Elizabeth Atkinson - Make much of precious time

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$39.50


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Quantity Available: 3
Make much of precious time” Elizabeth most certainly did in the year 1829 when she finished this delightful sampler. Stitched with a cheerful palette of 15 colours including a mouth-watering orange which sits so well against the glowing reds, pretty pinks, restful blues, rich greens and golden olives. Her colours caught our eye together with her sweet motifs. Whilst Elizabeth does not give her age, we sense that she was a young girl and this may have been her first sampler. The original was worked with wool on a coarse linen.

We were unable to identify our Elizabeth as there are numerous Elizabeth Atkinsons listed in family history records in the period during which Elizabeth lived. Many of the motifs Elizabeth stitched we see on the “Solomon Temple” samplers and have associations with the northern counties of England. She has stitched 7 sets of initials. The inclusion of family initials is a feature that appears on many Scottish samplers. The surname of Atkinson is particularly common in Northern England and is very similar to the Scottish surname of “Aitchison.” We suspect that the sampler was stitched either in the far North of England or in Scotland.

The design area is 281 stitches (w) x 220 stitches (h).The stitches used are cross stitch over one and two threads and Algerian eyelets. The sampler is suitable for needle workers of all levels of ability. The model of Elizabeth’s sampler was stitched by Nicola whilst travelling by road, air and sea; in hotel rooms and lobbies; in a ship’s cabin and on deck; and whilst lying in the shade of palm trees on secluded beaches in the West Indies. The sweet motifs and size of the sampler make this an ideal project to stitch whilst on the move or watching the world go by. We hope that you will enjoy stitching Elizabeth during your vacation too.