Ada May Pringle 1881

What do jars filled with brightly colored candies, a brand-new, unopened box of colorful, finely sharpened, waxy crayons, a rainbow of multi-colored spring flowers swaying in the breeze, and a mother’s cherished sewing box brimming with countless colorful threads all have in common? Perhaps for Ada May Pringle, these objects served as inspirations, as she meticulously stitched her sampler while attending the St. Mark Church School in 1881. There is no doubt that Ada meticulously crafted her sampler to incorporate every color of thread she could find. Worked in wool on even-weave gauze, this charming sampler is a testament to the creativity and skill of a precocious child given the freedom to select her favorite colors. Ada’s name is elegantly stitched beneath the border, accompanied by a flower basket to the left and right. The entire design is encircled by a strawberry border, and the year “1881” is meticulously stitched in each of the top corners of the sampler. The back of her sampler is tidy and she has very few carries from one motif to another. The antique reproduction of the sampler is meticulously charted using the reverse side of Ada’s original work, faithfully capturing the vibrant color choices she initially made.