Hands Across the Sea - A Thomas 1882 "The Nellies"

If you would like to order the complete kit for this project including all threads and linen required, please contact me on 07 5546 0558 or [email protected].  We carry the complete range of Au Ver a Soie d’Alger. We carry most of the 100/3 threads with the remaining colours currently on their way to us. This shipment also includes all the Legacy Linen available for HATS Samplers. The threads and linens are due in the shop by mid July. If you require the kit before then, we have a wide range of other beautiful linens in stock.

Anna, Angharad, or possibly Alwen? We shall never know as the young girl who finished this charming sampler on January 8th in the year 1882 did not record her Christian name. From the moment we first saw A Thomas’ sampler she has been affectionately called “The Nellies,” as her sampler features two elephants carrying howdahs.

It is easy to assume that samplers that feature exotic animals were taught either by teachers or stitched by children who had travelled to or lived in exotic places. However, this sampler is Welsh, and we believe that it was the exotic animals that travelled with the circus to the valleys of Wales. By the mid-19th century there were hundreds of circuses operating in Britain and the fairground entertainers travelled to their audiences. The circuses toured to even the smallest of towns and in the 19th century the development of the railways enabled circuses to travel further.

There is a Welsh folklore that tells a story about a Victorian travelling circus that visited the ancient market town of Tregaron in the upper Teifi Valley alongside the River Brennig in Ceredigion, West Wales. For hundreds of years cattlemen drove their herds through the town, and its twelve pubs kept the local clergy very busy in their perpetual war against the evils of drink. On the evening of the first Friday in July 1848 the town’s population was treated to a procession of caravans, horses, bears and elephants from Batty’s Travelling Menagerie.

There are several different versions as to what happened but the following Friday the pages of the Carmarthen Journal carried a more sombre story, reporting the death of one of Batty’s young elephants in Tregaron.

Some reports state that the elephant drank water contaminated by a lead mine and died shortly afterwards. The travelling show moved on, leaving either a dying or dead elephant behind. To this day the local legend persists that the unfortunate elephant, known locally as “Jwmbi,” was buried by local people behind what is now the Talbot Hotel.

The reproduction of Anne’s sampler has been a team effort. Her sampler has been painstakingly charted by Sandra Moffitt, her booklet produced by Nicola Parkman and Suzanne Sirotti who lovingly stitched the model. At the very core of Hands Across the Sea Samplers there is a team of needleworkers who are passionate about antique samplers and being able to share those samplers with you.

Thread Legend

The Nellies has been reproduced using Weeks Dyeworks 40ct Zweigart based linen in Parchment with one strand of Au Ver à Soie silk from their d’Alger range. The skein quantities used  for the model have been listed in the thread legend below. We have provided conversions for Au Ver à Soie from their 100.3 range together with DMC. We have used the vibrant colours found on the front of the sampler today.

d’Alger / 100.3 / DMC ~ Colour Description   

524 x 1 / 303 x 1 / 832 x 1 ~ Golden olive

622 x 1 / 240 x 1 / 3821 x 1 ~ Straw

943 x 2 / 779 x 2 / 321 x 2 ~  Christmas red

1414 x 1 / 652 x 1 / 336 x 1 ~ Navy blue

1735 x 1 / 486 x 1 / 930 x 1 ~ Antique blue ~ dark

1844 x 1 / 108 x 1 / 520 x 1 ~ Fern green ~ dark

2132 x 1 /  718 x 1 / 3348 x 1 ~ Yellow green ~ light

2145 x 1 / 152 x 1 / 730 x 1 ~ Olive green ~ very dark

2757 x 1 / 468 x 1 / 926 x 1 ~  Grey green ~ medium

3312 x 1 / 345 x 1 / 3041 x 1 ~ Antique violet ~ medium

3724 x 1 / 707 x 1 / 936 x 1 ~ Avocado green ~ very dark

4114 x 1 / 517 x 1 / 840 x 1 ~ Beige brown ~ medium

4222 x 1 / 323 x 1 / 676 x 1 ~ Old gold ~ light

F10 x 1 / 211 x 1 / 739 x 1  ~ Tan ~ ultra very light

LINEN SIZES

The design area is 303 stitches (w) x 324 stitches (h). Our calculations have included a 3″ margin for finishing and framing.

28ct ~ Design: 21.64″ x 23.14″ Fabric: 27.64″ x 29.14″

32ct ~ Design:18.94″ x 20.25″ Fabric: 24.94″ x 26.25″

36ct ~ Design:16.83″ x 18.00″ Fabric: 22.83″ x 24.00″

40ct ~ Design: 15.15″ x 16.20″ Fabric: 21.15″ x 22.20″

46ct ~ Design: 13.17″ x 14.09″ Fabric: 19.17″ x 20.09″

56ct ~ Design: 10.82″ x 11.57″ Fabric: 16.82″ x 17.57″