Whenever possible, I plan to share photos of antique needlework here. There may also be photos of some of the sights I've seen (including graveyards) on my trips doing genealogy research on my "girls," research on antique needlework in general, or attending needlework seminars.

	In March, 2002, after attending an aunt's funeral in Akron, Ohio, I drove to Ashland to find the gravesite of one of my sampler girls, Mary Swineford. She was born in Pennsylvania, had gone to Ohio and married John Sheets. She was buried at the Ashland Cemetery, which I assumed was a small rural cemetery. When I arrived I realized all the old graves were mixed with those of the 20th century in this very large cemetery! I drove up and down the lanes looking for markers with the Swineford or Sheets names, found several, stopped and walked around looking for Mary's grave. After 30-40 minutes, I saw some Swineford graves -- Mary's uncle and his children, but no Mary. I turned to go back to the car, but for some reason I took one last look over my shoulder, and under a lovely oak tree I saw the Sheets headstones. There was John Sheets, Mary and their children. I stood there for a few minutes, took some photos, and remembering I had flowers from my aunt's funeral in the car, I brought some back to leave on Mary's grave, telling her I had her sampler and was taking good care of it for her!
Laura Ann Ludington, the maker of my first antique sampler, was born in Carmel, New York, married an attorney, and moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. On a trip to Milwaukee in October, 2004, to find out more about Laura as a grown woman, I located her grave in a cemetery in the middle of Milwaukee. While I was taking photos I saw a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye, and realized there was a red fox running up the hill. He stopped at the top of the hill and turned his head just as I took this picture.
	After finishing with the photos at Laura's grave, I turned to walk down the hill and realized there was a lovely weeping willow tree below where I'd parked the car. I also noticed an obelisk type monument to the left of the tree, and a lovely oak tree on the right. It was like looking at the setting of the many mourning pictures I've seen over the years.