The Walker Sisters was the book released at the Blackbird Designs Farewell Retreat held at Dyeing to Stitch in September 2024.
Hannah Walker - Aged 6 - 1814: Stitched on 36 ct fabric using Weeks Dye Works and Gentle Arts threads. Stitch count is 123w x 145h. Finished size is 6 7/8" x... Read more
Note from the designer: I'm very proud of this reproduction -- it's been in progress for almost two years now, and it's finally here!!! It's suitable for all stitchers and fabrics -- no specialty stitches, no over-one, no alphabets. Just a big, beautiful, checkerboard house and lots... Read more
Under the soft gleam of a winter lamp, a square of linen lies unfurled on my worktable - its surface alive with threads of crimson and green that weave together more than just patterns. At first glance, it appears a simple sampler: a neat arrangement of alphabets, numerals, and flourishes stitched... Read more
In 1894, in the small town of Pouance, there lived a young girl named Lea
Letourneur. Unlike many embroiderers of her time, who endlessly repeated their neat red alphabets, Lea dreamed of light, of flowers, and of birds. Stitch by stitch, her needle traced an alphabet bursting with life, bordered... Read more
We are pleased to present to you this charming sampler worked by Emma Wright in 1904 when she was 9 years old. There were many Emma Wrights born in England in the year 1895 so we are not able to pinpoint our Emma with any certainty.
Emma's sampler has been reproduced using a palette of... Read more
Julia Rachel De La Mare, 1849, A Fuersney, Channel Island Sampler.
The Antique: This lovely vibrant sampler is in the style common to the time called Berlin Woolwork, named such after the printed patterns originating from Berlin where individual motifs such as florals, birds, the center... Read more
Made in Providence, Rhode Island, this sampler is a superb example of the work done at Miss Mary (Polly) Balch's school, one of the most important female learning institutions in America at that time. Combining sophisticated architectural, landscape and figural motifs with elaborate and unusual... Read more
We are delighted to present to you a stunning sampler that was completed by Maria Wales Newson in the year 1838 when she was 13 years old. There is much to delight your eye and needle in this Bobby Dazzler.
Stitched on your choice of fabric using DMC threads. Stitch count is 295 x 413. Finished size is 22.39 x 28.94 inches for 36 count.
Model stitched over 2 threads on a 56 Ct. Velum linen by Foxglove and Lace Linens with Au Ver a Soie, Soie 100.3. Stitch Count: 87 x 257. Finished size over 2 on 56 Ct. linen is 3.11" x 9.18".
Elizabeth finished her stunning sampler on Wednesday, February 1, in the year 1854. The sampler would have been worked as part of her education. It would have taken many hours to complete and is an amazing achievement. A bobby dazzler of a sampler! Elizabeth created a cohesive, engaging, and... Read more
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 patterns. A widely mixed floral... Read more
"O my soul, what canst thou do, with eternity in view? Flee to Jesus, flee away not to-morrow, come to-day, come this moment, for to thee, next may be eternity."
Model stitched one over two on 40 Ct. Pecan Butter linen using Soie d'Alger threads. Stitch Count: 320W x 378H. Design Size: 16" x 18.90".
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 - 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 - "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
Chart recommends 32 count linen and DMC floss, but you can stitch on any fabric of your choice! Stitch count is 630 x 390. Fabric size needed 45 inches x 31 inches. Finished size is 39.38 in wide X 24.38 in high.
Model stitched one over two on your choice of 36 Ct. fabric using Soie d'Alger. Also required but not listed above 163, Stitch count is 309W x 319H. Design size is 17.17" x 17.72"
Step into a quiet, mysterious evening with the Black Moon Cottage Sampler, a moody and charming design inspired by old New England homesteads, weathered willow trees, and the folklore that lingers between dusk and moonrise. A solitary cottage settles on a hill beneath a crescent black moon, watched... Read more
Note from the designer: Alice Maud Tippett at the young age of 11 years stitched an adorable little sampler using a scrap of Penelope canvas and a beautiful palette of nine colours. The colours harmonise so well!
Alice records on her sampler that she attended St Ervan's Board School. When the... Read more
"Sepia Sampler" by Notforgotten Farm was designed by Lori Brechlin. This sweet and simple sampler design inspired by vintage designs.
Stitched on 30ct Parchment linen from Weeks Dye Works using two strands of floss over two threads of linen, using all DMC threads. Stitch count is 82 x 121. Finished size is approx. 5.4" x 8".
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 - "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
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
Cross stitch pattern from The Proper Stitcher featuring a reproduction sampler with a bird!
The pattern is stitched on 40 count linen using Belle Soie Classic Colorworks Silks and one NPI silk. Stitch Count: 145 x 118. Finished Size: 7 1/4 x 5 7/8 inches.
Agnes Binnie was born in Stirlingshire, Scotland, on March 22, 1808, to Robert Binnie and Mary Addie. She married James Barclay on March 16, 1832, in Falkirk, Stirlingshire. The couple had at least six sons and three daughters. Around 1870 they emigrated to Scotland Township in McDonough, Illinois.... 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 finely worked sampler features pastoral scenes above and below a lovely verse about friendship. A four-sided honeysuckle border surrounds large baskets of fruits and flowers, a fenced pasture with seven large lazy sheep and an architectural folly in the background.... 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
"When time who steals our years away
Shall steal our pleasures too
The memory of the past will stay
And half our joys renew
Then think no more of future gloom
These joys will always last
For hope will brighten days to come
And memory guild the... 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... Read more
Note from the designer - "This finely stitched German sampler begins with a single row of alphabets above an immensely intricate collection of symbolic cross stitched motifs, including battling angels, the figure of Justice with her scales, the spies of Canaan, the crucifixion, Adam and Eve... Read more
French sampler from Reflets de Soie. Yvonne embroidered her sampler in 1905 in Agnires, in the Pas de Calais, not far from Arras. High in color, generous flower friezes, animals and charming scenes.
Model stitched over 2 threads on fabric of your choice with Au Ver a Soie Soie d'Alger silk... Read more
Model stitched over 2 threads on fabric of your choice with Au Ver a Soie Soie d'Alger silk floss (or DMC floss 902, 355, 3752, 221, 422, 224, 3768, 369, 3830, 3778, 543, 3823, 728, 3853, 3770, 321, 502, 3011). Stitch Count: 307x240. Design Size on 32 Ct. Design size 19" x 15"
"See the kind shepherd Jesus stands and calls his sheep by name gathers the feeble in his arms and feeds each tender lamb. Sarah Stewart Hardman Work Age 7 1824" Model stitched on 28 Ct. Vintage Light Examplar using Classic Colorworks (or All DMC floss 523, 612, 452/407, 436, 434, 3857,... Read more
"Our life is never at a stand, Tis like a fading flower. Death, which is always near at hand, comes nearer every hour. And those who are now young and gay, like roses in their bloom, will very soon be old and grey, and wither in the tomb. Then let us all prepare to die, since death is near and... Read more