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Sampler Research

Date: 3/18/2007
Time: 1:30-4:00
Type: Meeting
Location: Buehler YMCA
Teacher: Eileen Bennett

Eileen Bennett will be at our regular meeeting to present her workshop on Sampler Research. This will be open to all members. However, to make sure that we have enough copies of the forms she will be distributing, please contact Jane Stevens, our program chair, to sign up.

Highlights

Our president, Katie Simmer, began our meeting with a few announcements. The April meeting will be a stitch-in for our guild nametag that was postponed from the February meeting.  Jane Stevens will be supplying all materials to those who have signed up. We are going to make a real effort this year to wear nametags so that we can get to know everyone! The May program will be a presentation on crazy quilt techniques. There will be another project available for those who prefer an alternate.

Carol Schaal gave us a summary of her experiences at Jeanine’s workshops in Williamsburg. This was supposed to be Jeanine’s last workshop and it sounded like those who attended had a wonderful time. If you missed it, the tradition may be continued by some of the other teachers. We’ll hear more about this at future meetings. Carol also told us about the National Counted Cross Stitch show at Rockome, IL June 15th-24th.

Amy Keaton made some announcements on the exhibit she is organizing for the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America. The exhibit will have 75-80 American samplers from museums and private collections around the country. The samplers will be displayed in two locations, the Cultural Center in downtown Chicago and at the Clarke House. There will be an exhibit catalog, a gala opening, a guided tour and an antique road show for samplers on June 23rd. Amy is looking for some volunteers to be at the Clarke House and stitch on a Saturday morning from 10 to 11:30. The dates are May 19th, June 16th and July 21st. If you would like to volunteer or you would like more information on the exhibit, please contact Amy.

Jane Stevens introduced Eileen Bennett who presented our program titled Sampler Research 101. Eileen began by explaining that samplers are not a hobby or a passion for her, but an obsession.  We each received a packet that contained information on samplers and hints on how to go about researching the stitcher’s geneology. We started with some sampler trivia: do you know who stitched the oldest (known) dated sampler and the year it was stitched? Eileen gave us a list of websites that she uses in her research, but cautioned us to verify the information we find. Even though the Internet is a wonderful resource, she encouraged us not to overlook the information in our local libraries. We also received a bibliography of sampler books, copies of forms Eileen uses in her research and hints on how to organize the information we collect. We ended with a question and answer period and the opportunity to review materials Eileen collected on a sampler she has recently researched.

We had several items for show and tell.  

This month’s program, announcements, and show and tell were very impressive. We have some very knowledgeable and talented members! See you all next month at our name tag stitch-in!

Show and Tell