fast
A pleasing carriage wholly free
From proud reserve or levity
Goodness & sense, an open heart
And looks unskilled in vice or art
These are the charms which ne'er decay
Though youth & beauty fade away"




Stitching verses about virtue were designed to help young girls learn what was important in their society and what was their role and duty in life.

On Virtue:
"Go on dear child and still what e'er you do,
With steadfast steps fair Virtue's path pursue,
In each event her still small voice attend,
And let her be thy first thy dearest friend,
Follow her steps,and she will tread the road,
That leads thro Nature up to Natures God"



"Learn by the Bee from each event to find
Some hint of use or profit to your mind
Nothing so small but you may draw from thence
Improvement for your Virtue or your Sense
Honey like this life's evils will assuage
And yield you sweets in your declining age".

Mourning Samplers and Paintings