A Scottish Sampler

This quintessential Scottish sampler is stitched with fine silks on linen with an industrious use of stitches including queen, petit point, back, cross, counted satin, stem and turkeywork. A four sided queen stitch border surrounds many unusual motifs including the traditional Scottish peacocks with seven tail feathers, a man in a kilt playing a Scottish dulcimer, finely stitched birds, flowers, human figures, a windmill, Solomon’s Temple, a comical Adam and Eve waving their left hands under an elaborate Tree of Life, and a beautiful mansion house filled in with counted satin stitch, with a lawn of turkey work. The colors are very good, and there are a few small holes on the right side which do not interfere with the design. Across the top is a line of family initials and Elizabeth’s name. The verse reads:

Teach me to live that I may dread
The Grave as little as my bed
Teach me to die that so I may
Triumphing rise at the last day

The photos were taken before conservation and framing. Once the work is complete I will post photos of the finished piece. The sampler will be available as a chart/kit in early 2015. The sampler measures 13″ x 15″.