Whilst Martha has left no obvious clues in her sampler for us to trace her footsteps through time, her diligence with her needle, has today, rekindled her memory and will bring hours of joy to many sampler lovers throughout the world. Martha’s sampler, contained within an undulating border of honeysuckle, is a merry one full of colour.
In the bottom section is an idyllic scene set between two trees with stags below and birds above hovering in the sky together with wisps of clouds in the distance and two large twinkling stars. In the background is a church with a steeple and a windmill which could be found in the quaint villages of the English countryside in the 1800’s. To the foreground, coming towards the viewer, is a little boy in his Sunday best suit jauntily strolling along hand in hand with a lady carrying a basket of flowers on her head. This lady appears in another sampler that Hands Across the Sea Samplers has reproduced, Sarah Daws.
The middle section of Martha’s sampler features the verse “Fountain of blessing, ever blest”. The top section of Martha’s sampler features a delightful band of flowers and shrubs, including a particularly beautiful dog rose, all sat on a horizontal band composed of a repeating Grecian geometric pattern.
Thread Legend
The sampler has been reproduced with Au Ver à Soie d’Alger silks and the skein quantities calculated based on 1 strand on 36ct fabric. We have provided conversions for DMC based on 2 strands and Needlepoint Inc. based on 1 strand. The original sampler was stitched on uneven weave linen closest in colour to DMC shade 677 and measuring approximately 15.75 x 12.40 inches.
Soie d’Alger / DMC / NPINoir x 1 / 310 x 1 / 993 x 1 ~ Black
2644 x 1 / 347 x 1 / 636 x 1 ~ Salmon ~ very dark
3812 x 1 / 437 x 1 / 693 x 1 ~ Tan ~ light
5025 x 1 / 500 x 1 / 155 x 1 ~ Blue green ~ very dark
1845 x 2 / 501 x 2 / 155a x 2 ~ Blue green ~ dark
F14 x 1 / 613 x 1 / 951 x 1 ~ Drab brown – very light
3834 x 1 / 642 x 1 / 982 x 1 ~ Beige grey - dark
3814 x 1 / 729 x 1 / 694 x 1 ~ Old gold ~ medium
2213 x 2 / 733 x 2 / 333 x 2 ~ Olive green ~ medium
F07 x 1 / 739 x 1 / 882 x 1 ~ Tan ~ ultra very light
2543 x 1 / 744 x 1 / 472 x 1 ~ Yellow ~ pale
2914 x 1 / 760 x 1 / 633 x 1 ~ Salmon
2926 x 1 / 816 x 1 / 226 x 1 ~ Garnet
3435 x 1 / 839 x 1 / 186 x 1 ~ Beige brown ~ dark
4246 x 1 / 869 x 1 / 913 x 1 ~ Hazel nut brown ~ very dark
5384 x 1 / 926 x 1 / 154 x 1 ~ Grey green~ medium
5382 x 1 / 927 x 1 / 152 x 1 ~ Grey green ~ light
3715 x 1 / 3052 x 1v292 x 1 ~ Green grey - medium
3724 x 1 / 3363 x 1v354 x 1 ~ Pine green ~ medium
1745 x 1 / 3768 x 1v324 x 1 ~ Grey green - dark
2532 x 1 / 3821 x 1 / 473 x 1 ~ Straw
LINEN SIZES
The design area is 383 stitches (w) x 329 stitches (h). Our calculations have included a 3” margin for finishing and framing.
28ct - Design: 27.36" x 23.50" Fabric: 33.36" x 29.50"
30ct - Design: 25.53" x 21.93" Fabric: 31.53" x 27.93"
32ct – Design: 23.94" x 20.56" Fabric: 29.94" x 26.56"
36ct – Design: 21.28" x 18.28" Fabric: 27.28" x 24.28"
40ct – Design: 19.15" x 16.45" Fabric: 25.15" x 22.45"
46ct Design: 16.65" x 14.30" Fabric: 22.65" x 20.30"
Stitch Guide
The stitches used are cross stitch over 1 and 2 threads, double running stitch and a handful of straight stitches. The sampler is suitable for all level of abilities.
Each square in the stitch diagrams that follow represents 1 linen thread.
Cross Stitch ~ is made up of two stitches worked over one or two threads. Make all your stitches cross in the same direction for a neat and uniform finish.
Double Running Stitch ~ is worked in two journeys. On the outward journey you mark out the motif and on the return trip you fill in the gaps. It is also called Holbein Stitch.
Hands Across the Sea Samplers are on hand to help those stitching our charts. If you need assistance or have any questions we can be reached via email, address shown below, or the contact page on our website. Our website has stitching tutorials which can be found in the “sewing basket/tools” section.
