Rosanna Goulding's sampler is an example of what might be called the Tic Tac Toe Bristol sampler. The format of dividing the sampler into sections surrounded by a border was a popular design for samplers during the 1880's. In the top part of her sampler she stitched the required assortment of alphabets. The two sections on either side of the center section with the Bible motif, contain many rows of border bands. Rosanna must have loved the individual motifs because the rest of her sampler is filled with them. Life got busy for Rosanna after she left the orphanage, which might be one reason her sampler was never completed.

We know that she continued stitching on her sampler after she left the orphanage because she stitched the name of the town she lived in which was Quorndon, now called Quorn. Quorn is a village in Leicestershire, England, near the university town of Loughborough. The name was shortened from Quorndon in 1889, to avoid postal difficulties owing to its similarity to the name of another village, Quarndon, in neighboring Derbyshire. It is unusual for Bristol samplers to have the name of any city except Bristol stitched on them, because most red samplers were completed before the girl left the orphanage. Rosanna was discharged from the orphanage in 1884, the year her sampler was dated.

This sampler is in the collection of the Quorn Village On-Line Museum (www.quornmuseum,com). The image is copyright Sue Templeman, Quorn Village On-line Museum and presented on this website with their permission.

Here is the link to the museum listing for the sampler:
http://www.quornmuseum.com/display.php?id=1879