Welcome to The Scarlet Letter

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The depiction of a lazy shepherdess intrigued me when I first saw it in a blurry old illustration of an eighteenth century New England canvaswork picture.
More about Thirty Days Hath November.

This sampler could possibly have been made in Connecticut but the surname is quite common throughout New England. Abigail was ten years old when she made her sampler.
More about Abigail Bacon.

Autopsy of the Montenegrin Stitch: Exhumed has been reprinted and is now available for purchase.

Marsha,
It is my understanding that you have a gallery of award pieces. I am sharing this. Hannah Carter just got Best of Show in the farm show at Elizabethtown, PA.

Sylvia.

Visit the gallery to see more Scarlet Letter samplers. Thanks to Sylvia for sharing the comments and photo!

A message from Irene:
Recently I stitched your German sampler Hanna Katerina what a truly wonderful pattern and to say I enjoyed it would be putting it mildly. As I stitched each motif I went in search of the meaning behind each one, the story that unfolded was truly amazing. Your reproduction of this sampler is clear and precise and a joy to follow and stitch. Last week Hanna Katerina journeyed to the Saratoga County Fair where she won a blue ribbon, she enjoyed the trip and it was a honor for me to accept it on her behalf. I continue to constantly go to your site for my patterns and "eye" candy. Thank you for your dedication and talent in providing these wonderful histories and patterns.

Visit the gallery to see more Scarlet Letter samplers. Thanks to Irene for sharing the comments and photo!

This very delicate Scottish sampler with its bold color scheme was designed with a four sided stylized honeysuckle border surrounding horizontal rows of illuminated alphabets and double running stitch motifs. More about Ann Forrest.

This mid eighteenth century English band sampler features rows of alphabets, vowels, numerals, pattern bands, verses and crowns, executed in cross, petit point, eyelet and counted satin stitches. More about Susanna Parker.

This sweet little sampler is very likely Scottish, as the surname "Nimmo" suggests. The reproduction is stitched on linen with cross, petit point (cross stitch over one thread of linen), straight, and counted satin stitches. More about Christian Nimmo.

This English sampler features a four sided honeysuckle border with one row of alphabets across the top, followed by a traditional verse, More about Grace Kemish.

Typical of so many Scottish samplers, Elizabeth Masterton's features an abundance of initials (likely familial), rows of evergreen trees, peacocks with seven tail feathers, and the now famous mansion house fronted by a pillared fence and gates enclosing sheep. More about Elizabeth Masterton.

This design was inspired by an early eighteenth century English canvaswork picture executed in tent and counted satin stitches. It illustrates a stylized "Tree of Life": a brilliant example of needle-painting with the meticulous shading of embroidery threads on linen, illuminating various exotic creatures and plants, inspired by the new discoveries of mariners and men of science as excursions to the west teased and opened the minds of embroiderers more than three centuries ago. More about A Peacock, A Unicorn and A Badger.

Regarding the sampler's origins, the English name "Ringrose" is of uncertain origin, first attested in Norwich in the year 1259 as "Ringerose". It could be derived from Middle English "ring" plus "rose" but the exact meaning is not clear. It is likely that this sampler was made in northern England. More about Harriot Ringrose.

This naive Adam and Eve sampler might have been made in Maryland around 1810. At first I believed that the sampler was either English or Irish, judging by the unusual surname, until, in my research, I came upon the gravestone of a Fanny H. Peachey, born 24 November 1799, died 11 February 1822, in the Westminster Burial Ground in Baltimore, Maryland. More about Fanny Peachey

So many unusual and enigmatic features were left by Ann Carbutt on her sampler, made when she was sixteen years old, very likely in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Her work is more free form, with an unusual firmament stitched across the top fifth of the sampler which includes a blood red sun, a rainbow (the first I've ever seen on a sampler), the moon and stars. Most fascinating to me are the verses.

These antique samplers are available for purchase. Some of these samplers will be reproduced in the future.

Belinda Kemp

Sarah Carefield

Elizabeth Harrison

Mary Bathe

Mary Hillyer

Maria Tomlinson

Elizabeth Bond

Catherine Anne Smith

Jane Howell

German Sampler dated 1802

Sarah Smith

Caroline Phillis Critchell

Ann Hawkins 1826

Ann Forrrest 1757

Elizabeth Loxton

Ann Carbutt

Continental

Mary Oare

Elizabeth Masterton

We have updated our customer gallery with pictures of Eleanor Parr stitched by Willena and Jennie Bean and Log Cabin stitched by Mary.

If you want to see more items that have been recently added, check out our list of new items. It shows all items that have been added to the TSL website during the past year. You can display the list at any time by clicking on the cherub logo in the right column of any webpage.