The Divine Miss M (M Quertier)

M Quertier

Quaker 1799 (Ackworth School)

Scarlet Letter

#103 India ink Gloriana silk floss

Stash Mystery Linen 

Yes, I'm still stitching.  There have been many distractions:  the heat, weeding, grass cutting, canning tomato juice, corn for the freezer, classes (basket and rug hooking) and the regular stuff aka life.

M Quertier's height is determined she is 11 1/8 inches in height.  I finally have the top most medallion and the bottom most medallion stitched.  I estimate four more medallions and I will be at the half way mark.  Whoo Hoo!

While I have been stitching M, I dug through my needlework books and found Jacqueline Holdsworth's book Ackworth School Sampler Motifs.  Jacqueline writes in the book:  It is typical of Quaker medallions to be stitched as halves or quarters.  M has eight full motifs and seventeen half medallions.  Our M was an ambitious stitcher, had a long school year or did she have a strict teacher at Ackworth?

Passionflower Motif--it is big and beautiful and one of my favorites which is surprising because I did almost as much reverse stitching on this motif as I did forward stitching.  This motif is also on the Beatrix Potter sampler and the Beatrix Potter companion sampler.

This is an undated sampler once owned by Beatrix Potter--the passionflower motif has been stitched into the sampler.

Butterfly Motif

Carnation Motif

Jacqueline calls this motif the Crown Motif (I think it looks more like a poinsettia)

While I have been stitching M, I have been re reading Carol Humphrey's book.  Am glad I purchased this book several years when I checked on Amazon it is right pricey.  Thankfully, Carol writes about M in the book:  It was also noted that the Quertiers were a Channel Island family, and in the extracts from the Minutes of Ackworth for 1800 is found this entry:  "Children from Guernsey admitted, one eight year old as a special case."  When I first read this, it made me a little sad.  Someone saw value in M and she is now a part of the Fitzwilliam collection of samplers--our M was indeed special.

The next motifs I will be stitching is a bird, garland and swan.  Am looking forward to stitching M's cartouche with her initials and date.  We are having a summer shower.  Ugh, I think I hear the weeds and grass growing but while the rains nourishes the flowers, I will continue stitching on M.