Flours for Mother’s Day

These are the flours I had for Mother’s Day! Miles doesn’t know (nor me) what the blue one is – I guess it’s a fine flour for cake-making. I’ve not had much success with rye bread in the past, but we had a talk from a bread-maker (Linda Hewitt) at WI a couple of months ago and all of her recipes I’ve tried have been successful and she’s given me some tips.

 

We had an Alison Larkin workshop at Embroiderer’s Guild on Saturday morning, and her talk in the afternoon. Miniature embroidery. Glasses and a magnifier for me. Very fine poly cotton to stitch on with a single strand of embroidery floss – 1:12 scale.

Split stitch with a single strand of floss

Detail of split stitch. The hoop is 10 cm (4inches) diameter.

Back stitch outline on leaf

Detail of start of whipping on back stitch.

Finished whipped back stitch.

Seeding and square trellis stitch on leaf.

Slanted satin stitch over split stitch outline on bud.

Much as I enjoyed working on a small scale I found it hard on my eyes and certainly need to work in good light. I don’t have Alison patience and attention to detail, she also works in smaller scales, 1:24, 1:48 and even 1: 144, but 1:12 is quite fine enough for me!

 

Crazy. The children’s sewing machine I mentioned in my last post I’d only thought about as I was writing about doll’s clothes. It had long since been forgotten. On Saturday when visiting a friend in Shifnal, Shropshire we’d gone for a wander around the town and I spotted an A-board promoting a vintage sewing shop called The Material Girls http://www.thematerialgirls.org  Of course, I had to take a look and this was the first thing I spotted – up on the top shelf. (I went back with my son for him to take photos on his phone for me.)

The very same sewing machine I had in the sixties, even down to the box.

Whatever happened to it I have no idea.

I was as excited to see it as I must have been to have it all those years ago –  in spite of finding it so frustrating to use. Apparently it did a chain stitch rather than having a bobbin according to one of the customer’s in the shop who had also had one years ago. She had also found it frustrating. It was in really good condition, bright and shiny, I can still remember how thrilled I was too receive it.