Louisa Saret stitched this Adam and Eve sampler at age 12. This charming sampler is full of motifs stitched in many colors.

While reading from my collection of needlework books, I found Adam is always on the left, Eve is on the right, and the serpent is facing Eve. The fruit is pears, the forbidden fruit. The Adam and Eve motif was first used in 1741. In American samplers, you will usually find seven fruits, symbolic of the seven deadly sins; while in most British samplers the number was governed by the size of the tree.

Our sampler was reproduced and stitched by Carol Sessoms of Threads of Gold. It was worked on 40 count cottonfields from Green Mountain Linens.

Stitch count is 309 by 324. On 40 count linen the design would be 14 1/2 by 16 1/4 inches.