Ann Matthews~ A Little Gem  is the 6th in a series of “Little Gems” from Hands Across the Sea Samplers.

**Please note, Sampler Kit does not include chart. Purchase is required separately on Hands Across the Sea.**

Kit Options : 

Choice of purchasing thread only or as full kit.

Full Kit options:

Includes linen of choice + 19 skeins of Soie d'Alger thread and 2 Tapestry Size 26 Needles (Gift with Purchase)

Linen Choices:

• 37 ct Fat Eighth - Legacy Linen Corn Tassel - 17.5" x 18"
• 30 ct Fat Quarter - Legacy Linen Pecan Shortbread - 17" x 35"
• 30 ct Fat Quarter - Legacy Linen Victoria Sponge Cake - 18" x 35"

19 Skeins of Au Ver a Soie®, Soie d'Alger Kit Includes:

• SDF 165 – Navy blue ~ very dark
• SDF 523 – Golden olive ~ light
• SDF 622 – Straw ~ light
• SDF 1753 – Straw ~ dark
• SDF 1836 – Hunter green ~ very dark
• 2 Skeins of SDF 2135 – Parrot green ~ very dark
• SDF 2625 – Burnt orange ~ dark
• SDF 2915 – Salmon ~ dark
• 2 Skeins of SDF 2923 – Christmas red
• SDF 3334 – Antique violet ~ light
• SDF 3343 – Beaver grey ~ light
• SDF 3715 – Khaki green ~ medium
• SDF 4112 – Desert sand ~ very light
• SDF 4132 – Coffee brown ~ ultra dark
• SDF 4545 – Brown ~ light
• SDF 5381 – Sky blue ~ very light
• SDF F09 – Hazelnut brown ~ light

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

About the Sampler from Nicola Parkman:

"Ann is a beautiful little Welsh sampler worked with a palette of bright colours that pop out from the linen. The sampler is framed by a simple but very effective border using sumptuous red and duck egg blue silks, and she continues to use some very vibrant colour combinations.

Ann lived in Glamorgan, South Wales and was born in 1849 in Aberavon near Port Talbot, which is just a few miles from Margam Church which she depicts. She tells us that she was 10 years old when she stitched her sampler in 1859. The earliest reference to Ann is from the census taken in 1851, where she is living near Margam with her father David, her brothers Morgan and John, and her sister Margaret. Her father is a widower, and his parents are living with the family, presumably to help look after the children, of which Ann at 2 years old is the youngest. Her father’s occupation is a collier (miner), and the area she lives in is dominated by coal and copper mining. 

There is no record of Ann’s mother or when and how she died. The living conditions in the towns and villages were very hard, and diseases such as cholera and typhus were commonplace."