A Bluestocking Knits

This is the "Patience" sampler by Homespun Samplar, which I saw one day not long ago on a Pinterest list called something like "100 Best Samplers of All Time" — a rather sweeping claim, to be sure! — and I fell for it instantly.  The blackwork, certainly, and something about the over-the-top-ness of the letters just spoke to me!  The original shade of linen is still available (a Zweigart standard, happily for me), so I managed to get a piece, marked the center, put it in my frame, and dove in.  It wasn't until I was well along the next line of the alphabet that I realized what I had done …