Pre Order Available. Estimated Ship Date: 1-2 weeks

Ann Watson 1839 ~ The 2026 Queen of the May is a delightful  Cumbrian sampler from Hands Across the Sea.

Choice of purchasing thread kit only or as full kit with linen. 

Full Kit options:

Includes linen of choice +  Soie d'Alger or Soie 1003 threads, + Chart (+Free Shipping). 

Linen Choices:

• 30 ct Fat Half - Victoria Sponge Cake -35" x 36" ~ Recommended for Soie d'Alger Threads only  
• 37 ct Fat Half Corn Tassel - 35" x 36" ~ Recommended for both Soie d'Alger and Soie 1003 threads
• 37 ct Fat Half Russian Tea Cake - 35" x 36" ~ Recommended for both Soie d'Alger and Soie 1003 threads
  
• 45 ct Fat Half -Foxtail Millet - 35" x 36" ~ Recommended for Soie 1003 Threads 
• 48 ct Fat Half - Bride Cake - 35" x 36" ~ Recommended for Soie 1003 Threads  

Thread Options:

Au Ver a Soie®, Soie d'Alger - 37 ct version includes 28 skeins. Recommended linen for this thread is 38 ct or lower.

Au Ver a Soie®, Soie d'Alger - 30 ct version includes 41 skeins. Recommended linen for this thread is 30 ct or lower.

Au Ver a Soie®, Soie 1003 includes 23 spools. Recommended linen for this thread is 37 ct or higher.

Soie 1003 Colors:

• SMS 067 ~ Antique mauve
• SMS 072 ~ Grey green (lt)
• SMS 089 ~ Copper
• SMS 148 ~ Straw
• SMS 179 ~ Olive green
• SMS 211 ~ Mocha brown
• SMS 223 ~ Mauve
• SMS 274 X 2 Khaki green
• SMS 277 ~ Peacock blue
• SMS 307 ~ Rose
• SMS 329 ~ Olive green (lt)
• SMS 335 ~ Terracotta
• SMS 439 ~ Antique violet (lt)
• SMS 493 ~ Alizarin
• SMS 499 ~ Garnet
• SMS 517 ~ Mocha beige
• SMS 557 ~ Antique violet
• SMS 621 ~ Beaver grey
• SMS 628 ~ Beige brown
• SMS 702 ~ Desert sand
• SMS 703 ~ Grey green
• SMS Noir ~ Black

Soie d'Alger Colors Include:

• SDF 946 ~ Garnet (2 for 30 ct)
• SDF 1444 ~ Peacock blue
• SDF 1745 ~ Grey Green
• SDF 1814 ~ Beaver grey
• SDF 2212 ~ Olive green (lt) (2 for 30 ct)
• SDF 2644 ~ Alizarin
• SDF 2543 x  2 ~ Straw
• SDF 2646 x 2 ~ Terracotta (3 for 30 ct)
• SDF 3046 ~ Mauve
• SDF 3433 ~ Mocha beige
• SDF 3435 ~ Beige brown
• SDF 3733 ~ Olive green
• SDF 3734 x 4 ~ Khaki green (9 for 30 ct)
• SDF 4111 ~ Mocha brown
• SDF 4142 ~ Desert sand
• SDF 4612 ~ Copper (2 for 30 ct)
• SDF 4623 ~ Rose (2 for 30 ct)
• SDF 4634 ~ Antique mauve
• SDF 5112 ~ Antique violet (lt)
• SDF 5114 ~ Antique violet (2 for 30 ct)
• SDF 5383 x 2 ~ Grey green (lt) (3 for 30 ct)
• SDF Noir ~ Black (2 for 30 ct)

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

About the Sampler from the Designer

"For 2026, we are delighted to present Ann Watson 1839, a truly exceptional Cumbrian sampler worked by an eleven-year-old girl.. We chose Ann’s work for its balance and compositional confidence, its rich symbolic language, and its clear connection to place. It is a sampler that speaks with quiet authority — one that rewards close looking and thoughtful stitching.

Ann’s sampler is a study in balance and intention. A broad floral border frames the work with rhythmic symmetry, enclosing a carefully composed arrangement of motifs. At its centre, a devotional verse — taken from the writings of Isaac Watts — speaks of faith, discipline, and the shaping of a young heart. Above, a garden unfolds: trees, birds, flowering urns, and a watchful stag arranged with quiet assurance. Within this ordered landscape, subtle references to the Garden of Eden invite reflection on innocence, choice, and moral formation.

Below, a red-brick house anchors the composition — a symbol of stability and aspiration — surrounded by delicate motifs that evoke domestic harmony. Dividing bands guide the eye, creating a sampler that reads with clarity from top to bottom.

At its base, Ann stitched her name:

“Ann Watson’s Work finished in her 11 year Anno 1839.”

In that line, a young girl declares her presence across time.

Ann was baptised in Whitehaven in 1829, a busy coastal town shaped by industry, faith, and community. Like many girls of her time, her life is only faintly recorded in the archive. Yet through her needlework, she remains.

This sampler forms part of a wider group of Cumbrian work stitched in the shadow of Scafell Pike, where patterns were taught, repeated, and passed from one generation to the next.

Ann’s sampler is not only a beautiful design — it is a record of education, discipline, and identity. A quiet but enduring voice from 1839.

The sampler has been painstakingly reproduced and the model exquisitely stitched by Lisa Brown. 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."