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 + 17 spools of Soie 100/3 thread and 2 Tapestry Size 10 Beading Needles (Gift with Purchase)

Linen Choices:

• 37 ct Fat Eighth of Corn Tassel - 17.5" by 18"
  
• 45 ct Fat Eighth of Foxtail Millet - 17.5" x 18"
• 53/63 Fat Eighth of Sycamore Seed Pod - 18" x 29.5"

17 Spools of Au Ver a Soie®, Soie 100/3 Kit Includes:

• SMS 002 – Sky blue ~ very light
• SMS 022 – Golden olive ~ light
• SMS 070 – Salmon ~ dark
• SMS 166 – Coffee brown ~ ultra dark
• SMS 217 – Desert sand ~ very light
• SMS 240 – Straw ~ light
• SMS 293 – Burnt orange ~ dark
• SMS 348 – Antique violet ~ light
• SMS 491 – Parrot green ~ very dark
• SMS 509 – Hunter green ~ very dark
• SMS 561 – Beaver grey ~ light
• SMS 580 – Khaki green ~ medium
• SMS 587 – Navy blue ~ very dark
• SMS 634 – Hazelnut brown ~ light
• SMS 641 – Straw ~ dark
• SMS 702 – Brown ~ light
• SMS 779 – Christmas red

***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."