Wonderful Earlier 19th Century Homespun Wool Petit Point Needlepoint Mat with Fluffed Border clay turtle This and one other today

This and one other today by the same maker--the last of a handful I've had by that unknown person

I love the fact that making these reflected an increasing popular interest in the natural world and also a greater freedom for women and girls--an excuse to venture out on their own toward to the sea

Print area: 4" x 3 1/4"

this to me is an interesting example for how cleanly and expertly done it was (and it gave me an excuse to dig in a bit more to the history and varieties of staple repairs

I’d guess maybe in the 1970s or so

Wonderful Earlier 19th Century Homespun Wool Petit Point Needlepoint Mat with Fluffed Border clay turtle This and one other todayI've had one other 19th century needlepoint mat of a similar ilk to this one, with this same sort of fluffy edge; I think there may be a specific name for the type, but I don't know it! Earlyish 19th century New England I believe, hand dyed wool on handwoven linen cotton (one can glimpse it along the edge on reverse) finished with handwoven wool cloth backing, which shows a patch of loss but is stable. And that squirrel munching away on those berries