1897 schoolhouse samplers

On the Bookshelf



Magazines

Sampler & Needlework Books



Book List

I love books and expect that you might too! 

So, here is a copy of my Book List that encompasses Samplers / Stitching / Handwork / Material Culture / Social History. 

Click on the book list link below to open a copy of the spreadsheet I use to track the books on my book shelf and my wish lists for future purchases. 

Some of my favourite places to source and buy books include: AbeBooks, Amazon, Biblio.com, eBay and thriftbooks! 

I hope you discover some great books and send me a note if there is one or many that I don't know of yet!

Happy reading!!

Book List

inspiration

Magazines

like my mom before me, I have collected, loved and been inspired by magazines all my life
so, here are some suggestions

Country Living

Growing up, my mom collected Country Living magazine.  For decades, she bought and read it every month, as did I.  There is only one or two issues missing in her collection, which she entrusted to me.

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In Her Studio

In Her Studio takes readers on a tour through the creative spaces and lives of female artists, designers, and makers. These women share the places where they create and tell the stories behind developing their spaces, from the traditional to the unusual, the intimate to the extraordinary. Within these pages you'll discover studios in every style and size, ideas and insights from an array of artists, helpful advice for your own creative practice, exercises to jump-start your creativity, and so much more.

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Just Cross Stitch 

Just CrossStitch is the first magazine devoted exclusively to counted cross stitch and the only cross-stitch title written for the intermediate to advanced-level hobbyist. Recognized as the industry's leading publication, it launched in 1983. Each issues features a breathtaking array of designs sure to bring beauty and elegance to any decor; each design is presented with lavish photographs, clear, easy-to-read charts, and complete, detailed instructions. Join us as we create timeless heirlooms that will be treasured for years to come.

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A Needle Pulling Thread

Thank you for visiting us to see who makes up our cast of editors and contributors at ANPT! The team is made up of skillful, knowledgeable, personable ladies with a strong passion for what they do. They are experts in their respective categories of needlework, who also enjoy other forms of needlework. They bring to ANPT magazine the most inspiring works from across Canada in every fabulous issue! John, the gentleman of the team, pushes the enterprise forward with his excellent business skills and makes each issue look its very best!

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Piecework

Long Thread Media serves content for the handspinning, handweaving, and traditional needlework communities online, in person, and in print. The company was founded by Linda Ligon, Anne Merrow, and John Bolton to publish Handwoven, PieceWork, and Spin Off, as well as offer information, education, and community to crafters in those fields.

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Punch Needle & Primitive Stitcher

Punch Needle & Primitive StitcherTM Magazine is the first needlework publication dedicated to those stitchers who are avid cross stitch and punch needle enthusiasts. Designs are in the primitive, folk, and whimsical styles.  PNPS Magazine is published 4 times per year with issues for: spring, summer, fall and a special Mega-Issue loaded with Christmas & Winter projects ~ all for your stitching pleasure!  We will be featuring exclusive & wonderful projects from your favorite designers and introduce you to some talented newcomers.  

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Sampler & Antique Needlework

Published from 1991-2015, this lovely magazine is now only available on DVD or digital download.

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Tea Time

TeaTime is a source book for all who love tea and who want to enrich life with the serenity of teatime. The magazine proclaims the pleasures of tea as a gourmet beverage, and offers informative articles that range from food features to tearoom profiles. TeaTime goes beyond the history and science of the beverage and celebrates the art and passion that make drinking tea a memorable occasion.

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Victoria

Victoria, a bimonthly women’s lifestyle magazine, is created for all who love heritage linens, charming homes, gracious gardens, traveling the world, and all that is beautiful in life, promising a return to loveliness.

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Where Women Create

Whether it’s art, music, written works, or choreographed dances, extraordinary women know that the process of creating is as important as what ultimately gets created. That is why extraordinary women pay attention to the details of their work spaces… making sure that they surround themselves with visually stimulating inspiration and unique organizational systems. WHERE WOMEN CREATE invites you into the creative spaces of the most extraordinary women of our time. Through stunning photography and inspirational stories, each issue of this bi-monthly magazine will nourish souls and motivate creative processes.

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On the Bookshelf

Embroidered Stories ~ Scottish Samplers by Helen Wyld

Lianne van Leyen

I find endless inspiration in books, magazines and print publications.  I love the look and tactile nature of turning the pages to discover something new, not to mention the smell of an antique book. Some of my earliest memories are of my sister and I going with my mom and her mom, Gramma Sly to yard sales and the annual book sale in Kingston, Ontario.  Watching mom and Gramma work their way through boxes of books to find just the ones they had to bring home and eventually doing the same myself.  
So to get started, I have selected, Embroidered Stories, Scottish Samplers by Helen Wyld.  First published in 2018, it is a small book with beautiful photographs of Scottish samplers.  The book draws samplers from the private collection of Leslie B. Durst.  She has collected and researched the social and community history of the stitchers of her Scottish samplers.  At the time of this book's publication her collection numbered 550 pieces. The collection and Leslie's friendship with The National Museums Scotland's former Curator of Costumes and Textile, Naomi Tarrant also informed Naomi's book 'Remember Now Thy Creator': Scottish Girls' Samplers, 1700-1872 which was published in 2014.  Sadly Naomi's book does not live in my library, so I hold out hope that I will eventually find my own copy.  Leslie's collection in the future is intended to be made as a bequest to the National Museums Scotland, increasing their current collection of 270 samplers, half of which are Scottish, through Leslie's generous gift.
The book shares photographs of samplers from Leslie's collection dated from 1732 to 1877, with additional resource materials or portraits depicted where available.  A few interesting snippets include: 
She shares historical sources for animals of the hunt that find their origins in 16th century books and textiles and further back into the 14th century on artifacts held in the collection of the V & A (The Victoria and Albert Museum).     
I found Anne Raffin's sampler (page 21) unusual and unique as Anne completed her sampler in 1789, aged twenty, older than I would typically associate with sampler completion.  She not only included the  baptismal dates of her siblings and the initials of her parents, but her came back to her sampler three years later to record her marriage. 
Isabella MacKay's sampler (page 24) gives a detailed chronology regarding the inclusion of the sciences into girl's education and the increased use of map samplers from the 1780s moving forward. 
Helen recounts how religion, architecture, education, the military, teachers and many other aspects of daily life during the period impacted the visual representation of these and many other subjects within the sampler.  As a living history interpreter, I found the following statement by Helen a poignant reminder of just how fundamental a women's skill with a needle was and how intertwined with her personal and collectively with her family's welfare:
"At the same time, in an age when household linen and undergarments were all made by hand, skills in 'plain sewing' were a necessity for most women. For some, sewing was also a means of earning a living, and a handful of the girls featured went on to be seamstresses.  Some found the necessity of this 'women's work', either as an expected accomplishment or a profession, oppressive,  In her 1815 essay 'On Needle-Work', Mary Lamb, who had supported her family working as a seamstress when a young woman, argued that 'needlework and intellectual improvement are naturally in a state of warfare' (Lamb 1815)."  
Happy stitchy reading!!