She is a major collector and curator of exhibitions of schoolgirl needlework, and a major author in the field. In a March 9 lecture at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts , co-sponsored by the Decorative Arts Council and the Textile Council, Ring focused on the teachers of private girls' schools who oversaw the training of these young artists. It was the teachers who created the fascinating regional styles in American schoolgirl needlework. Though the children themselves typically signed their work, the teachers remained in the background, for the most part. By tracing the children's lives, with careful study of designs and materials, and matching of unknown works with items where documentation is clear, Ring and her fellow researchers have managed to identify only a few of these teachers and their schools.
Needlework dates to ancient times as a necessity and an art.
The earliest signed and dated sampler was created in 1598, also in England. Needlework pieces approaching that age are quite rare, but simple pieces from the 1600s are surprisingly abundant, she said. Most are by children, and most are limited in design to simple patterns, particularly the familiar alphabet sampler. Sewing on canvas was characteristic before the 1650s, but after that, silk on silk was the fashion. In addition to samplers girls did needlework coverings for trinket boxes, and Ring showed examples of these from the simple lidded box to an elaborate box with eight secret compartments.