Martha Guthrie 1880 ~ a printed booklet

£20.00

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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.

Thread Legend

Martha’s sampler has been stitched with a palette of five colours from Au Ver à Soie’s range of 100.3. We have provided conversions for Soie d’Alger and DMC. Only one spool or skein is required whether you are stitching the sampler on 28ct linen with two strands of thread or 56ct linen with one strand.

Soie 100.3 / Soie d’Alger ~ DMC   Colour Description
325 / 2144 / 470 ~ Avocado green ~ light
134 / 2912 / 3779 ~ Coral ~ light
486 / 5384v931 ~ Antique blue ~ medium
109 / 1026 / 309 ~ Salmon ~ very dark  NB: on the booklet's thread legend the Soie 100.3 shade #647 should have read #109. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
712 / 1741 / 928 ~ Grey green ~ very light

Linen Sizes

The design area is 76 stitches (w) x 193 stitches (h). Our calculations have included a 3" margin for finishing and framing.

The model was stitched on Zweigart-based linen overdyed by xJuDesigns to a shade of Marbled Khaki.  The original sampler was stitched on approximately 24ct linen with wool.

We recommend that you should use the threads and a count and fabric that you enjoy working with.

 
28ct: Design: 5.43" x 13.79" Fabric: 11.43" x 19.79"
30ct: Design: 5.07" x 12.87" Fabric: 11.07" x 18.87"
32ct: Design: 4.75" x 12.06" Fabric: 10.75" x 18.06"
36ct: Design: 4.22" x 10.72" Fabric: 10.22" x 16.72"
40ct: Design: 3.8" x 9.65" Fabric: 9.8" x 15.65"
46ct: Design: 3.3" x 8.39" Fabric: 9.3" x 14.39"
56ct: Design: 2.71" x 6.89" Fabric: 8.71" x 12.89"

Stitch Guide

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

Cross stitch ~ is made up of two stitches worked over two threads. You should make all your stitches cross in the same direction for a neat and uniform finish.

Eyelets ~ when worked over four threads of linen sixteen stitches are laid to create an eyelet.

Do not tug on the thread using your needle as your thread will soon break. Instead, apply pressure by pulling on the thread close to the stitch. Even tension should be applied so each individual stitch sits well within the eyelet.

Chart Correction

The thread legend in the booklets contained an error. The Soie 100.3 shade #647 should have read #109. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.