Lecture, William King Museum, Abingdon, VA

c. 1858 Mag (Margaret) P. Evans Theorem (detail)
Greene Co.
15 1/4”V x 19 1/4”H © TSS 159
materials: pastels, pencil, watercolor
ground: paper

Janet and I will be speaking at the William King Museum in Abingdon, VA, on Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 2:00 pm, in conjunction with the current exhibit "An Educated Woman: Art from Girls' Schools and Womens' Collages." Our lovely Powerpoint slide show, which I have spent many hours perfecting, will showcase examples of samplers and theorems from East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.

Visit the museum's website for directions and additional information.

An Educated Woman: Art from Girls’ Schools and Women’s Colleges

January 22 through July 11, 2010

Art is interlaced in the history of women’s education. Academies used it to refine girls into ladies, and colleges instructed women in it for beautifying their future homes. An Educated Woman salutes the artistic endeavors of the women students of Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee and showcases pieces such as paintings, painted ceramics, and textiles ranging from the early nineteenth century to the 1920s.

Related Events

Members’ & Lenders’ Preview
Friday, January 22, 2010, 6 to 8 pm
Please note: You must be a museum member or a lender to the exhibition to attend the Prevue. Non-members who would like to attend are invited to become museum members at the door that evening.

Gallery Talk with Curator Elyse D. Gerstenecker
Tuesday, March 2, 7 pm

Girls only! See the exhibit and create your own ornamental art project inspired by the show.
Tuesday, March 23, 7:30 pm

For more information, visit the William King Museum's web site.

1857 Rachel Frances Spears
Hipshire Hollow, Hawkins Co.
silk on 26 V/28 H ct. linen
16"V x 17"H © TSS 143

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Susan Houston, who won a blue ribbon in the sampler category and a very impressive purple best-in-show ribbon at the Williamson (TN) County Fair for her Middle Tennessee sampler!

Tennessee Sampler Survey: New Web Site!

Please visit our new web site! We are pleased to present the results of our research in an online gallery. Check out the new sections devoted to products and education. Special thanks to our talented and patient web designer, Justin Bird, who took our ideas and realized them in a digital form. This web site revision was funded by grants from the Tennessee Arts Commission and the Loudon (VA) Sampler Guild.

Late 19th Century and Civil War Era Samplers

1860 Harriet Higgin
McNairy Co.?
23"V x 22"H © TSS 215
silk and wool on 24 ct. cotton

Despite the strains of the Civil War, Tennessee girls did not put down their needles. Needlework trends changed; Berlin work became popular throughout Northwestern Europe and the New World. Tennessee girls adapted by working Berlin motifs into traditional sampler patterns.

Harriet Higgin may have lived in Polk County or McNairy County. The style and materials of this sampler point toward a West Tennessee origin (McNairy County) rather than an East Tennessee origin (Polk County).

The latest (or youngest) sampler that we have found is dated 1883, showing that Tennessee girls continued to work samplers throughout the 19th Century.


1883 Eliza Lay
Scott Co.
16 1/2"V x 19 3/4"H © TSS 101
silk and wool on 28 V/36 H ct. linen

Map, Little Dog Samplers of Middle Tennessee

View Larger Map

Map showing the locations of the homes of the stitchers. We know of 11 Little Dog samplers, ranging in date from 1831 to c. 1853.

Sampler and Antique Needlework Quarterly

The spring issue of Sampler and Antique Needlework Quarterly is here! The cover features a reproduction of a Tennessee sampler, the 1831 Sarah Harriet Stephenson. In addition to the chart for the sampler, there is an article on the Little Dog samplers (of which this is an example).


The model was stitched on 28 ct. light sand linen from Zweigart using custom dyed silks from Olde Willow Stitchery. A materials kit is available from SANQ for $69 (plus S/H). Call (800) 547-4176 ext. 2 to order. Refer to order number K-JCS15.

Special thanks to RIndy Richards and Connie Winslett, who stitched the model, Janet Hasson who conducted the genealogical research, and the editors of SANQ for allowing TSS this opportunity.


Core, Jennifer C. "The Little Dog Samplers of Middle Tennessee." Sampler and Antique Needlework Quarterly, Vol. 54 (Spring 2009). pp. 5-9.

Core, Jennifer C. "1831 Sarah Harriet Stephenson Sampler (chart and instructions)." Sampler and Antique Needlework Quarterly, Vol. 54 (Spring 2009). pp. 10-16.