A meandering pink dianthus border surrounds Hannah’s sweet pastoral sampler. A grand red brick house nestles between 2 large colourful birds perched atop trees. A shepherd and shepherdess with their Lancashire Heelers stand watch over a pasture full of sheep, lambs and deer. Two trumpeting angels signifying the word of God, hover over the house. Urns and vases of flowers abound.
What makes this sampler so endearing is the charming young lady, in her beautiful blue dress, frilly bloomers and feathered headdress, proudly waving a flag. The romantic within imagines that she is cheering dashing young soldiers as they parade by.
This work Ive done to let you see
The care my parents took of me
When I am dead and in my grave
I hope this piece of work youll save
Jesus in Death Remember me
By stitching a beautiful cartouche around her chosen verse we believe that Hannah was placing great emphasis on her words.
We all wish that our descendants will cherish our needlework. By faithfully reproducing Hannah’s sampler we hope that we are fulfilling her wish and ensuring that she can be remembered through her work by the generations who come after us.
Hannah’s sampler was previously in the collection of Sir Michael Codron a renowned West End Theatre producer.
After an extensive search we have traced 4 Hannah Coates born in 1833. All were christened in York, England during the reign of King William 1V.
Although we have no further personal information history tells us that in Hannah’s childhood: Charles Dickens publishes “Oliver Twist”, drawing attention to England’s poor; Queen Victoria succeeds to the throne and marries Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha; The first postage stamp, the Penny Black, was issued; More than a million people starve to death during the Irish Potato Famine leading to mass emigration to America and Australia; The first settlers arrive in New Zealand and in 1847 Charlotte Bronte publishes her wonderful novel “Jane Eyre”.
We wonder if Hannah was reading “Jane Eyre” whilst she was stitching her sampler. We rather like to think she was and dreaming about Mr Rochester as she plied her needle and thread.
The model has been stitched with Au Ver De Soie silks on 40ct Lakeside Linen Vintage Sand Dune and a DMC conversion has been provided .
The stitch count is 345 stitches (w) x 319 stitches (h)
This charming sampler is rated as BEGINNER but will be an enjoyable project for all abilities. The stitches used are cross stitch over two threads with the verse stitched in cross stitch over one thread.
We are always happy to assist needleworkers with any stitching queries and we hope you have many enjoyable hours fulfilling Hannah’s wish.
