This year I decided to start a reproduction sampler and because I have so many projects started and I was working on Death By Cross Stitch at the time I decided to pick something a little smaller.

I chose Mary Clayton from Hands Across The Sea Samplers, their booklets are very high quality and include not just the start but more details of the history that the original sampler was produced in and if possible the story of the stitcher.

I stitched my sampler using the called for Au Ver A Soie silks and used 37 count Legacy Linen from Access Commodities in the colourway Russian Teacake which is a soft-white colour. I started her in April 2020 for my lockdown birthday and finished her on 18th December during our second lockdown. Once I’d finished Death By Cross Stitch I worked on her in the mornings of the weekend.

Among my favourite details is the way that she has squashed her stitches to be able to fit in the word years after her age. I’m looking forward to getting her framed and I have another small sampler about the same size which is ready to stitch but my next sampler stitch will be a little larger and I shall be starting that one on New Years Day for my 2021 New Year New Start.