Maria Lheureux 1890

Maria Lheureux - the "happy", the "satisfied" - made a beautiful and also unusual cross-stitch, weaving and darning sampler in 1890, with strong woolen threads and on coarse fabric.

Four different alphabets and series of numbers form the upper third. (The missing letter "W" is, among other things, a feature for assigning the sampler to France.) Before she starts with the 20 weaving patterns, she stitches her first name and the word "SOUVENIR" (memory) in these rows.

The variety of woven pattern rectangles and the large collection of darning examples make this sampler something special.

The stitcher's youthful joy at the completion is particularly evident in the many small motifs between the darned areas.

The sampler is privately owned and has an original size of 56 cm x 56 cm.

A big thank you to Brigitte Brandenburg from France, who accompanied me with joy and commitment.