Welcome to my new blog! I hope you will enjoy my daily ramblings about all things cross stitch, but with a special emphasis on samplers.

Years and years ago (more than I can “count”), I was out shopping with my baby daughter. I found a small store in a local strip mall and walked in, enticed by the bright displays in the window. The kind woman behind the counter asked me if I was looking for anything in particular. I told her no, since I had no idea what I was looking at! She patiently explained to me about cross stitch and how fun and rewarding the hobby was to her. I guess I looked skeptical and I started to leave. She rushed from behind the counter and pressed a small box in my hand. Inside was a small kit for a strawberry, with a needle, a small piece of 14 ct. aida and just enough DMC thread to complete. I took the box and thanked her, sure that I wouldn’t see her again. Long story short, I completed the strawberry (which I still have-it literally is no bigger than a domino) and now twenty years later, I have found one of the most enduring and enjoyable hobbies I have ever undertaken.


Looking back on the mid-late eighties, a seasoned cross stitcher will remember the 14 count aida, the boxes of DMC thread and the “cute” patterns. The choices were somewhat limited but at the time, we had no idea. Now, in 2012, we have come into the “Golden Age” of modern stitching. Fabrics of every kind, every count, every color, along with threads of cotton, wool, silk, metal…and the patterns! Just about everything that could be imagined can be done in cross stitch!

But along about the late 1990’s I became aware of the historical background of cross stitch and embroidery in general. The more I read, the more I became fascinated with the sampler. I was lucky enough to visit the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and got to see for myself the original “sampler” of Jane Bostocke, which is one of the first signed and dated (1598) samplers in existence. I also saw samplers from all over Europe, so different and yet sharing a singular beauty. These textiles, patiently sewn by little girls, sometimes no more than eight years old, have a beauty which simply cannot be denied. I can close my eyes and see a little girl sitting by the fire, working on her sampler with her small nimble fingers, looking up at her mother wondering “When can I go outside to play?” I think it is the mothers that got the real joy from these samplers, as they passed along to their daughters not only skills needed to manage a household, but a teaching of patience. For the most important skill needed in cross stitch, is patience. The work cannot be hurried and should not be, for truly it’s the journey, not the destination.


It’s funny but I have probably spent as much time in the last 10 years reading about stitching as I have actually stitching! And because of that I wanted to start a blog to share not only my love of the art but also its history. With that, I promise to be a faithful poster (nothing worse than a blog that is never updated) with daily topics as follows:

· Monday: Sampler verse of the week
· Tuesday: Historical Sampler of the week
· Wednesday: Original Sampler of the week
· Thursday: Museum or auction Sampler of the week
· Friday: Samper Motif of the week
· Sat/Sun: Blogger’s Choice

So, now to begin!

Button, Button, Who's Got The Button?

Like many of you, I watched bits and pieces of the American coverage of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.  All the trappings of royalty are just catnip to us Yanks!

Reading some of the coverage online, I came across the banner which was displayed on the Queen’s barge during the flotilla on the Thames on Sunday June 3^rd.  Created by artist Ann Carrington, the 10’ by 10’ banner is a red velvet background with the royal emblems done in buttons, over 500,000 buttons, using 34 miles of thread!

From the close up picture, you can see the buttons and how they are placed to give the impressions of depth and shading.  All I can say is absolutely magnificent.  I love when an artist takes something so common place as a button and makes a real work of art.

But when I saw the picture, I also thought about the “Pearly Kings” of London.  You know the picture, the working class London man with a suit covered in buttons…

And I thought what a great inspiration!  The real Queen now has her own “Pearly Banner” (done in gold versus the standard “pearl” buttons).   Of course, I couldn’t stop there so thanks to the Internet (honestly, the greatest invention in my lifetime!), I was able to learn more about the tradition.

Depending upon which website you read, the tradition stated with a young London orphan, Henry Croft in the late 1800’s.  He noted that the local costermonger’s (itinerant street vendors) were sewing “pearl” buttons along the seams of their clothing for pure effect.  Henry decided to smother his entire suit in the button, designing symbols and featuring the motto “All for Charity”.  Other’s soon followed the tradition until each district of London had their own “Pearlie King and/or Queen”.  The tradition lives on to this day, being primarily a means to collect monies for various charities.