M Quertier 1799 Debut

M Quertier 1799

Ackworth School

Scarlet Letter

35 count stash linen lambswool?

Gloriana Silk India ink

The chart for M. Quertier 1799 has been in my stitching stash a long time.  M. was one of the first sampler charts I purchased from the Scarlet Letter.  M. is a big girl--she is 11" x 18 1/4" on 35 count linen.  Each time I would browse through my stash, I would say to myself:  "I really like this sampler, I really need to stitch it, it's a Quaker.  What was my reluctance?  I started it once and quickly realized the piece of fabric I had selected was not big enough and also realized M. was a big girl, a big stitch and she would take some time.    

Passion flower motif

Little is known about M. Quertier, I have previously written about her,  The Quertiers were a Channel Island family and M. was admitted to Ackworth as a special case.  My naive heart wants to believe M. was admitted as a special case because she was special.  She was intelligent, had potential and had exceptional needle working skills.  That's my story for M. and I'm sticking to it.

Garland motif with M's initials

There are so many questions I would like to ask M. about her sampler.  How long did it take you to stitch the sampler?  Did you choose/design the motifs or were they chosen and designed y someone else?  Was this a year long teaching project at Ackworth?  The initials MQ are yours, but who do the initials JT, MN, SW and AT belong to?  Were they your friends, your classmates, your teachers, members of your family, neighbors?  Why did you stitch the date 1799 three times?  Were you apprehensive about the turn of the century?  There are three garland motifs with initials, was this one of your favorite motifs?

Carnation motif

M. stitcher her sampler in 1799, my reproduction was stitched in 2017--218 years later.  Will my sampler survive as long as M.'s?  Did M. stitch her sampler outside in natural sunlight, while I stitched mine with cheater glasses and a Dazor light with magnifier?  Did M. do reverse stitching?

Am happy M. is finished and she has a date with the framer.  The Beatrix Potter and the companion sampler to Beatrix Potter are in my stash, they are loudly calling to be stitched.  I need a break from large samplers and Emma Lerch who was pushed to the side while I was stitching on M has been patiently waiting for me to return and finish the stitching on her.  For the remainder of the 2017 I will be working on Emma and smaller pieces before I start another Quaker.