April has arrived!!

 ...and, hopefully, "things" will begin returning to some kind of "normal....soon?

After my "BIG DECISION".....

...I have felt a lot "lighter"...

...and things are progressing much easier now.

I feel that I have done the right thing.

I introduced you to "Selena Watts" last week...

...my latest sampler purchase.

Here she is in full...and she's quite a size!

Stitched area 40cms x 52cms....on 25 count openweave linen with silk thread.

I know it is silk because I snaffled a couple of threads from the back...

...and burned them!

The little crusty bead at the end confirmed my original thoughts...silk it is.

The colours have faded and quite a lot of the thread has gone/perished.

The linen background fabric has survived extremely well though.

Quite what has happened to the silk ...I don't know. No moth holes.....

I have made a start on some charting.

Remember the wee doggy?

Well...

...I have done a small piece of that area this last week.

I have used DMC threads for now...

...and 25 count Zweigart Dublin raw linen.

I am pleased with the result thus far...

...but I've ordered some silk threads from Jean Oliver to do some larger samples...

...and the full reproduction.

I have decided to make a small-ish book to hold all of my working sample pieces.

I would like to think that Selena may have had something similar! :-)

She didn't live to a big age. The poor girl died at 21...

...but she must have done a good job of stitching (her sampler was done when she was 13)...

...because 5 years later, she is entered in the Census as being a "DressMaker".

Good for her!!

My book with Selena's name plate on the cover (although I think I'll stitch one instead)

Holes drilled in the spine to take signatures...

Plate of "Miss Attwood's School" on the back cover...

(Miss Frances Jane Attwood was a "School Mistress" in Blaenavon and can be found in the 1851 & 1861 Census. She married Thomas Griffiths and had one son called Thomas Gordon Griffiths. I haven't tracked down exactly which school this was...probably one of the Chapel schools as the main school had houses for school master and mistress....and Frances was living with her parents.)

Signatures made out of my "leather paper"

An old map of "Chapel Row" where Selena lived...

...and pages of the Census showing her name and occupation.

It is SUCH a fascinating project...

...and I just can't wait for the Gwent Archives to re-open so that I can find out more!!

I feel so close to this girl when I am sitting stitching pieces of her sampler....

...and the plan is to chart the piece in it's entirety...

...then donate the original to the Blaenavon Heritage Museum based in the old School building

next to St Peter's Church in Blaenavon.

Selena will be going home. :-)

Please come along with me on this journey...

...there will be lots of little bits of stitching and info as and when I find it!!

Have a good week

x C