From an estate: a rare vintage sailor’s wool work “woolie,” featuring a 19th century sailing clipper ship flying an 1818 US 20-star flag. Superbly handcrafted, featuring trapunto sails and chain stitch embroidered details on a blue linen type fabric background. Very good condition. A wonderful addition to any coastal themed décor. Measures approximately 26" x 15" and 29.25" x 18.25" including the frame. Preserved beneath glass. The solid wood maple frame shows some scratches and signs of age (see photos). Exact vintage not known, however the inscription on the back reads "Margery Lucille McNeil Gugler 6-65." We assume 1965. Wire hanger.

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Information about woolies from the Textile Research Centre (trc-leiden.nl): 

“Sailor's woolworks is a general term for decorative needlework pictures that in most cases show a specific ship or a generalized (sailing) ship. They have the nickname 'woolies'. Some of the sailor's wool works are embroidered, others are made from appliqué cloth. Seamen produced such pictures from about the 1830's until the First World War (1914-1918). Although most woolies were made by active seamen, it is likely that some were made by retired sailors. The peak period for the production of woolies was 1860-1880. They seem to have died out with the advent of steam, reducing the number of seamen required (and thus less men making them), and the advances made in photography in recording ships.

The making of woolies was one of several handicrafts, notably knot-tying, model making and scrimshaw, practiced by seamen to pass the long hours on sea voyages. Many sailors were trained in sewing so they could repair sails and mend nets or clothing, so decorative needlework was not regarded as a strange recreational activity for the men. Woolies mainly depict ships, but other motifs such as flags or landscapes were included. Some of the pictures also had a date and name of the vessel depicted, but they seldom include the name of the seaman who made the picture. A wide variety of stitches were used for woolies, such as chain stitch, cross stitch, darning stitch, and quilting techniques, notably trapunto. The earliest examples tend to be made with chain stitch, using woolen yarns (hence the nickname woolies), but sometimes cotton or silk was also used. Some sailors included bone, glass, metal or wood, in order to embellish their woolies.”