Traditional Samplers

Brenda Keyes inspires stitchers to create their own heirlooms of the future based on beautiful antique sampler designs.

Here she celebrates the art of sampler making throughout the ages, gathering together ideas and inspiration from the past to create a comprehensive collection of traditional designs.

The twenty samplers featured cover a range of subjects reflecting five main themes: authentic reproduction samplers; the naive charm of schoolroom samplers; designs marking important life milestones; celebrations of childhood; and flora and fauna samplers.

Brenda also shows how easy it is to extract details from the samplers to create quick-to-work gifts for family and friends.

Most of the projects are worked in cross stitch, but a whole range of classic 'sampler' stitches are also included, with clear explanatory diagrams.