This colourful Scottish sampler is brought to you as a printed booklet and as an instant pdf download. Details of the instant pdf download can be found HERE.

Martha Guthrie is such a pretty Scottish sampler! We were drawn to the “freshness” of the palette she chose to stitch her schoolgirl sampler with. Martha recorded that she finished her sampler on December 20, 1880, which was a Monday. She tells us that she attended Lady Anne Speirs’ school and in the tradition of Scottish samplers notes her parents’ and siblings’ initials.

Martha was born on May 15, 1868 at Bridgeton, Lanarkshire to Gilbert Guthrie (GG) and Catherine née Knox (CK). She was the second of four children born to her parents. Gilbert (GG) was the eldest; then Agnes (AG) and Robert (RG) were born after Martha. Her father was recorded as having various occupations; throughout the decades, he worked as a carter, boilermaker, and rivetter. The family moved from Bridgeton to Renfrew, Glasgow, sometime between 1868 and 1871 when they are recorded as living on the High Street at number 88 and in 1881 at number 112.

The school that Martha attended was the Female Industrial School at 127 High Street, Renfrew, only a few doors from her home. The school’s patron was Lady Anne Speirs of Elderslie.

At 22 years of age Martha married John Templeton on December 31, 1889 in the Free Church of Scotland, Rosebank Hall, High Street, Renfrew. She was noted as a steam loom weaver, and John, who had been born in Ireland, as a ship’s carpenter. Together they would have four children, 2 boys and 2 girls, born in 1893, 1895, 1897, and 1900. Their first home was at 22 Bell Street in Renfrew.

Martha died at 3.00 am on November 26, 1957 in a nursing home at Paisley. The death was recorded as heart failure and was notified by her eldest son John.

The design is suitable for needleworkers of all abilities. The stitches used are cross stitch over two threads of linen and eyelet stitch.