Mrs. Campbell 1805 by Hands Across the Sea Sampler

From the designer —

Who was Mrs. Campbell? Without a first name for Mrs. Campbell, it has proved impossible to trace her. We believe that Mrs. Campbell was most probably a needlework teacher and that her colourful sampler was used as a teaching tool.

Mrs Campbell tells us that she lived in Oban. Scotland is divided into two main regions, “Highland” and “Lowland”, with the border between the two areas called the “Highland Line”. The Highlands lie to the west and the Lowlands to the east of the line. All of Argyll, the county in which the Campbell clan have their seat of power, lies within the Highlands.

Oban is located in Argyll and is the unofficial capital of the West Highlands. Oban means “little bay” in the old Gaelic tongue. Nestled between the cliffs and shoreline of the dark blue waters of the Firth of Lorn, the town is fortunate to be protected from the worst Atlantic ravages by the island of Kerrera.

The sampler, just like Oban, is one of Scotland’s gems!

“Keep your work clean and your attention to it”