Country Knoll

06/29/2026

We are thrilled to announce that our forthcoming publication, ‘Locating Girlhood: Place and Identity in Early American “Schoolgirl” Art’, is now available for pre-order!⁠
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Published in conjunction with the forthcoming exhibition, this lavishly illustrated volume presents new scholarship on key works drawn from major collections of girlhood embroidery and ornamental arts. In addition to essays by curators Emelie Gevalt and Caroline Culp, the publication includes a foreword by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, contributions by art historian Elizabeth Bacon Eager and literary scholar William Huntting Howell, and an afterword by art historian Andrea Pappas.⁠
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Co-published by the American Folk Art Museum and Skira, the 256-page volume is available for pre-order through the Museum Shop for $60. American Folk Art Museum members receive a 10% discount.⁠
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🔗 Click here to pre-order today: https://shop.folkartmuseum.org/locating-girlhood-place-and-identity-in-early-amer.html

02/25/2026

02/14/2026

Happy Valentine’s Day!!🐑❤️🐑

Love Comes Softly ~

© Sue Corlett. All rights reserved.

01/28/2026

When I was thirteen, I decided I didn’t want my childhood toys anymore. I felt I had outgrown them, so I sold them and added the money to my savings, already knowing exactly what I wanted to use it for. I didn’t want something trendy. I wanted a spinning wheel.

My father understood. He always encouraged me when my heart settled on something that truly mattered. So we drove down to Dryden, New York together. We bought the wheel and brought it home, and together we stained it and assembled it, piece by piece. I still remember that day.

That wheel has stayed with me ever since. It has lived through seasons of change, through different rooms and different versions of me. It has known my sadness and my joy. It has turned wool into yarn, while time turned a girl into a woman.

And today, when I sit down and set it spinning, I’m connected to that thirteen-year-old who somehow knew that making something with your hands mattered.
This is the same wheel.
It’s the same motion.
And I’m still spinning my life into thread.

01/25/2026

On this snowy day, when the world outside is white, I sit stitching green grass and red flowers into linen, letting them bloom where the snow can’t touch us. The needle moves in a slow, steady rhythm, and each stitch carries a memory of my wonderful days in Newburyport, Massachusetts. In my hands, the fabric fills with soft reminders that even in the coldest seasons, something beautiful is always waiting to emerge.❤️🪡❤️

Linen: Blackberry Primitives
Thread: Weeks Dye Works
Design: Stacy Nash

01/19/2026

❤️I taught “grandma hobbies”to people two times my age when I was a teen. I loved explaining spinning and knitting skills – needles clicking, wheels humming, the comforting smell of wool, and the wonderful friendships formed.

I always found that when my hands were busy, my heart was happy and relaxed. There was something peaceful about creating together, about conversations unfolding stitch by stitch. I loved sharing that feeling then, and I still do.

Now a new generation wants to learn.

I truly believe these hobbies were never just about yarn and needles. They were about connection – connection to tradition, to creativity, and most of all to people. There is a special kind of magic that happens when these skills are shared. Barriers soften, stories are told, and simple lessons grow into lasting friendships.

The crafts may be old, but the joy they bring is timeless. And I’m grateful to still be part of passing them on.❤️

Pictured: A beautiful gift from a student(friend) from 1984