Nicola tells us: "Who was BW? Sadly we shall never know who stitched this charming English sampler in 1831 during the reign of William IV.

BW’s sampler is surrounded by a delightful border of strawberries, and the birds with bright plumage reflect the English fascination with exotic plants and animals resting in trees and urns of flowering carnations. Two further sets of initials “G.W” and “M.W” have been stitched either side of the house, possibly her parents or siblings.

The verse is from the Hymn “Our God, Our Help In Ages Past” written by Isaac Watts in 1708.

In the foreground two resting cows watch 2 small dogs and a mischievous rabbit frolicking in the grass. It is from these two cows that BW’s sampler became fondly known to us as “How Now Brown Cow” which is a phrase used in elocution teaching to demonstrate the rounded vowel sounds.

The dogs featured in the sampler could be Lancashire Heelers which is a small breed of dog developed for use as a drover and herder of cattle."

The stitch count is 254w x 273h. The sampler is stitched with cross stitch over 2 and the verse over 1.

The model was stitched on 40 count hand dyed Vintage Meadow Rue linen from Lakeside Linens using Soie d'Alger silk floss. A DMC conversion is included. Please check the boxes above to add these items to your order.