Original sampler, designed by Barbara Ana Astray Mendez.

Here's All Creatures Great and Small, an extraordinary piece by Barbara Ana Designs. The cross stitch pattern is exceptional by its size and unique in its wealth of detail.

The inspiration for the piece is the verse from an Anglican hymn:

" All things bright and beautiful
All creatures great and small
All things wise and wonderful
The Lord God made them all"

The design is indeed amazingly rich, covering a multitude of small scenes, landscapes and animals. Unlike most of Barbara Ana's patterns, the designer stitched the sampler first, then set off to chart it. You can feel the designer letting her needle take her wherever it pleased her and the huge excitement of creating such a large piece.

 The design was originally cross stitched using Anchor embroidery floss but DMC substitutes colors are also listed with the chart.

Chart size in stitches: 317 x 248 (wide x high)