New Arrivals

Pre Order Available for both kits - Estimated ship date August 

Magdalena Outhwaite 1833 is a beautiful sampler from Hands Across the Sea.

Magdalena had a good eye for colour and composition; her sampler is visually very pleasing. There are some very pretty motifs to delight your needle.

The sampler is worked mainly in cross stitch over two threads of linen. Magdalena’s name, age, and the year are worked in cross stitch over one thread of linen. The sampler is suitable for needleworkers of all levels of ability.

Choice of purchasing thread kit only, Printed Chart only or as full kit with linen. 

Full Kit options:

Includes linen of choice, Chart Booklet +  Soie d'Alger or Soie 1003 threads (+Free Shipping). 

Linen Choices:

• 30 ct Fat Half - Victoria Sponge Cake -35" x 36" ~ Recommended for Soie d'Alger Threads only  
• 37 ct Fat Half Corn Tassel - 35" x 36" ~ Recommended for both Soie d'Alger and Soie 1003 threads
• 37 ct Fat Half Russian Tea Cake - 35" x 36" ~ Recommended for both Soie d'Alger and Soie 1003 threads
• 38 ct Fat Half - Fuller's Teazel - 35" x 36" ~ Recommended for both Soie d'Alger and Soie 1003 threads
• 45 ct Fat Half -Foxtail Millet - 35" x 36" ~ Recommended for Soie 1003 Threads 
• 48 ct Fat Half - Bridecake - 35" x 36" ~ Recommended for Soie 1003 Threads 
• 53/63 ct Fat Eighth - Gothic Ivory- 18" x 29" ~ Recommended for Soie 1003 Threads 

Thread Options:

Au Ver a Soie®, Soie d'Alger - 37 ct version includes 23 skeins. Recommended linen for this thread is 38 ct or lower.

Au Ver a Soie®, Soie d'Alger - 30 ct version includes 27 skeins. Recommended linen for this thread is 30 ct or lower.

Au Ver a Soie®, Soie 1003 includes 23 spools. Recommended linen for this thread is 37 ct or higher.

***Please note, this item is excluded from any discounts or sales. 

About the Sampler from the Designer

"Magdalena was born in 1820 in Sutton in Holderness, Yorkshire to George and Mary Outhwaite. The rural village is now a suburb of the city of Hull and known as Sutton on Hull. Magdalena was baptised on May 28 of that year. George died in 1827 and life was no doubt hard for his widow raising her five children.

By the time Magdalene worked her sampler she had lost her father and a sister. The verse and aphorisms that she so diligently stitched would have brought her comfort when there was much to fear.

Magdalena’s life was one of domestic service. In the census returns between the years 1841 to 1881 she is recorded as a domestic servant, a cook, and a housekeeper. She never married and in the 1891 census she can be found as an elderly maiden aunt in the household of her niece. She died shortly after the 1891 census return.

We hope that Magdalena was beloved and that, throughout the many hardships she faced, her confidence was strong."

Pre Order Available for both kits - Estimated ship date, end of July  

Elizabeth Stephenson, 1854 is a gorgeous sampler and the Queen of the May for 2025 from Hands Across the Sea.

The sampler is executed with cross stitches laid over two threads of linen. There are a small number of cross stitches that Elizabeth “squeezed in”, and these are laid 2 threads wide and one thread wide. The sampler is suitable for needleworkers of all levels of ability.

Choice of purchasing thread kit only, Printed Chart only or as full kit with linen. 

Full Kit options:

Includes linen of choice, Chart Booklet +  Soie d'Alger or Soie 1003 threads (+Free Shipping). 

Linen Choices:

• 30 ct Fat Half - Victoria Sponge Cake -35" x 36" ~ Recommended for Soie d'Alger Threads only  
• 37 ct Fat Half Corn Tassel - 35" x 36" ~ Recommended for both Soie d'Alger and Soie 1003 threads
• 37 ct Fat Half Russian Tea Cake - 35" x 36" ~ Recommended for both Soie d'Alger and Soie 1003 threads
• 38 ct Fat Half - Fuller's Teazel - 35" x 36" ~ Recommended for both Soie d'Alger and Soie 1003 threads
• 45 ct Fat Half -Foxtail Millet - 35" x 36" ~ Recommended for Soie 1003 Threads 
• 48 ct Fat Half - Bridecake - 35" x 36" ~ Recommended for Soie 1003 Threads 
• 53/63 ct Fat Eighth - Sycamore Seed Pod - 18" x 29" ~ Recommended for Soie 1003 Threads 

Thread Options:

Au Ver a Soie®, Soie d'Alger - 37 ct version includes 24 skeins. Recommended linen for this thread is 38 ct or lower.

Au Ver a Soie®, Soie d'Alger - 30 ct version includes 31 skeins. Recommended linen for this thread is 30 ct or lower.

Au Ver a Soie®, Soie 1003 includes 23 spools. Recommended linen for this thread is 37 ct or higher.

***Please note, this item is excluded from any discounts or sales. 

About the Sampler from the Designer

"

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 visually balanced sampler. The sampler draws the viewer’s eye.

Regrettably, Elizabeth did not record her age or a location on her sampler; without this information we could not identify our Elizabeth as there were numerous girls of that name born in the 1840s. We do know that Elizabeth was born in the very early years of the Victorian era. This was a time of strict social structure, traditional gender roles, and rigid expectations, particularly for women and young girls. A Victorian girl’s life was largely shaped by her family’s social class, but across all classes, she was expected to be modest, obedient, and well-mannered. Her upbringing revolved around domestic skills, education, and preparation for marriage and motherhood.

While wealthy girls were groomed for lives of refinement and marriage, working-class girls often faced hard labour and limited opportunities. Regardless of status, most Victorian girls grew up in a world that emphasised obedience, modesty, and domestic skills over personal ambition or independence. Though their experiences varied, they all lived under the rigid expectations of a society that saw their primary role as future wives and mothers."

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Sarah Daws, circa 1840 is a gorgeous sampler from Hands Across the Sea.

Sarah stitched her sampler with cross stitch mainly over 2 threads. The lowercase letters of the verse are stitched with cross stitch over 1. There is a scattering of cross stitches over one on a flower stalk. Backstitch has been used to outline the two ladies’ eyebrows and lips.

Whilst a large sampler with some 72,000 stitches it is suitable for all levels of ability.

Choice of purchasing thread kit only, Printed Chart only or as full kit with linen. 

Full Kit options:

Includes linen of choice, Chart Booklet +  Soie d'Alger or Soie 1003 threads (+Free Shipping). 

Linen Choices:

• 30 ct 1 yard - Victoria Sponge Cake -72" x 36" ~ Recommended for Soie d'Alger Threads only  
• 37 ct Fat Half Corn Tassel - 35" x 36" ~ Recommended for both Soie d'Alger and Soie 1003 threads
• 38 ct Fat Half - Fuller's Teazel - 35" x 36" ~ Recommended for both Soie d'Alger and Soie 1003 threads
• 45 ct Fat Half -Foxtail Millet - 35" x 36" ~ Recommended for Soie 1003 Threads 
• 48 ct Fat Half - Marchpane - 35" x 36" ~ Recommended for Soie 1003 Threads 

Thread Options:

Au Ver a Soie®, Soie d'Alger version includes 34 skeins. Recommended linen for this thread is 38 ct or lower.

Au Ver a Soie®, Soie 1003 includes 25 spools. Recommended linen for this thread is 37 ct or higher.

***Please note, this item is excluded from any discounts or sales. 

About the Sampler from the Designer

"Sarah’s exquisite sampler is worked almost entirely in cross stitch with the exception of a handful of backstitches. Sarah did not include a date on her sampler, however, from other dated samplers in Nicola’s collection, which include some of Sarah’s distinctive motifs, we are able to date the sampler to around 1840.

Worked in brightly coloured silks the sampler clearly shows the influence of the Berlin woolwork patterns which became so popular in Victorian England. The sampler is contained within a particularly beautiful and intricate floral border that captivates and delights. When viewing the sampler the eye is drawn to the lower section of the sampler where Sarah stitched a truly splendid parrot flanked by two pretty young ladies. Sarah incorporated 3 seashells into her design."

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