Colonial Crafts Workshop
Learning About and Practicing the Art of Cross Stitch
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Little girls in colonial America learned their ABC's at home on linen
samplers instead of school room blackboards. Most girls dutifully
followed
Mother's instructions and labored long hours - perfecting their stitches
while they watched the sheep or rocked the baby. They stitched Bible
verses, prayers, and poems on the linen. |
| Samplers were old even in early America. They appeared in the England of
Chaucer nearly three hundred years before the first English settlers came
to
America. The oldest existing sampler made in America belonged to Loara
Standish, the daughter of Myles Standish of Plymouth Colony (early
1600's). |
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Here at Hastings, third graders got the chance to learn about cross
stitching. Each child was given a small piece of cotton with the letter
of
their first name, with the assignment to complete their letter.
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It was interesting to see that both boys and girls enjoyed cross
stitching.
By the end of the cross stitching session, most children had a new
appreciation for cross stitching- an art that takes a great deal of
patience.
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Last update: 11-2-00/mgl
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