New Arrivals

Pre Order Available. Estimated Ship Date Mid-Late May 2025

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 22 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."

"

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."

"

Needlework From Distant Shores – Márta Kauser and Maggie Burridge are two small beautiful, small historical Samplers from Hands Across the Sea.

The sampler is suitable for needleworkers of all levels of ability. The sampler is stitched with cross stitch over two threads of linen .

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 Quarter  - Mariner's Map - 18 x 35" ~ Recommended for Soie d'Alger Threads only 
• 37 ct Fat Quarter - Russian Tea Cake -18 x 35" ~ Recommended for both Soie d'Alger and Soie 1003 threads
  
• 37 ct Fat Quarter - Fuller's Teazel -18" x 35" ~ Recommended for both Soie d'Alger and Soie 1003 threads
• 45 ct Fat Quarter - Foxtail Millet - 18" x 35" ~ Recommended for Soie 1003 Threads 
• 48 ct Fat Quarter - Bride Cake - 18" x 35"    ~ Recommended for Soie 1003 Threads 
  

Thread Options:

 Au Ver a Soie®, Soie d'Alger - 37 ct version includes 2 skeins. Recommended linen for this thread is 38 ct or lower.

 Au Ver a Soie®, Soie d'Alger - 30 ct version includes 5 skeins. Recommended linen for this thread is 37 ct or lower.

• SDF 2924 x 2 (5 skeins for 30 ct)

Au Ver a Soie®, Soie 1003 includes 2 spools. Recommended linen for this thread is 37 ct or higher.

• SMS 664 x 2

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

About the Sampler from the Designer

"Márta’s sampler was stitched in Budapest, Hungary in 1905 and Maggie’s in Pretoria, South Africa in 1900. Whilst the girls lived some 7,447 miles apart, they both stitched a primer sampler as part of their education.

We have made contact with Márta’s family, and they tell us that Márta Sarolta Lujza Mária Kauser was born in Budapest on May 6, 1895. Her parents were Nepomuk János Kauser and Sarolta Kölber. The Kausers and the Kölbers were wealthy families. They often married each other, sometimes for financial reasons. The Kölber family was given a noble title by Franz Joseph I. The Kausers were architects. The most well-known was Jozsef Kauser, who designed numerous public buildings, among them the interior of St. Stephen’s Basilica, a landmark of Budapest.

Márta died five months after her wedding in 1923 as a result of contracting the Spanish Flu.

Maggie Burridge has remained elusive. In a search of family history records, the family name of Burridge appears several times in the Transvaal. However, we cannot find a Maggie/Margaret. Maggie recorded that she stitched her sampler at Abingdon National Girls’ School, Pretoria in the June of 1900. This was during the Boer War.

The origins of the Boer War lay in Britain’s desire to unite the British South African territories of Cape Colony and Natal with the Boer republics of the Orange Free State and the South African Republic (also known as the Transvaal). The discovery of gold in the South African Republic (SAR) in 1886 raised the stakes.​​​​​​ A large number of English-speaking people, called Uitlanders (literally ‘Outlanders’) by the Afrikaners, were attracted by the gold fields. This worried the Boers, who saw them as a threat to their way of life.

Maggie’s formative years were dangerous times for people of all races in South Africa. At the same time Maggie finished her sampler, the British launched an offensive to relieve the siege of Pretoria.

We hope that both samplers will bring you and your needle much joy and will soon adorn your red sampler wall."

Alice M Tippett, 1894 is an adorable, small historical Sampler from Hands Across the Sea

The sampler is suitable for needleworkers of all levels of ability. The sampler is stitched with cross stitch over two threads of linen .

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 Eighth  - Victoria Sponge Cake -17.5" x 18" ~ Recommended for Soie d'Alger Threads only 
• 37 ct Fat Eighth - Russian Tea Cake -17.5" x 18" ~ Recommended for both Soie d'Alger and Soie 1003 threads
  
• 45 ct Fat Eighth -Jersey Cream - 17.5" x 18" ~ Recommended for Soie 1003 Threads 
• 48 ct Fat Eighth - Bride Cake - 17.5" x 18"    ~ Recommended for Soie 1003 Threads 
  

Thread Options:

 Au Ver a Soie®, Soie d'Alger kit includes 9 skeins. Recommended linen for this thread is 38 ct or lower.

• SDF 524
• SDF 1844
• SDF 2533
• SDF 2916
• SDF 2932
• SDF 2936
• SDF 4112
• SDF 4623
• SDF 5381

Au Ver a Soie®, Soie 1003 includes 9 spools. Recommended linen for this thread is 37 ct or higher.

• SMS 022
• SMS 109
• SMS 217
  
• SMS 241
• SMS 307
• SMS 494
• SMS 523
• SMS 621
• SMS 654

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

About the Sampler from the Designer

"Alice records on her sampler that she attended St Ervan’s Board School. When the Elementary Education Act of 1870 came into force, school boards, public bodies in England and Wales, established and administered elementary schools in England between 1870 and 1902. Education was not free but the fees of the poorest children were paid by the parish. The schools were non-denominational and were not to impose any religious education, other than simple Bible reading.

We know that when Alice attended the Board School the headmistress was a Miss M M Winsor, and her assistant was Miss Dora Rowe who taught the infants. We suspect that it was Miss Winsor who taught Alice needlework.

Alice was born to William Tippett, a stone mason and his wife Mary Jane, née Parsons. Her birth was registered in the first quarter of 1883; however, she was not baptised until July 23 at the Bible Christian Church in the village of Penrose. The village is in the parish of St Ervan which can be found a short distance inland on the North Cornish coast. Tippetts can be found living in this beautiful part of Cornwall today and all the way back to the early 1600s.

William and his brother James built the chapel, and the foundation service was held on 24 May 1861.

The Bible Christian Church was a Methodist denomination founded by William O’Bryan, a local Wesleyan Methodist preacher, on 18 October 1815 in North Cornwall. Members of the Church were sometimes known as Bryanites, after their founder.

William died in 1893, and sadly, three years later, on 13 June 1896 Alice died at the very young age of 13 years. Her death certificate records the cause of death as diphtheria. In the 1800s diphtheria was a major cause of death. Though mostly a disease associated with the poor and a particular threat to children, diphtheria did not discriminate by class and age. Its cause, spread and a cure remained a mystery until the last part of the 19^th century."