Available as a printed booklet and as pdf download. Click HERE for the PDF booklet.
Each year Hands Across the Sea Samplers publishes a sampler which we consider to be not only beautiful but outstandingly so and worthy to be crowned our Queen of the May.
We are pleased to present to you Maria Ewin – our Queen of the May for the year 2023. Maria is a beautiful sampler that has been painstakingly reproduced and exquisitely stitched by Lisa Brown.
Maria Ewin was love at first sight. She arrived in February 2021 and brought sunshine on a cold winter’s day. Maria’s colours are beautifully preserved and she was reproduced using the colours on the front of the sampler. I stitched her model on 46ct linen which, when finished, was almost the exact size of the original sampler.
Maria was an excellent stitcher. Her execution was precise and accurate. It amazes me that at the young age of 11 Maria took such great care with her work. My impression of Maria is that she was a very organized and disciplined girl. She shows great attention to detail in the way that she matched her top and bottom borders and then also matched her side borders with perfect symmetry.
In the border flowers, she carefully placed each pair of colours so as to not repeat a combination. She did so similarly in the floral band beneath the verse. I think she was very intentional with her colours and that the results were not just a happy accident. The balance of greens, reds, and blue against an otherwise neutral palette makes the sampler so visually appealing and alive with colour. I feel Maria’s sampler is a master class in design, colour placement, and execution.
Do you love her as much as I do?
Lisa
Maria’s sampler has been reproduced using a palette of 24 colours carefully matched to the colours found on the front of the sampler. The model was stitched using Soie d’Alger (SDA) from Au Ver à Soie, and we have included conversions for Soie 100.3 and DMC.
Maria executed her sampler predominantly with cross stitches laid over two threads of linen; only the verse has been worked in cross stitch over one thread of linen. The sampler is suitable for needleworkers of all levels of ability.
Thread Legend
Maria’s sampler has been reproduced using a palette of 24 colours carefully matched to the colours found on the front of the sampler. The model was stitched using Soie d’Alger (SDA) from Au Ver à Soie, and we have included below conversions for Soie 100.3 and DMC.
1 strand of Soie 100.3 on 40 to 56ct linen029 ~ Grey green medium
142 ~ Yellow beige light
152 ~ Olive green
197 ~ Brown grey medium
207 ~ Brown grey dark
211 ~ Tan very light
274 ~ Khaki green dark
303 ~ Hazelnut brown
328 ~ Mustard light
335 ~ Garnet medium
455 ~ Hazelnut brown very dark
491 ~ Hunter green
512 ~ Driftwood dark
523 ~ Christmas red
538 ~ Mocha beige medium
562 ~ Drab brown light
572 ~ Drab brown
624 ~ Brown grey very dark
627 ~ Pewter grey
634 ~ brown light
654 ~ Grey green very dark
694 ~ Mocha brown light
703 ~ Grey green very dark
756 ~ Blue green very dark
1 strand of SDA on 36 to 46ct linen946 ~ Garnet medium
1726 ~ Grey green very dark
1845 ~ Grey green very dark
2236 ~ Hazelnut brown very dark
2757 ~ Grey green medium
2916 ~ Christmas red
3226 ~ Pewter grey
3423 ~ Brown grey medium
3426 ~ Blue green very dark
3433 ~ Mocha beige medium
3434 ~ Driftwood dark
3724 ~ Hunter green
3733 ~ Olive green
3734 ~ Khaki green dark
3815 ~ Hazelnut brown
3832 ~ Mustard light
3835 ~ Brown grey dark
3836 ~ Brown grey very dark
4533 ~ Mocha brown light
4534 ~ Drab brown
F08 ~ Yellow beige light
F09 ~ Hazelnut brown light
F18 ~ Drab brown light
F21 ~ Tan very light
2 strands of SDA on 28 to 32ct linen946 ~ Garnet medium
1726 ~ Grey green very dark
1845 ~ Grey green very dark
2236 ~ Hazelnut brown very dark
2757 ~ Grey green medium
2916 x 3 ~ Christmas red
3226 ~ Pewter grey
3423 ~ Brown grey medium
3426 x 2 ~ Blue green very dark
3433 ~ Mocha beige medium
3434 ~ Driftwood dark
3724 ~ Hunter green
3733 ~ Olive green
3734 x 2 ~ Khaki green dark
3815 ~ Hazelnut brown
3832 ~ Mustard light
3835 ~ Brown grey dark
3836 ~ Brown grey very dark
4533 ~ Mocha brown light
4534 ~ Drab brown
F08 ~ Yellow beige light
F09 ~ Hazelnut brown light
F18 ~ Drab brown light
F21 ~ Tan very light
1 strand of DMC on 40 to 46ct linen08 ~ Driftwood dark
347 ~ Christmas red
372 ~ Mustard light
422 ~ Hazelnut brown light
500 ~ Blue green very dark
520 ~ Grey green very dark
611 ~ Drab brown
612 ~ Drab brown light
732 ~ Olive green
739 ~ Tan very light
815 ~ Garnet medium
869 ~ Hazelnut brown very dark
924 ~ Grey green very dark
926 ~ Grey green medium
3011 ~ Khaki green dark
3021 ~ Brown grey very dark
3022 ~ Brown grey medium
3047 ~ Yellow beige light
3346 ~ Hunter green
3787 ~ Brown grey dark
3799 ~ Pewter grey
3782 ~ Mocha brown light
3828 ~ Hazelnut brown
3863 ~ Mocha beige medium
2 strands of DMC on 36ct linen08 ~ Driftwood dark
347 x 2 ~ Christmas red
372 ~ Mustard light
422 ~ Hazelnut brown light
500 x 2 ~ Blue green very dark
520 ~ Grey green very dark
611 ~ Drab brown
612 ~ Drab brown light
732 ~ Olive green
739 ~ Tan very light
815 ~ Garnet medium
869 ~ Hazelnut brown very dark
924 ~ Grey green very dark
926 ~ Grey green medium
3011 ~ Khaki green dark
3021 ~ Brown grey very dark
3022 ~ Brown grey medium
3047 ~ Yellow beige light
3346 ~ Hunter green
3787 ~ Brown grey dark
3799 ~ Pewter grey
3782 ~ Mocha brown light
3828 ~ Hazelnut brown
3863 ~ Mocha beige medium
2 strands of DMC on 28 to 32ct linen08 ~ Driftwood dark
347 x 2 ~ Christmas red
372 ~ Mustard light
422 ~ Hazelnut brown light
500 x 2 ~ Blue green very dark
520 ~ Grey green very dark
611 ~ Drab brown
612 ~ Drab brown light
732 ~ Olive green
739 ~ Tan very light
815 ~ Garnet medium
869 ~ Hazelnut brown very dark
924 ~ Grey green very dark
926 ~ Grey green medium
3011 x 2 ~ Khaki green dark
3021 ~ Brown grey very dark
3022 ~ Brown grey medium
3047 ~ Yellow beige light
3346 ~ Hunter green
3787 ~ Brown grey dark
3799 ~ Pewter grey
3782 ~ Mocha brown light
3828 ~ Hazelnut brown
3863 ~ Mocha beige medium
Linen Sizes
The design area is 271 stitches (w) x 329 stitches (h). Our calculations have included a 3" margin for finishing and framing. The model was stitched on 46ct linen overdyed by Fiber on a Whim to a shade of Parchment.
28ct linen: Design: 19.36" x 23.50" Fabric: 25.36" x 29.50"
32ct linen: Design: 16.94" x 20.56" Fabric: 22.94" x 26.56"
36ct linen: Design: 15.06" x 18.28" Fabric: 21.06" x 24.28"
40ct linen: Design: 13.55" x 16.45" Fabric: 19.55" x 22.45"
46ct linen: Design: 11.78" x 14.30" Fabric: 17.78" x 20.30"
56ct linen: Design: 9.68" x 11.75" Fabric: 15.68" x 17.75"
Stitch Guide
Maria executed her sampler predominantly with cross stitches laid over two threads of linen; only the verse has been worked in cross stitch over one thread of linen. The sampler is suitable for needleworkers of all levels of ability.
Cross stitch ~ is made up of two stitches worked over one or two threads. You should make all your stitches cross in the same direction for a neat and uniform finish.
You have to be careful not to pull the thread through the intersection of the woven linen threads. The warp and weft fibres are not “interlocked” at intersections; they simply pass over and under one another. As a result, when stitching over one thread, some stitches can slip and disappear. Lay your stitches away from the direction you are working. This prevents the thread from slipping through the intersections.
