Frances Grassby 1845 ~ Reproduction Sampler Pattern by Hands Across the Sea Samplers

Frances (Fanny) Grassby was born on Christmas Day 1835 to Robert, an agricultural implement manufacturer, and his wife Matilda (nee Carrick). She was the second of their daughters to be named Frances, their first daughter having died two months earlier aged just 2 years. Frances was baptised into the Roman Catholic faith on April 26th, 1836 in the Church of the Holy Sacrament which was the only place of worship in Marton. The village can be found in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Frances died in childbirth on August 23rd, 1860 at the age of just 24. Her daughter Fanny Matilda Grassby Batty was  baptised 6 days after her mother’s burial.

We wonder if the sampler Frances Grassby “ended” on November 13th, 1846 aged 9 was all Fanny had to cherish from the mother she never knew.

“Lead me to heaven the seat of bliss where pleasure in perfection is”

Thread Legend

Frances’s endearing sampler has been reproduced with Au Ver à Soie d’Alger silks form their 100.3 range and the skein quantities calculated based on 1 strand on 36ct fabric. We have provided conversions for d’Alger and DMC. The model was stitched on Weeks Zweigart linen in Parchment using the mellowed colours found on the front of the original sampler today.                                       

100.3-029 x 1 ~ AVAS-5385 x 1 ~ DMC-926 x 1 ~ Grey green ~ medium

100.3-073 x 1 ~ AVAS-5413 x 1 ~ DMC-3813 x 1 ~ Blue green ~ light

100.3-080 x 1 ~ AVAS-F07 x 1 ~ DMC-712 x 1 ~ Cream

100.3-137 x 1 ~ AVAS-2635 x 1 ~ DMC-355 x 1 ~ Terracotta ~ dark

100.3-303 x 1 ~ AVAS-2243 x 1 ~ DMC-729 x 1 ~ Old gold ~ medium

100.3-494 x 1 ~ AVAS-2915 x 1 ~ DMC-3712 x 1 ~ Salmon ~ medium

100.3-519 x 1 ~ AVAS-4526 x 1 ~ DMC-801 x 1 ~ Coffee brown ~ dark

100.3-542 x 1 ~ AVAS-3825 x 1 ~ DMC-435 x 1 ~ Brown ~ very light

100.3-562 x 1 ~ AVAS-F14 x 1 ~ DMC-613 x 1 ~ Drab brown ~ very light

100.3-580 x 1 ~ AVAS-3733 x 1 ~ DMC-3012 x 1 ~ Khaki green ~ medium

100.3-584 x 1 ~ AVAS-3344 x 1 ~ DMC-840 x 1 ~ Beige brown ~ medium

100.3-666 x 1 ~ AVAS-3413 x 1 ~ DMC-452 x 1 ~ Shell grey ~ medium

100.3-696 x 1 ~ AVAS-4126 x 1 ~ DMC-3371 x 1 ~ Black brown

100.3-718 x 1 ~ AVAS-3714 x 1 ~ DMC-3053 x 1 ~ Green grey

100.3-740 x 1 ~ AVAS-3411 x 1 ~ DMC-3866 x 1 ~ Mocha brown ~ ultra very light

100.3-779 x 1 ~ AVAS-2924 x 1 ~ DMC-321 x 1 ~ Christmas red

LINEN SIZES

 The design area is 191 stitches (w) x 183 stitches (h). Our calculations have included a 3” margin for finishing and framing.

28ct: Design: 13.64″ x 13.07″ Fabric: 19.64″ x 19.07″

30ct: Design: 12.73″ x 12.20″ Fabric: 18.73″ x 18.20″

32ct: Design: 11.94″ x 11.44″ Fabric: 17.94″ x 17.44″

36ct: Design: 10.61″ x 10.17″ Fabric: 16.61″ x 16.17″

40ct: Design: 9.55″ x 9.15″ Fabric: 15.55″ x 15.15″

46ct: Design: 8.30″ x 7.96″ Fabric: 14.30″ x 13.96″