Barbery Butcher 1802 is a beautiful Norfolk sampler from Hands Across the Sea.

The sampler is worked with cross stitches laid over two threads of linen, with seven cross stitches laid over one thread of linen.

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 (+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 Quarter - Bride Cake - 18" x 36" ~ Recommended for Soie 1003 Threads  

Thread Options:

Au Ver a Soie®, Soie d'Alger - 37 ct version includes 9 skeins. Recommended linen for this thread is 38 ct or lower.

Au Ver a Soie®, Soie d'Alger - 30 ct version includes 16 skeins. Recommended linen for this thread is 30 ct or lower.

Au Ver a Soie®, Soie 1003 includes 7 spools. Recommended linen for this thread is 37 ct or higher.

Soie 1003 Colors:
SMS 029
SMS 224
SMS 274
SMS 376
SMS 523
SMS 654
SMS 752

Soie d'Alger Colors Include:
SDF 1845 x 2 (3 skeins for 30 ct)
SDF 2522 (3 skeins for 30 ct)
SDF 2757
SDF 2916
SDF 3734 x 2 (4 skeins for 30 ct)
SDF 4534 (2 skeins for 30 ct)
SDF 4645 (2 skeins for 30 ct)

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

About the Sampler from the Designer

"We are delighted to present this exquisite reproduction of a Norfolk sampler, originally completed on 14 December 1802 by Barbery Butcher, when she was just nine years old.

Worked with remarkable diligence and charm, the original sampler is filled with a rich array of motifs contained within a meandering floral border, heavily laden with blooms. Throughout the sampler there are many thoughtful details that speaks to the young maker’s creativity and skill.

Barbery Butcher was baptised on 8 November 1793 in the parish of Gressenhall, Norfolk, England, during the Georgian era, a period marked by profound social, political, and cultural change. This was the age of the early Industrial Revolution, the rise of Romanticism in art and literature, and the expanding influence of the British Empire. Her parents were Robert Butcher and Frances (née Cliffen), who married on 1 August 1785 at Hoe, Norfolk. Parish records show that Robert was literate, signing his name with confidence, while Frances made her mark with an “X,” a poignant reminder of the educational divide of the time.

Barbery was one of four children—three girls and one boy—and was noted in the baptismal register as being “privately baptised.” Such baptisms were performed at home when an infant was thought unlikely to survive, underscoring the fragility of early life in the late 18th century.

In 1820, Barbery married William Backlog, an agricultural labourer, in Honningham, Norfolk. Backlog is an unusually rare surname, with census records showing only 21 individuals bearing the name in 1881, most of them in Norfolk. Barbery and William had two children, a son and a daughter. Following William’s death in 1848, Barbery lived as a widow in Folly Lane, Gressenhall, where she appears in the 1851, 1861, and 1871 census returns, residing with her son Henry and his family. Like his father, Henry worked as an agricultural labourer."