The 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.

The name of Wigglesworth stitched so proudly on this beautiful sampler caught our eye, followed by the age of the samplermaker. Aet (aetatis) is an abbreviation often seen on gravestones, meaning “at the age of”. Nicola just had to reproduce and stitch Mary’s sampler as they were both 58 years old.

Mary’s sampler has so much to please the eye and your needle. The sampler has grace and harmony, both in design and colour. The arcaded band at the top of the sampler can be found on many samplers from the 1700s. Mary may have stitched this band in a much earlier sampler worked when she was a child.

Mary was the daughter of Jonathan and Mary Holmes and was baptised on February 24, 1754 in Hampsthwaite, Yorkshire. She was the second daughter to have been named Mary, the first having died before her first birthday. At the age of 10, Mary lost her mother, we suspect in childbirth. Jonathan remarried two years later.

Mary married William Wigglesworth on November 24, 1782 at St Thomas of Canterbury Church, Hampsthwaite. Mary and William were cousins, the Wigglesworths and Holmes’ families having intermarried through earlier generations. The families were connected with Padside Hall, Thornthwaite in the parish of Hampsthwaite.

We do not know if Mary and William had children. They settled in Addingham, a village a short distance from Thornthwaite.

William may have moved to the village to work in the mills. It is possible that Mary found work teaching needlework; it would explain why the sampler was stitched at such a late time of life. The Old School in Addingham was built by Anthony Ward in 1666. The school began as a simple two-roomed cottage, which was eventually expanded into a double-storied building with the lower section, in part, becoming a gaol.

William died in Addingham in 1814 and Mary married Anthony Smith, a cotton spinner on February 19, 1815. We know from their marriage banns that Mary had a fine signature.

The verse Mary chose for her sampler was taken from a hymn written by Charles Wesley.

Mary died in the November of 1820 and was buried on the 22^nd of that month at St Peter’s Church, Addingham. We hope that she found her way to heaven with a wise and understanding heart.

The original sampler was stitched with cross stitch over two threads of linen with the exception of the word “heart” which is worked in cross stitch over one thread. For those wishing to stitch on Aida the word “heart” could be worked in backstitch or replaced with a small, cross stitched heart. Mary used an uneven linen of approximately 33/30ct and cotton thread.

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. Hands Across the Sea Samplers are on hand to help those stitching our charts. If you need assistance or have any questions, we can be reached via email, address shown below, or the contact page on our website.