This is the first piece of embroidery I can remember making which I still have. It's from a kit, like pretty much all the pieces I made around then. I finished it in 1998. Because of how the pattern was printed, there is a wobbly look to some areas. I think I had to add my name and the date freehand, because I didn't know how about pens that could write on fabric, so that's off-centre. I started my PhD around this time, and around the time I finished my PhD, I had a baby, so there was a long gap of years in which I did no embroidery.
Kit 0426 by GalleryCraft. It was "Adapted from an antique dated 1835, in the Cooper-Hewitt Museum collection of the Smithsonian Institution." The kit says it fits a 19" x 22" frame (approx. 48cm x 56cm). It contained "a printed picture on 100% cotton fabric. Yarn needle and full instructions. Crewel wool and stranded cotton were also included.
Here's the original and some more details about it: Sampler (USA); Embroidered by Eliza J. Benneson (American); silk embroidery on cotton foundation; H x W: 66 x 57.2cm (26 x 22 1/2in.); Bequest of Mrs. Henry E. Coe; 1941-69-254.
