Amanda Malviney Brown 1844 ~ PDF download

£18.00

Add to Wishlist
Add to Wishlist

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

It was so nice to see the name of Amanda on a sampler from the first half of the 19th century, and what a pretty sampler this 10-year-old stitched. Amanda is a Latin name meaning “lovable” or “worthy of love.” Whilst it was a popular literary name in the 17th and 18th centuries, it is not often seen on samplers from the 1800s.

Amanda was born on April 25, 1834 in Austonley, a small hamlet on the outskirts of the town of Holmfirth, Yorkshire. This was a beautiful rural area of rolling hills, grassland, and woods, but in the 1770s the first spinning jenny was introduced to Holmfirth and by the 1850s textile mills had sprung up by the river valleys. Holmfirth rapidly expanded in the 1800s due to the growing cloth trade and the production of stone and slates from the surrounding quarries. The peaceful, rural area was gone forever as around 60 textile mills were built, employing hundreds of men, women, and children. Today, it is the renowned location of the British TV classic Last of the Summer Wine and as the home of another British tradition, Bamforth’s saucy seaside postcards!

Amanda was the fourth of ten children born to Benjamin Brown, a wool corder, and his wife Hannah. She was baptised on July 27 at the Anglican church of Holy Trinity. In the 1851 census return, Amanda was recorded as a dressmaker.

On July 26, 1857, at the age of 23, Amanda married William Whitehead, a fuller, at All Hallows Church in Kirkburton. She was not able to sign her name on the marriage record and instead made her mark with an “X”. Amanda and William had two sons before William’s early death in 1863. Their second son died in 1864 and the following year Amanda married Joshua Battye, a fuller. They lived in Holmbridge, a small village near Holmfirth. Together they had seven children. Joshua died in 1908.

The 1911 census finds Amanda a widow living alone at 58 Brook Lane, Golcar. The village is about 7.5 miles from Holmfirth. We suspect that she moved to Golcar to be close to one of her children who lived in the village

Amanda outlived two husbands and five of her children; she died in the October of 1911, aged 77 years.

The sampler is worked with cross stitched over two threads of linen and some Algerian eyelets. It has been rated suitable for all levels of abilities.

With grateful thanks to The Contented Stitcher who lovingly stitch the model. The two bees stitched on the sampler are the mark (signature) of the model stitcher and are not part of the reproduction. 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.

Thread Legend

Amanda’s pretty sampler was stitched with a particularly beautiful palette of 13 colours from Au Ver à Soie’s range of Soie 100.3. We have provided conversions for Soie d’Alger (SDA) and DMC. Only one spool or skein of each colour is required with the exception of SDA 524, 526 and 2923 when two skeins will be required when using two strands on 28 to 32ct linen.

Soie 100.3 /  Soie d’Alger / DMC ~ Colour Description

022 / 524 / 833 ~ Golden olive ~ light
031 / 4242 / 676 ~ Old gold ~ light
070 / 2643 / 21 ~ Alizarin ~ light
091 / 643 / 402 ~ Mahogany ~ very light
203 / 4214 / 400 ~ Mahogany ~ dark
494 / 2932 / 760 ~ Salmon
523 / 2916 / 347 ~ Salmon ~ very dark
561 / 3343 / 648 ~ Beaver grey ~ light
616 / 526 / 829 ~ Golden olive ~ very dark
664 / 2923 / 321 ~ Christmas red
685 / 1723 / 597 ~ Turquoise
707 / 3715 / 3051 ~ Green grey ~ dark
Noir / Noir / 310 ~ Black

Linen Sizes

The design area is 235 stitches (w) x 219 stitches (h). Our calculations have included a 3″ margin for finishing and framing. The model was stitched using 56ct Zweigart-based linen that was overdyed to the shade “Crème Brulée” by Tabbycat Linen

28ct: Design: 16.79″ x 15.64″ Fabric: 22.79″ x 21.64″

32ct: Design: 14.69″ x 13.69″ Fabric: 20.69″ x 19.69″

36ct: Design: 13.06″ x 12.17″ Fabric: 19.06″ x 18.17″

40ct: Design: 11.75″ x 10.95″ Fabric: 17.75″ x 16.95″

46ct: Design: 10.22″ x 9.52″ Fabric: 16.22″ x 15.52″

56ct: Design: 8.39″ x 7.82″ Fabric: 14.39″ x 13.82″

Stitch Guide

The sampler is worked with cross stitched over two threads of linen and some Algerian eyelets. It has been rated suitable for all levels of abilities.

 

Cross stitch ~ is made up of two stitches worked over two threads. You should make all your stitches cross in the same direction for a neat and uniform finish.

 

Algerian eyelet ~ When worked over  four threads of linen, 8 stitches are laid to create an eyelet. Do not tug on the thread using your needle as your thread will soon break. Instead, apply pressure by pulling on the thread close to the stitch. Even tension should be applied, so each individual stitch sits well within the eyelet.