Sampler Cards From The Fries Museum

The Fries Museum in Leeuwarden in the Netherlands is home to a magnificent sampler collection - go visit when you can. Now they have created a set of 10 notecards (2 each of 5 designs) with envelopes presented in a lovely card wallet. The sampler above with its crewed boat and church was worked by Antje Jilderts from Egten in 1746 when she was 11 years old. You can see Antje's initials either side of the large heart (almost centre).

Joukjen Siebesdochter from Workum stitched the sampler above in 1733 when aged just 7. Joukjen seems to have been fascinated by the hunt - there are hunting dogs and above huntsmen with hawks or falcons enjoying a fortifying drink from their tankard.

Above is a beautiful Letterlap with an impressive boat worked by Heije Sibrands in 1752 when she was 10.

On the sampler above, to each side of the church, you can see rows of bands. These were patterns for working on the collars of men's shirts. The collars would have been worked in white on white linen, but on the sampler the patterns are made easier to read by being worked in colour. The colours would have been chosen almost at random, since it didn't matter very much which colour was chosen as the colours would never be used on the target garment. This sampler was worked by LS in 1783.

Trijntje Wiebrandi's sampler was worked in 1783 when she was 10 and displays the typical Frisian grund - a base line figures and animals on a grassy ground. Click here to make enquiries of how to purchase your set of cards.