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Bristol Ship Spot Sampler 1880

The stitched area is 4.35" wide x 5.5" high. The fabric size is 5" w x 7" h. The design was worked with silk thread. The sampler has 30-31 Cross stitches per inch, worked over two threads, on a heavy unevenweave cotton fabric. The top edge has been Hem stitched. The other three edges are turned under and stitched down.

The motifs seen in this sampler are common in multicolored Bristol samplers. Shared motifs include: Dash, Queen Victoria's dog; the Bristol bird, a bird in a wreath; wreaths and baskets. The ship was the SS Great Britain. The city of Bristol, England has long been a busy port city. The SS Great Britain was the longest passenger ship in the world from 1845 to 1854. She was docked in Bristol and provided transatlantic passenger service between Bristol and New York. This ship has only been seen stitched on the uncommon multicolored Bristol samplers. The body of the ship is worked in Satin stitch and the water is worked in chain stitch.

The unusual characteristic of this sampler is it's size. Most multicolored samplers have a larger stitched area than this one. The Bristol Red sampler shown on this website is also this same unusual small size.

This sampler is in the collection of Claudia Dutcher Kistler.

This sampler has been charted for stitchers. You can purchase a chart from a needlework store or directly from Dutch Treat Designs.

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