Note from the designer - This is a pleasantly quirky, colorful sampler likely stitched in the north of England judging by some of the Scottish influences in the design. A four sided strawberry border surrounds an alphabet and a pious verse above a geometric pattern band. Below this is a scenic... Read more
Note from the designer - This is the most symmetrical, balanced, counted thread sampler that we have ever charted from. It is also one of the most satisfying, challenging, and beautiful samplers in the world. Originally worked on a fine wool ground, the colors of our reproduction have been matched... Read more
Note from the designer: "The flight into Egypt is a biblical event described in the Gospel of Matthew. Soon after Mary and Jesus were visited by the Magi, who had learned that King Herod intended to kill the male infants in that region, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to flee... Read more
Note from the designer - "Rhode Island samplers were among the first American schoolgirl embroideries to be recognized by serious collectors and textile scholars as a distinctive group with extraordinary visual appeal.The Sheffield sampler is delicately worked with an unusually pleasing... Read more
Note from the designer - This needlework was designed after an English sampler in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts-Boston. The lush border flowers are similar to those on a sampler made by Sarah Brignell from around the same period, suggesting the existence of a school or teacher whose... Read more
Note from the designer - "Eleanor Parr created this amazing and unique sampler some time before 1835. The border of birds encircled by vines and leaves is unprecedented. Fleurs de lys embellish each of the four corners surrounding a central reserve containing a traditional verse, floral sprays... Read more
Note from the designer - "Typical of so many Scottish samplers, Elizabeth Masterton's features an abundance of initials (likely familial), rows of evergreen trees, peacocks with seven tail feathers, and the now famous mansion house fronted by a pillared fence and gates enclosing sheep. Apart... Read more
Note from the designer - "This picture was originally designed to be used as a cushion or footstool cover, or perhaps as a decorative vignette inserted into the top of a wooden box for storing precious objects. Executed entirely in cross stitch, its most prominent characters are a large squirrel... Read more
Note from the designer - "At age nine in 1818, Sarah Dutnel created this unusual "tree of life" sampler. A traditional carnation and tulip border in subtle, earthy shades of gold, brown, and cream surrounds the tree. Dogs, deer, birds, stars, potted plants, trees and flowers flank the... Read more
Note from the designer - "This letterndoek (lettering) form of Dutch sampler appears from the late 17th through the early 19th century. It is easy to recognize by its horizontal shape, and beautifully illuminated lettering, interspersed with various symbolic shapes and Biblical motifs. The color... Read more
Note from the designer - "The design of this piece was inspired by fine examples of early eighteenth century American and English needlework pictures. A picture like this would have been stitched as a painting, with great attention to detail, shading, color, and composition." The design... Read more
This Irish Quaker sampler features an alphabet at the tope, verse, bands, and flowers. The verse reads "Great Almighty God above plant in my heart a fund of love, that I my mercies may adore and bless and praise thee evermore."
Model is stitched on 40 ct linen using either cotton or silk floss. Stitch count is 181 x 477.
Note from the designer - "Designed after a mid-eighteenth century New Hampshire sampler, this piece is delightfully naive with its oversized animals, insects, and birds. Around 1760, the New-Hampshire Gazette began publishing advertisements for girls' schools, placed by female instructresses,... Read more
Note from the designer - "A classic Quaker sampler from the Delaware Valley, this sampler demonstrates the style and many of the motifs that make them so easy to identify. The inner oval vine-and-leaf cartouche surrounding the alphabets probably originated at the Westtown School in Chester... Read more
Note from the designer - "Elizabeth Eaton finished her sampler on the 21st of July in 1712. She used bold, primary colors suggestive of Scottish influence. The original sampler was stitched with both silk and fine wool threads on linen using cross, eyelet, rice, queen, herringbone, double... Read more
Note from the designer - "This sampler is a fanciful adaptation of 19th century American and English sampler motifs. Fluffy white sheep are outstanding on a large green lawn that stretches between two elegant red brick houses that are flanked by flying eagles. Needlework pictures of this type... Read more
Note from the designer: "This sampler has a very unusual composition, with all sorts of odd devices and shapes-within-shapes. It has a traditional Greek fretwork border, and Adam and Eve with the Tree of Life and the serpent inside a cartouche. At the center is a large house with a sailing ship... Read more
Note from the designer - "This sweet English sampler is the first I've ever seen with a border made up of flying cherubs. It also features a "geode" (mosaic) parrot- a distinctively stylized bird that appears on other samplers made in England, New England, and the Netherlands throughout... Read more
Note from the designer - "This design was inspired by an early eighteenth century English picture executed in tent stitch." The designs features a lion, a leopard and a parrot surrounded by bright flowers.
The design is stitched over one thread on 35 Ct. linen. It uses cross stitch,... Read more
This sampler features a lion, a camel, and large colorful flowers. The design was stitched over 2 threads on 40 Ct. linen and is suitable for all skill levels. The stitch count for each design is 244 W x 230 H.
Note from the designer: "Fanny Hancock's father, Ebenezer Hancock, was cousin to the famous John Hancock. Born in 1785, Fanny sewed her sampler at age 11. She married Nathaniel Parker of Boston in 1803, and died in 1834. The colors on the back side of her sampler retained much of their... Read more
Note from the designer: "Mourning pictures were not an uncommon art form in England and America during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Evolving from European commemorative art honoring deceased heroes, mourning pictures were a cherished way to remember loved ones, designed to... Read more
Note from the designer: "What makes this early Victorian English sampler so intriguing are the wonderfully naive figures of Adam, Eve and St. Michael flanking the Tree of Life. St. Michael's sword is drawn to slay the serpent, but he hardly looks formidable with his large feet and doughy body.... Read more
Note from the designer: "This sampler was probably made in Rhode Island, a poor sister, perhaps, to the magnificent creations coming out of the girls' schools in Newport, Providence and Bristol at this same period, but bearing some similar "signatures". The squat, long-tailed bird at the... Read more
"Jesus permit thy Gracious name to stand as the first effort of an infant hand. And while her fingers on the canvas move, engage her tender thoughts to seek thy love. With thy dear children, let her have a part and write thy name thyself upon her heart."
Note from the designer: "This American band sampler was originally worked in Lynn, Massachusetts. Hannah Breed is mentioned in Bolton and Coe's authoritative book American Samplers. Rows of lettering are intermixed with a row of sheep and cows, a verse, and floral bands. The verse says:
Note from the designer: "Hannah Mosher was born March 12th, 1786, in Hollis, New Hampshire, the fourth and last child of Abijah and Hannah Mosher. On March 7, 1813, she married the Rev. Walter Chapin of Woodstock, Vermont. Apart from this sketchy biographical information, found in the History of... Read more
Note from the designer: "The title of this unsigned, undated American sampler comes from the verse stitched across the top:
Let no fond love for earth exact a sigh;
No doubts divert my steady steps aside;
Nor let me long to live, nor dread to die
Heav'n is my hope and... Read more
Note from the designer: "A beautiful meandering four-sided floral border in an unusually rich color palette surrounds this traditional Scottish sampler, also featuring a beautiful arcaded floral band at the top and a substantial mansion house in the lower register. Trees, tulips and flying birds... Read more
Note from the designer: "The figures depicted on this original design were derived from wood block engravings of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The format of the hornbook follows actual examples from the late 18th century. Hornbooks functioned as primers, used to teach young children their... Read more
Note from the designer: "This intricate and involved sampler features many traditional German sampler motifs dating from the sixteenth century including a large parrot, a peacock with silver tips on its wings, the Lamb of God, as well as a depiction of the Crucifixion flanked by Mother Mary and... Read more
Note from the designer: "This Scottish sampler features many distinguishing characteristics of samplers made in that country, most notably the arcaded pansy band across the top third, the four-sided floral border with double running stitch flourishes, and the famous mansion house. Of this large... Read more
Note from the designer: "This lively Scottish sampler features a four sided honeysuckle border with double running stitch flourishes, and eight rows of colorful alphabets including one with intricately illuminated lettering. The original sampler, stitched on loosely woven homespun linen, is... Read more
Note from the designer: "This is a very finely stitched classic Scottish sampler featuring three complete rows of beautifully illuminated letters, an arcaded floral band as well as other traditional motifs including peacocks, birds drinking at the fountain of life, feather trees and family... Read more
Note from the designer: "This densely worked sampler displays exquisite detail and contains many of the most popular needlework motifs of the seventeenth century. The flowers are realistically shaded to achieve a natural look."
Finished size on 35 count linen is 7 1/4" x 25... Read more
Note from the designer: "Samplers worked with black backgrounds are unique to New England, and this one is designed after a late 18th century Massachusetts piece. A portly clergyman is depicted strolling between a fashionable lady under a parasol, and a church or meeting -house; with a frisky... Read more
This 19th century American reproduction sampler features a brown bird on a tree branch. Rated for beginners. Model stitched on 35 count hand dyed linen using either cotton or silk thread. Stitch count is 110 x 150. Finished size: 6-1/4" x 8-1/2".
Note from the designer - "Mary Bailey stitched this sampler in England and finished it in 1818. It demonstrates an advanced level of skill given the symmetry of the design and its many diverse elements: a red brick mansion house with four chimneys- a sign of wealth in early 19th century England,... Read more
Note from the designer - "Adapted from an English sampler dated 1783. The original sampler from which this piece was adapted measures 15-1/2" x 12-1/2", and was stitched over one thread of linen on approximately 50-thread-count glazed linen. The house on the left alone, which measures 71... Read more
Note from the designer - "A unique four-sided geometric border is the highlight of this American sampler, consisting of nine rows of letters and numerals surrounded by a counted satin stitch sawtooth inner border. The design looks like something that might have inspired the Dutch artist Piet... Read more
Note from the designer - "ANN WHITTAKER created an almost comically theatrical sampler depicting Adam and Eve, angels, pious verses, and elaborate meandering vines beneath dramatic multi-colored draperies and tassels. Hovering over the verse which is framed by large columns, are two angels with... Read more
Note from the designer - "At the age of fourteen, Mary Lee stitched this beautiful band sampler with a good assortment of flowers, birds, swans, squirrels, and other traditional motifs. Worked into the center of a band in tight, precise stitches, is the cautionary aphorism "In thy youth... Read more
Note from the designer - "Scottish samplers are often easily identified by their color palette: intense shades of red, green, and pink, as well as by clusters or rows of initials of family members. This small sampler includes motifs usually seen on earlier samplers of the late seventeenth... Read more
Note from the designer - "This sampler shows a man and a woman beneath an apple tree, reminiscent of Adam and Eve, but in contemporary dress. Possibly of New York origin (the format and background suggest this), this reproduction is stitched on linen with either cotton or silk, with the... Read more
Note from the designer - "Amelia Boyce's pictorial sampler demonstrates two popular art forms of the early 19th century manifested in the sampler mode: the image of an architectural engraving, and the influence of Berlin patterns in the naturalistic (rather than nave or stylized) floral... Read more