I have decided I am drawn to Spanish samplers. This is the second I have reproduced and I am ever on the lookout for more. I wasn’t able to find out much information about Antonia, but I can say she had a real eye for color.

I loved stitching this. Seeing the border come to life was a real joy and those alphabets! Especially the blue one! Just gorgeous! Of course, stitching this in the Hand-dyed Fibers silks was a large part of the enjoyment.

My reproduction is stitched on 40 ct Antique Lace by Seraphim Hand-dyed Fabrics with silks from Hand-dyed Fibers. This is charted in both a faded colorway representing the front of the antique, and a bright colorway which is the colors on the back. There are also conversions to overdyed flosses and DMC included in the chart.

While I stitched this on Antique Lace, there are many other fabrics out there that will work. Many of the colors in Fiber on a Whim’s Coffee Line will work as will many of Fox and Rabbit’s line. I recommend that you still use a neutral-colored fabric, but you could go either lighter or darker and still have a gorgeous finished piece. A little bit of mottling is also nice to give it that antique feel.

You can find Antonia at many fine needlework shops as well as a PDF in my Etsy Shop. If your favorite shop does not carry it, ask them to order it for you. Needlework shops can find this and many of my other patterns at Hoffman Distributors.