In years to come, when I look at this sampler, I will think about the long conversations I had with my mother and dad while working on this sampler. Since they are 88 and 84, I really treasure this time.
I don't know about anyone else, but I stitch in memories when I do my needlework. I can look around my house at my needlework and remember when and where I stitched so many pieces. I see my son as a toddler when I look at a crewel surrounded mirror. When I see my flower thread sampler, I think of the yearly trip to the Peaks of Otter in Virginia. My needlework charts my children's growing up years and when I go to the houses of some of my friends and relatives, I see the pieces I have done for them and remember that time again.
When I look at Celle, I will remember this vacation and the time I spent with my granddaughter, Eli (Elizabeth Anne), sitting on the porch watching the birds, and the time I spent talking to my folks. I'll also remember the genealogy side trip to Boonsboro, MD where I saw the same mountains and hills my ancestors knew, and the time I spent with one of my favorite cousins when I researched my Hawn family in PA. In every stitch, I think there is a memory.
I also stopped in Charleston on my way back home and saw the Southern Girlhood exhibit there. It was fantastic and being alone, I could spend as much time as I liked viewing it. I went back and forth between the samplers and a nice little bench out front where there was an antiques magazine on the exhibit. Of course, I would love to have had someone to "ooh and ahh" with, but only a sampler lover would have wanted to take the time I took reading each description and looking over each sampler thoroughly.
