Current Projects

Sampler Consortium International sponsors and supports a range of research and preservation projects focused on antique samplers and needlework pictures from around the world.

 

Sampler Archive Project

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Vermont Sampler Initiative

The Vermont Sampler Initiative is an all-volunteer collaborative project involving a network of museums, historical societies, libraries, sampler owners, history buffs, embroidery enthusiasts, and genealogists who have worked together to identify, document, and share stories of Vermont-made samplers. Funding to cover project expenses has come from the Vermont Humanities Council, the Sampler Consortium, and individual donors.

Vermont has been largely overlooked in the literature about schoolgirl needlecraft and this project was undertaken to correct that omission and ensure that Vermont samplers are included in the historical record. As of March 2026, 928 samplers made before 1900 in geographic areas that are now part of the United States have been identified, photographed, and documented for inclusion in the Sampler Archive’s online database. Almost two-thirds of the samplers (591 samplers) have been attributed to a Vermont schoolgirl or young woman. Documented samplers were made in all 14 counties of Vermont and approximately 160 cities or towns. A total of 370 unique individuals and organizations have shared their samplers with the Vermont Sampler Initiative from November 2022 and March 2026.

Key to the success of the Vermont Sampler Initiative have been a large number of Sampler Identification and Documentation Days – known as “Sampler ID Days.” Local individuals and organizations are invited to bring their samplers in to be professionally photographed and documented by trained volunteers for inclusion in the Sampler Archive. The first of seven Sampler ID Days was held in Bennington, Vermont in November, 2022.  This was followed by Sampler ID Days in six additional communities throughout the state: Shelburne, Barre, Newfane, Middlebury, Brownington, Essex Junction, Woodstock, and St. Johnsbury. In addition, site visits were made to the homes of two Vermont sampler collectors to photograph their large private collections. And a variety of organizations, dealers, and private individuals from across the country contributed high resolution images of their Vermont samplers to be registered and documented.

The work of the Vermont Sampler Initiative has not been limited to registering and documenting samplers, but has, since the beginning, also included speaking engagements to promote awareness and appreciation for Vermont’s schoolgirl needlework. To date, leaders have conducted presentations at fifteen local historical societies and museums, sharing information and images of Vermont samplers and addressing topics such as: Vermont’s early commitment to female education; Vermont’s needlework teachers; the educational experiences of Vermont sampler makers; verses and motifs on Vermont samplers; Vermont samplers made in specific communities; and the family histories of Vermont’s sampler makers.  

In 2025 the Vermont Sampler Initiative coordinated a sampler driving tour, inviting participation from cultural heritage organizations across the state. Organized to coincide with the beginning of Vermont’s statewide 250th Anniversary of the American Revolutionary War, the summer-long event was dubbed “The 2025 Bennington to Brownington Vermont Sampler Driving Tour.” Twenty sites from disparate parts of Vermont each hosted a small sampler exhibit, selecting six or more samplers from either their own collections or those of area residents. In addition to highlighting details about the sampler makers and their families, information was made available about the Revolutionary war service of the sampler makers’ ancestors. The host sites included museums, historical societies, public libraries, and an art gallery. Maps showing the location of each exhibit on the driving tour were available online and throughout the state at participating sites.

In 2026, the Vermont Sampler Initiative is partnering with the Shelburne Museum to present a sampler exhibition titled “On Point: Needlework from the Garthwaite Family Collection.” The Garthwaite Family collection is remarkable for its scope of Vermont made needlework – ranging from simple alphabet samplers to exquisite silk on silk embroidered pictures and covering the years 1800 through the 1840’s, the timeframe within which most Vermont samplers were made. The exhibition dates are May 9 to October 25, 2026.