Copies of historical samplers from 300 to 400 years ago are sold as kits to contemporary embroiderers. The original samplers are housed in museum collections, such as the Victoria and Albert. Spanish and Mexican samplers consist of bands of geometric designs that surround a unique central motif. Embroiderers practiced their stitches on these samplers, and later referred back to them for design sources. By working historical samplers, contemporary needleworkers have a sense of communion with the stitchers that lived centuries ago, as well as a sense of appreciation for the incredibly complex work executed without electric light.