Available as a pdf download and as a printed booklet. Click HERE for the printed booklet.
It is with great pleasure that we present to you the needlework of Elizabeth Dinsdale. It is so unusual for three pieces of a young girl’s needlework to stay together through the centuries. We feel honoured to be the present custodians of Elizabeth’s work.
Two of the three samplers bear the date “May the 26th 1843” and three very poignant words “LIFE IS SHORT” emphasised in capital lettering.
Contained within this booklet are two reproductions. Elizabeth’s simple primer worked when she was 12 years of age and the sampler she worked three years later. Several motifs in the sampler have been taken from the third sampler. Note the three urns of flowers and the pairs of deer.
A curious feature of the primer and the unreproduced sampler is that they both have the exact same date. Would Elizabeth have been working both projects at the same time, finishing them on the same date? How we wish we could ask her!
The sampler Elizabeth finished in 1846 shows a maturity in her chosen colour palette. Her verse refers to “midnight”, and she has managed to capture the sense of moonlight playing on the motifs in the top half of the sampler. The moon and stars really do play over the grand Georgian house.
The bottom half of the sampler features two bee skeps and numerous bees busy at work. Bees are fascinating creatures that play a crucial role in our ecosystem. They are responsible for pollinating a third of the food we eat, which makes them essential for our survival. The northern counties are home to a variety of bee species, including the honey bee and the bumble bee.
It was common in the 1800s to “tell the bees” about significant life events. We wonder if Elizabeth shared some stories with the bees?
Elizabeth’s needlework has been reproduced using Au Ver à Soie’s range of Soie 100.3. We have provided conversions for Soie d’Alger (SDA) and DMC.
With grateful thanks to Lisa Brown who painstakingly reproduced the samplers, Linda Clews who stitched the primer, and the Contented Stitcher who stitched sampler. Please note that the two bees featured next to the date 1846 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.
