The Wishing Thorn
Ellis Holiday 1809 Sampler Paper Chart
Ellis Holiday 1809 Sampler Paper Chart
Ellis Holiday’s sampler has to be one of my all-time favorites. She was quite a challenge to chart, as it was another one of those very uneven weave fabrics, 27 over 36 threads. At times I had to make adjustments to fit everything into the same space. The fact that she was a bit of an free spirited stitcher, choosing to make her crosses over any amount of threads. Some were 3 threads wide, two high or the other way around, seldom even spacing between letters. Regardless of all of this, I admire the beautiful piece she created and her fabulous design at sculpting the faces of her subjects. I am thrilled to be sharing her with you!
I found it interesting that she refers to “Joseph and Mary”, not like today where we say “Mary and Joseph”.
I have not found any history on Ellis other than that the sampler was purchased in England. I will make a blog if there is anything discovered.
I charted two “inserts” to use if you want to stitch on Aida cloth. I had to shorten the verses so they would fit. You could als drop down the border and only stitch the picture scene. There is a color conversion for the back, not all stitch colors faded, so some colors will be the same front to back.
There is also a conversion to Vikki Clayton HDF Silks.
It is hard to choose a fabric color because the original is stained in many shades of brownish.
236 wide by 304 high
14/28 count - design size is 16.75 x 21.75 cut fabric 23 by 28 inches
16/32 count - design size is 14.75 x 19.00 cut fabric 21 by 25 inches
18/36 count - design size is 13.25 x 16.75 cut fabric 19 by 23 inches
20/40 count - design size is 11.75 x 15.25 cut fabric 18 by 21 inches
You will receive a 28 page paper chart in the mail.