Elizabeth’s sampler  is offered to you in two different formats ~ as a printed booklet and as an instant PDF download. Details of the PDF download can be found HERE.

Elizabeth finished her monochrome sampler on Sunday, March 3, in the year 1799 in the port town of Wells-next-the-Sea. The young Elizabeth certainly stitched a charming first sampler. Not only did she diligently stitch out an upper- and lower-case alphabet (note the missing “J” and reversed “V” and “U”) but she worked some pretty geometric motifs to delight our needles.

Elizabeth has remained elusive despite a thorough search of family history records. There are a few possible Elizabeths that were born in Norfolk during the right time frame; however, we are unable to say with certainty which girl stitched the sampler. We know that there were Garrods living in Wells, but a painstaking trawl of a digitised copy of the parish records has found no Elizabeth Garrod being baptised in the town.

We suspect that our Elizabeth was born in Great Dunham or Castle Acre in 1789.

Wells, as the town is locally known, is nestled between Holkham Beach and Blakeney Point, and today this area of North Norfolk has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is known for its natural scenery, architecture, and an ongoing sense of traditional community ways.

As Elizabeth’s sampler was finished on a Sunday, we wondered if it was stitched in a Sunday school. Regrettably, we will never know!

The sampler is stitched entirely in cross stitch over two threads and can be stitched on Aida or linen. It is suitable for all levels of ability.

At the very core of Hands Across the Sea Samplers there is a team of needleworkers who are passionate about antique samplers and being able to share those samplers with you.