This sampler was reproduced from an unusual "word square" acrostic sampler made at an Orphanage in England around 1830. The more common form of acrostic is a poem where the first letter of each line forms a word (often a name, or a religious slogan) when read vertically. The term itself comes from the Greek word acros which means "at the end" and stichos, a line, such as a line of poetry. A word square acrostic is where words or phrases read the same vertically as horizontally, rather like a crossword puzzle. What is especially unusual about this piece is that the letters have been arranged to form geometric shapes. It is based upon repetitions of the phrase "I die to live forever."

The only stitch required is cross stitch. While supplies last, kits will also include a copy of a Puzzle sampler, created around 1830, from the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

Kit contains 35 count linen, silk or cotton floss, needle and instructions.

Finished size: 9"x10"

Suitable for all levels.

Scroll down to view close up pictures of sections of this sampler.