ANOTHER SAMPLER FOR A SPECIAL BIRTHDAY GIRL

Hi, Primmies ~

Friday the 16th is my Ashley's birthday. She will be 23. Now, I have a funny, maybe unbelievable to you but true, story about this sampler:

This is the sampler stitched by a little girl that I believe lived in Michigan and was born in 1807. She stitched a sampler at the age of 13. It lists the names of her siblings and the year that her father,
Ebenezar died in 1811. I don't know about her mother, she could be the Polly Ager after Ebenezar.

So here's the funny/unbelievable part of this post's story. I started this sampler in August, 1989. I just

finished it. It was always intended for my daughter who was 5 months old when I started stitching this during a family gathering  on our terrace in the backyard. I intended to give it to her when she made her first home. It was her father's birthday, I believe, that would make it August 20th that I was stitching. I had 4 rows maybe, finished. My eyesight was excellent back then, I was just turning 33 the next  month.

Well, somehow motherhood got the best of me, I loved it and I loved being with her every day. She was a living doll. Well, then those of you who know me a little better know that the car accident came the following September 29, 1990 and I was never the same after that. Oh, I had 2 surgeries and my sister encouraged me that I could craft again, but this sampler was stored away in my needlework bag for the next 22 years. Somehow I forgot all about the cross stitch bag and it was put into a box probably by my mom since I always had trouble with my neck and hands.

We moved into this house 2 years ago and just a few months ago, I discovered the bag at the bottom of a storage box. It had been packed in there since sometime in 1990 and went with us each time we moved to a new house.

So, there's the story of the "lost" sampler. Just in time for Friday, Ashley will have the sampler that was meant for her years ago. I hope she likes it,

I know she will; especially when she hears the story. I hope she won't read my blog until Friday or after so that I don't spoil the surprise. She's really busy this week so I don't think she will.

Lot's of work has been done on the giveaway sampler Polly Daggett. I'm in the fun part with the urns and trees, pretty blues, creams and golds.

I'll post an update on this blog tomorrow with a picture of my progress. I've also stitched a little pin keep or pillow tuck, whichever you make it, as a second place giveaway surprise. Oops, it's not a surprise anymore!

Hugs,

Susan

Courtesy antiqueimages.com
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An Apology, A Thank You and A Giveaway

Hi, Primmies - I want to let my blogger buddies know that I slept today away and Mr. Glen Oaks didn't want to wake me.
I will be playing catch up with my reading and I will read
everyone's recent posts and be leaving comments. I hate to 
miss a day of leaving comments but I suppose I needed my
rest. The all nighters of no sleep catch up to you after a while, and it's frustrating to me to get so exhausted from driving and
being out of the house all day. Such normal things for most people; I used to be 'normal' heehee!
I thought I was getting stronger and more conditioned, I guess it will take more time still.  
I have had more wonderful bloggers sign up recently to follow my blog and I want to give all of you a big "THANK YOU".
I send individual email thank you's from the followers button on the dashboard and don't know if they get received. It says gmail sends one on my behalf to the recipients. So since I'm not sure if that works or not I'm taking the opportunity to
thank all of you here. And all of my followers that have been
reading right along with me these past months I THANK YOU as well! Every time I post and you visit it makes me so incredibly happy. 
I'm going to be stitching on the samplers now (The Katy Bemis that needs to get finished and the new one for the giveaway). I may not post every day. I want to get the giveaway sampler stitched and framed.
Yes, I said giveaway. I have 86 followers as of today and I think that deserves a treat for putting up with my incessant ramblings! So the "new" work in progress sampler will be the giveaway. It's one from the historical sampler book and that
book is very special to me. And since all of you are very special to me I want one of you to have a sampler from that book. If I get a lot of followers that want to be in the giveaway
I'll have a pin keep as a second giveaway. I've been anxious to stuff something with Mr. Glen Oaks' wood shavings from his planer and the sawdust that I've been collecting. 


I'm preparing a dye bath right now for the 25ct cream linen that I will stitch the new sampler on. I'll be doing a post sometime later when I finish reading your blogs. We'll see how it comes out. 
I'm having a cup of tea from the gallon I've made for the
dye bath and settling down to read your blogs.
Later, Primmies -
Susan