President Eve welcomed everyone to the meeting. She had any visitors and new members introduce themselves.
The meeting was turned over to Program Chair, Stacy, to introduce our guest, Jennifer Richardson of Violets & Verses.
Jennifer shared her antique Susannah Baughan sampler with the group. She knew she wanted to chart it as soon as she bought it. First, she stitched it in the original colors which has a lot of greens in it. She was able to use a ready made frame from Hobby Lobby to frame it. Since the sampler was stitched in 1776, once she completed the original, she had the idea to stitch it again using red, white and blue. She made minor changes to the colors and recharted the birds to be eagles on the red, white and blue chart. 
Jennifer did her research on the stitcher and found three possible Susannah Baughan’s, possibly with the last name spelled as “Vaughan”. “B” and “V” could easily be interchanged in public records at that time. All three were from Virginia. At the time this would have been stitched, Virginia was the largest and most populated of the colonies. Also, Virginia was a major center to the Revolution. It was both an exciting time as well as a trying time. Patrick Henry would have been in Virginia making his famous speech “Give me liberty or give me death!” at this time. Needlework would have been very popular during the war. Wives and mothers stitched in remembrance of husbands and sons away or even lost at war. Spies! Even spies stitched messages in needlework and hid information in their floss and stitching baskets.
Jennifer had come to the conclusion that Suzannah “Susy” Tucker Vaughan is the stitcher. She was a black woman. Black women, even enslaved women, would have had access to linen and fiber at this time. She was a resident of Henrico County, Virginia and would have been 61 in 1776. She was the mother of Littlebury Vaughan who was fighting the the Revolution.
The border on the sampler is a series alternating strawberries and what are possibly four leaf clovers. It is a very symmetrical sampler/one half mirrors the other. It is stitched mainly in regular cross stitch and features satin stitch, eyelets on the alphabet and some over one stitching. The alphabet is done in all eyelets and has the “V” before the “U”. The border has two stitched squares in the bottom corners. Jennifer is not sure what they represent. They could be presents, they could be regimental flags or they could also be religious symbols as there is a cross stitched in each square. These stitches and the motifs are more indication that it was an older stitcher.
Stitching tips for the stitches used: using a laying tool for the satin stitches; get into a rhythm with the eyelets remembering to always be thinking one stitch ahead for placement of each stitch and to maintain the ‘eyelet, not to carry any threads across the center-back of the eyelet.
This chart will be our Stitch-A-Long for 2026. Member Carol P. will take the lead on a stitching schedule. This SAL will start either in April or May. Jennifer says the sampler is small enough that it can be finished by December. The chart includes both color ways. Available for purchase are options for chart only, chart and 36 count linen or chart, linen and thread. It is charted with both Gentle Arts and Classic Colorworks fibers. Jennifer includes her contact information on her charts and welcomes any contact for questions on stitching the sampler. The deadline to order is February 21, 2026. If you decide to order, please email Stacy so she can include you in the order in case your mail does not arrive by the 21st.
We thanked Jennifer for her wealth of sampler knowledge and these lovely sampler charts.
Eve resumed the Business portion of the meeting. The minutes were provided via email to all members. She called for questions and revisions, having none, the minutes were accepted as provided.
Treasurer’s Report - Robin outlined what was paid as well as received during January. At this time, we have no outstanding invoices.
Currently there are 208 paid members for 2026. Members need to renew by the March meeting or they will be removed from our mailings and email lists. The membership list will be revised following the March meeting and will be shared with all members in April. When you receive your new member list, please review you personal information for accuracy.
The website has been updated to reflect the new yearly dues amount and some word-smithing.
Effective with the Spring Retreat at Salty Yarns, there is a $50 non-refundable deposit. Our retreat forms have been updated to include this going forward.
Robin also wanted to note the generosity of many of our members who include a donation to the Conservation Fund each year when they renew their membership.
Programs
February - Violets & Verses Sampler. Sign-ups open until February 21st. Please email Stacy when you sign up so you can be included in the order. Checks are to be made payable to Violets & Verses.
March - Needlework Press Patriotic Booklet. Vicki of Needlework Press has designed a chart for a patriotic mini book. The meeting will be putting the book together. The piece that will go on the front of the book. Your stitching does not need to be stitched by the March meeting. Linen and floss are to be provided by each stitcher. The kit will include the booklet cover fabric, the mat boards, the insert and the chart featuring two options for stitching. The chart is to be stitching over two on 36 count. A picture of the chart has been posted to our Facebook page. A picture of the floss choices and booklet fabric was posted to Facebook on February 15th. This also has a deadline of February 21st. Please email Stacy when you sign to so you can be include in the order. A complete list of stitching and finishing items needed will be provided before the March meeting. 
April - Merry Susan Schreck of Prim Peacock Designs will be live at our meeting. She will be bringing her collection of Shaker Smalls to discuss.
April Retreat - The Retreat will be at Salty Yarns in Berlin, MD. The cost is $120 and there is a $50 non-refundible deposit. We will be playing Left-Right-Center so bring your sets of 3 items to the retreat. More information will be shared closer to the event. Sign up deadline is March 14th. Checks are to be made payable to SALTY YARNS.
May - Theresa Vinette of Shakespeare’s Peddler will be our guest speaker. There is no project associated with this meeting. Theresa will be bringing a trunk show.
June - Katie Strachin will be our guest speaker.
July - Stash Nash will be our speaker and will share a patriotic small project.
August - Claudia Dutcher will discuss Bristol smalls.
September - Jackie duPlessis wool work motif sampler. Pre-registration has been completed.
October - Garage Sale
November - Our meeting and our Fall Retreat will be on the same weekend, therefore, the meeting will be available in person at Salty Yarns or via Zoom. Our guest will be Barbara Hutson from Queenstown Samplers.
December - Annual Holiday Exchange and Covered-dish luncheon.
Retreats - For the benefit of new members, Stacy explained how our retreats work and what is included in the price. We no longer receive “goody bags” but do receive a store discount on items bought during the retreats.
Floss and Flame - Don’t forget, when shopping in person, you will receive a 10% discount on your purchases at Floss and Flame. They are also offering 3 patriotic patterns each month at discounted prices. Ordering through her website using the DVHSG link, you will receive a 15% discount on the monthly featured charts. You will have the option for charts, fibers and/or linen. The new patterns will run meeting date to meeting date and be announced at our monthly meetings.
Chester County History Center - Marnie B. shared that registration for the Amy Mitten Class is now open. The class is limited to 15. There will be a discount on the registration to DVHSG members. On Wednesday, 5/13, the class will run from 10 am to 5 pm, please bring a bagged lunch. On Thursday, 5/14 Pinball Class with Kathy Lesieur has not opened registration yet.
Green Book - Remember to submit your list of completed 2025 projects to Patrick by February 28th. A small gift to participants will be given out in March.
America’s Tapestry - Amy Gilley shared the status of Delaware Tapestry. They are getting close to completion and hope to be able to appliqué all the ‘slips’ shortly. Kudos to both Beth Gutin and Amy for this monumental undertaking. Although I am sure they have enjoyed this endeavor I know they are looking forward to passing it on to Stephan Romero April 1st.
Show and Tell -
AWE Sampler from Hands Across the Sea, Loretta O’s Blessing Sampler
Blossoms and Berries by Catherine Theron, stitched by Sandy D. with NPI silks. This was our November class.
Music Among the Trees from Samplers Not Forgotten, stitched by Sandy D on
36 count Cappuccino from Fiber on a Whim
Upcoming - Penn Dry Goods Days at the Schwenkfelder History Center in Schwenksville, PA, in May.
DVHSG Merchandise - Stacy had shared the idea of selling DVHSG shirts, possible bags, etc, with our logo at a prior meeting. She asked for volunteers to spearhead and handle this. Please contact Stacy if you may be interested.
Upcoming Auction - As may of you know, we lost a long-time member of DVHSG last summer. The family of member Ann S. has generously donated many of her charts, kits and class pieces for DVHSG to sell. Their only stipulation is that any proceeds from all sales go to our conservation fund. We have thought long and hard for the best way to handle these sales so everyone has the opportunity to participate and not just those who attend meetings. Although our Facebook page has the stipulation that ‘no sales’ allowed we will be making an exception in this case since it benefits our conservation efforts. Using Facebook to auction these items we will be able to reach all Guild members and not just those who are in attendance at the monthly meeting. In addition, since the group is open to all samplers lovers and stitchers, we will have a much larger audience and get the best prices for these items. The final details are still being developed. Complete instructions on how this ‘auction’ will work will be provided to all members in advance. We anticipate there will be two to three items up for auction at open time.
There were 83 members online for this Zoom Meeting.
Next meeting: March 14, 2026
