Hands Across the Sea - Ann Oliver 1845

In the eleventh year of her age, Ann Oliver finished her captivating sampler. The more you look at her needlework, the more there is to enchant. The young schoolgirl had a good eye for colour and design.

It is with regret that we were unable to discover some background information about the sampler and its maker. There are many Ann Olivers to be found in family history records, and we were unable to pinpoint our Ann.

Ann included the verse “Jesus permit thy gracious name to stand …” It is one of the most popular verses found on schoolgirl samplers in the 1800s. It is attributed by some to John Newton (best known for the hymn Amazing Grace), and it is said that he wrote it for the sampler of his niece. It has also been suggested that it was composed by Isaac Watts also for his niece.

We are very thankful that Ann’s sampler, “the first efforts of her infant hand”, has been cherished by her descendants. Their care has ensured that in the 21st century needleworkers around the world are able to remember Ann and enjoy her work.

Thread Legend

Ann’s sampler has been stitched with a palette of 15 colours from Au Ver à Soie’s range of Soie 100.3. Below we have provided conversions for Soie d’Alger and DMC. Only 1 spool or skein of thread is required, whether you are stitching on 14ct Aida/28ct linen or 56ct linen.

Soie 100.3 ~ Colour Description

022 Golden olive ~ light

060 Shell pink ~ medium light

099 Brown grey ~ very dark

137  Terracotta ~ very dark

152  Moss green ~ dark

205  Coffee brown ~ very dark

241  Straw ~ dark

274  Avocado green ~ very dark

313 Wedgewood ~ very dark

425  Hazelnut brown ~ light

621  Grey green ~ light

666 Shell grey ~ medium

681  Christmas red

705 Avocado green ~ dark

707 Green grey ~ medium

Soie d ‘Alger ~ Colour Description

524  Golden olive ~ light

1446 Wedgewood ~ very dark

1814 Grey green ~ light

2144 Moss green ~ dark

2515 Straw ~ dark

2646  Terracotta ~ very dark

2925 Christmas red

3021  Brown grey ~ very dark

3413  Shell grey ~ medium

3724  Green grey ~ medium

3725 Avocado green ~ dark

3734 Avocado green ~ very dark

4126 Coffee brown ~ very dark

4622  Shell pink ~ medium light

F09 Hazelnut brown ~ light

DMC ~ Colour Description

152 Shell pink ~ medium light

321 Christmas red

422 Hazelnut brown ~ light

452 Shell grey ~ medium

580 Moss green ~ dark

833 Golden olive ~ light

898 Coffee brown ~ very dark

927 Grey green ~ light

935 Avocado green ~ dark

936 Avocado green ~ very dark

3021  Brown grey ~ very dark

3052 Green grey ~ medium

3777 Terracotta ~ very dark

3820 Straw ~ dark

3842 Wedgewood ~ very dark