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The Queen of the May is a tradition that celebrates beauty, renewal, and honour. Each year, we select a sampler that embodies these qualities — a design that rises above the rest, chosen not only for its visual appeal, but for its enduring presence.
For 2026, we are delighted to present Ann Watson 1839, a truly exceptional Cumbrian sampler worked by an eleven-year-old girl.. We chose Ann’s work for its balance and compositional confidence, its rich symbolic language, and its clear connection to place. It is a sampler that speaks with quiet authority — one that rewards close looking and thoughtful stitching.
Ann’s sampler is a study in balance and intention. A broad floral border frames the work with rhythmic symmetry, enclosing a carefully composed arrangement of motifs. At its centre, a devotional verse — taken from the writings of Isaac Watts — speaks of faith, discipline, and the shaping of a young heart. Above, a garden unfolds: trees, birds, flowering urns, and a watchful stag arranged with quiet assurance. Within this ordered landscape, subtle references to the Garden of Eden invite reflection on innocence, choice, and moral formation.
Below, a red-brick house anchors the composition — a symbol of stability and aspiration — surrounded by delicate motifs that evoke domestic harmony. Dividing bands guide the eye, creating a sampler that reads with clarity from top to bottom.
At its base, Ann stitched her name:
“Ann Watson’s Work finished in her 11 year Anno 1839.”
In that line, a young girl declares her presence across time.
Ann was baptised in Whitehaven in 1829, a busy coastal town shaped by industry, faith, and community. Like many girls of her time, her life is only faintly recorded in the archive. Yet through her needlework, she remains.
This sampler forms part of a wider group of Cumbrian work stitched in the shadow of Scafell Pike, where patterns were taught, repeated, and passed from one generation to the next.
Ann’s sampler is not only a beautiful design — it is a record of education, discipline, and identity. A quiet but enduring voice from 1839.
The sampler has been painstakingly reproduced and the model exquisitely stitched by Lisa Brown. 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.
OPTIONS
This option PDF download for Ann Watson 1839 – Single page graph intended for use on an electronic device and a multi-page annotated graph intended for printing or for use on an electronic device.
- Printed booklet of Ann Watson 1839 the Queen of the May 2026. Click HERE.
- Silk Pack of 22 spools of Soie 100.3 for Ann Watson the Queen of the May 2026 – Click HERE
- Special offer for Friends of Hands Across the Sea Samplers. The Queen of the May and The Lord of the May ~ bundle of printed booklets. Click HERE.
- Special offer for Friends of Hands Across the Sea Samplers. The Queen of the May and The Lord of the May ~ bundle of PDF downloads. Click HERE.
- William Curtis The Lord of the May ~ printed booklet. Click HERE.
- William Curtis The Lord of the May ~ PDF download. Click HERE.
- Coordinating project bag fabric panel for Ann Watson the Queen of the May 2026. Click HERE.
