Inverary Castle at Auction

At Mitchells Auctioneers in Station Road, Cockermouth in Cumbria on 24 June a stitched Inverary Castle in Scotland could be yours. Stitched by Catharine Murray (and Janet Anderson?) in 1826 the sampler measures 17 ins x 20 ins. It is interesting that the sampler has a large flower border at the top and paired urns of flowers in each lower corner that although typically Scottish belong to a period 100 years earlier. Perhaps you can just make out the rows of paired initials that identify the maternal and paternal forbears. The lot number is 773 and the estimate for this cloth is £1,000 to £1,500

Also Scottish are these two samplers of 1833 by Janet Gray, both approximately 8" x 72 in oak frames. The paired initials are much more to the fore on these cloths. They are being auctioned by McTear's of Glasgow on 26 June with an estimate of £60-£80 the pair and their lot number is 324.
Now is your chance to inspect the back of an early sampler for yourself. This sampler with its colours still bright is being auctioned by Brightwell's of Leominster on 30 June is sadly unframed and 'sadly unfinished' hence the estimate of of just £100-£150. The auctioneers have dated it 18th century but it could be earlier. Lot number is 338.
This last item is something of a dark horse - to say the least! It is a very dirty and damaged cloth, but it is a cloth with the magic name of Ackworth upon it. At first I couldn't read the inscription, but Jessica at Wilkinson's Auctioneers in Doncaster has been really helpful. The text reads: Honour thy father with the whole heart/And for get not the sorrows of thy mother/How canst thou recompense them the things that /They have love for thee. it is signed: Mary Conway, Aged 11 Ackworth. November 3, 1791. I checked the Ackworth School register and Mary is not listed as a scholar so this looks like a cloth made locally in the village, but under the influence of Ackworth School with those special ligatured lower case-letters, and also the upper-case letters - a practice that did not last long at the school. Towards the upper right of the sampler you will also see a ligatured ct. Click on the image for a larger version. The estimate for this sampler is £100-£150 and it is lot number 241 for auction on 27 June.


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Hannah Gilpin 1800 is Ready to Download Now

I am really excited to tell you that the new Hannah Gilpin chart is now ready to download. It comes with a free 18 page colour book of Hannah's and her sister Ann's Ackworth samplers with new research and descriptions for you to print or enjoy on your computer screen. And a bonus editable jgg file for our users of Jane Greenoff Cross Stitch Designer. There will be a SAL for you to join in the next few days. Just click here to browse or buy.

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By Design * Textile Art Group * Lymington Arts Festival Until 20 June

I've just been down to the sea again - 'the lonely sea and the sky'. Except it was one of those wonderful sunny, blowy days walking down the delightful Georgian High Street in Lymington to the harbour on the old quay. Preparing for the second of two Embroiderers' Guild talks, the first having been to the excellent South Somerset Guild, and fortunate enough to have been invited by the Lymington Guild during their Arts Festival Week, I was able to visit not one but two stunning quilt exhibitions.

By Design a textile art group are presenting 22 quilts in pairs, each pair based upon different interpretations of the same theme. I felt this pair of quilts portrayed the essence of the day for you.Voyage to Thule is designed and executed by Christine Restall.
Composed of hundreds, if not thousands, of tiny silk squares it represents the wake of a ship and is overprinted with the words of the poem Sea Fever by John Masefield.

And here you can see a group interpretation of the sea theme titled In The Wake. Click here to read more about the work of By Design I should add that the Lymington Embroiderers' Guild is also an excellent group - and I came away with a nice book for a special giveaway. Hannah Gilpin will be published tomorrow - we are just putting the finishing touches to a little eBook to go with the chart which contains 3 samplers by Hannah and 4 by her sister Ann.

Worshipful Embroidered Gloves

Words seem quite inadequate to describe the wonderful embroidered gloves in the collection of the Worshipful Glovers. It is truly a stunning collection and you must click here to visit and see with your own eyes all the examples. You will need to then click on Glove Collections on the menu on the left hand side of the page.
Often made as special gifts - sometimes for the New Year, they would also have been perfumed. William Shakespeare's father, John, was a glover, but it is likely he would have specialised in the leather of the gloves and not the embroidery. This pelican in her piety suggests the gloves were intended for a religious or responsible governor.