Sampler Sunday: Chiggers and Ticks and Fleas, Oh My!

This is one of the sight-unseen samplers I ordered over the 'net from the fabulous Homespun Samplar, in Rhode Island. From online order to my mailbox has been 4 days for each of my two orders. And their web site is wonderful for passing the time on a slow day at work, too, since they have samplers I haven't seen anywhere else, and you can work your way through their stock aphabetically by name of sampler (or by designer). As I've said, normally I see a sampler in a needlework shop, sometimes after having seen it on the web. Buying a sampler on the web can bring surprises, because the photos are small and indistinct and you don't necessarily notice features that reveal themselves only "in person." This is one of those samplers. I loved it online--it's a Scarlet Letter Sampler called "Sarah Ann Downend." With certain reservations I also like it in person, especially the flock of sheep, whose bodies are stitched in French knots. Interestingly, there are no people in this picture. Perhaps they are staring out of one of the 18 windows?

What I didn't notice online: check out the border. Now it may just be picky on my part, but doesn't that border look an awful lot like chiggers? I don't remember seeing chiggers up north when I lived there, although we have them down here. If you've never experienced one, they're tiny red bugs (they look like miniature red ticks) that attach themselves to your legs when you're walking through high grass or a field, and their bites are a terrible torment. Just think--we could do a whole series of pest samplers after stitching the Chigger Chart. The pest possibilities are endless: The Mighty Mite Sampler; the Green Bottle Fly Sampler; the Anopheles Mosquito Sampler. Two other things about this sampler: the verse is unpleasant--"the loss of a father is much/the loss of a mother is more..."--but it is a historical reproduction, so that's okay (and might explain why there are no people in it, after all). I don't care much for the awkward, off-center medallian with Sarah's name in it either. Too bad, because I really love that flock of sheep and the sheepdog.

Today I nursed a headache and did some more stitching on Whale Hunting but put the stitching away early and took a nap before dinner.