Samplings– The Wishing Thorn

September 26, 2022

Who was Frances Kelsey?

By Birgit Tolman

The life of Frances "Fanny" Kelsey.

Researching Frances Kelsey’s history led me down many “bunny” holes along the way, including Admiral Nelson, Agatha Christie, many run-ins with the law, bankruptcy and a childhood with a lot of death.

And here I thought it would be a short little read...ha read on!

So where to start, well at the beginning of course! Frances was born in Prinsted Village in 1805.

August 10, 2022

Hilma af Klint and the Birth of New Ideas

By James Tolman

Born in Sweden in 1862, Hilma quickly displayed an aptitude for the Sciences and Arts. Admitted to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts at twenty, she excelled particularly in drawing, portraiture, and landscape painting.

August 09, 2022

The Sampler Of Bernarda Bellon 1838

By Birgit Tolman

A Spanish Sampler, or is it?

I love the colors of this lovely Spanish Sampler. They evoke that Mediterranean vibe, fresh and happy. Bernarda Dedicated this sampler to Dona Isabel Camacho in 1838.

February 13, 2022

A little History on Harriet Charlesworth’s Sampler 1822

By Birgit Tolman

When Harriet Charlesworth was born on 24 June 1807, in Penistone, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom, her father, Joseph Charlesworth, was 22 and her mother, Hannah Ann Peace, was 21. She was the oldest of six children. All her siblings were boys! (that poor girl!) She probably stitched to get away from them. When she was five in 1812 the Manchester Food Riots started because of the potato market. It actually required cavalry to patrol the streets and break up the fight. By the time she was eight Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo and exiled to Helena.

January 29, 2022

Who was Elizabeth Foulger?

By Birgit Tolman

Elizabeth was born in 1868 in Bungay, Suffolk, England, in the latter part of the year. Her father, Robert Foulger, was 31 and her mother, Martha Anne Wright, was 29 when Elizabeth was born. She was the middle child of six children.

October 09, 2021

What is the history of Ann McFarlan’s Sampler from 1827?

By Birgit Tolman

Ann lived during the “Era of Good Feelings” in America which even though it sounds nice, still was a very divisive period. It was synonymous with the presidency of the fourth president James Monroe after the war of 1812. I often wonder why the young stitchers choose the verse or poem for their embroidery. She was born into a tumultuous time when religion was going crazy in America.