Hand stitching , I'd rather be felting!

I have been doing a lot a stitching recently. This is not my favorite occupation. It's just to fiddly for me and I am never so happy with the end result. This is a bit strange as I come from a family of stitchers. 

My grandmother born in 1893 was apprenticed to a tailor when she was 14 in about 1907. The apprenticeship was in Blackburn approx 9 km ( 5 miles) walk from her home in Accrington where her father worked in the mills. At some point she moved to work for Jacques and Juby Tailors of Blackpool maybe after her father retired. She worked there until aged about 28 , in 1921, she married my grandfather . Less then a year later she gave birth to twins. The second baby who totally unexpected. We know this as she had only made one christening robe which we still have .

 

We have a photograph of her work as tailor. A dress she made for her mother.

 

We don't have the dress but we do still have the brooch, which is pretty amazing to still have after about 100 years. What a work of stitching and beading the dress looks.

 

She never sewed again for money but passed on her skills to my mother who made all ours clothes for many years , including my most hated camel coat! Which she and I both remember well.

 

I made a lot of clothes myself for years with a sewing machine including my own wedding dress.

 

But ask me to hand stitch a picture and I am sorry to say I'd rather be felting. My friends Els makes beautiful embroidered pictures incorporating all kinds of stitches and fabrics but I'd rather be felting. Even my love of knitting has been eclipsed by my love of felting.

 

So rather reluctantly I have been stitching a rock pool. Fishing in rock pools was always a favorite occupation of mine at the beach ,but this has not helped much and it's actually pretty hard to make rocks out of fabrics. Neither has my fabric dyed in random red , blue and green patterns helped much. Works well for seaweed , but I did not think I could just make seaweed. I needed I few mussels , starfish , barnacles and anemones and rocks to stand a chance of it looking like a rock pool.

Here it is and I think there should be a prize for anyone, who recognizes it is a rock pool , if they haven't read this explanation.

 

 

Choosing a sewing machine

Well thats a bit of a joke in my house, as there is so many to chose between.

The youngest of my family of machines is like all the rest is a hand me down.   In this case from my quilting mother , who moved into the electronic sewing machine age with a really sophisticated machine.  Its a Bernina!

My own well used far less auspicious make, an Alfa, which I used many years ago to make my wedding dress, is handed down to my youngest daughter.   I don't think it will be making many more wedding dresses - but maybe some curtains. 

I am the proud owner of many other rather older sewing machines. 

It all started with Frister Rossmann treadle- no Singers for this European citzen only German engineering is good enough. A beautiful piece of machinery and a present from my husband. Always reminding me of the one the stood in my Grandmother house. 

It was closely followed by some hand machines.  The engineer in me loves the mechanisms ,and the artist the lacquer work.

The collection got a little out of hand when a friend, who claimed to have 60 machines, moved to live abroad and had a clear out. That's when the babies arrived, wonderfully pieces of simple basic design .

 I find it so amazing that these were once so common, time saving devices, what every women wanted, and today all are virtually worthless. 

A hard choice for today's task ,but it has to be the handed down modern Bernina. 

It's a little neglected and needs some new needles, bobbins, and probably oiling.   

The purpose of all this frenetic sewing and machine revival ,sewing on my felting and fabric samples. 

But for now I am just remembering how to to thread the machine and sew
a trial sample,,,,!!!!