Today I've uploaded the Nufashond Rick Rack Crochet Instruction book
And the missing page 19 of Nufashond Rick Rack Book Volume 2
Motif of Cover, Centrepiece and Pillow
This morning wasn't working out so well though. I have a cold coming on, and BabyGuy decided this morning was the day to dump an entire cup of tea into the bag of yarn I had organised for a Singercraft rug.
So I spent the morning cleaning the baby, the carpet, washing a load of jumpers and my wool. In Winter. With a cold.
At least all the laundry is done :P
]]>A couple of weeks ago Mr Knittingand moved my computer four feet to the left and the network hasn't worked reliably since.
Our home network arbitrarily dismisses people from it's clique, the internet connection only connects sometimes and when it does connect it has decided it doesn't like gmail, Ravelry or the Yarn Harlot.
:-/
At least I had a cup of tea and got to read Mr Stephen Fry this morning or there'd be hell to pay.
If I didn't earn my entire living with them I'd say I hate computers but the bills need paying and the kids need clothing so I suppose I'll have to keep fighting them.
Maybe I should move my computer four feet to the right and see if that fixes it...
]]>I've actually written another 7 step by step projects and tutorials but I haven't taken the photos to go with them yet, so you'll see those appear over the next few weeks :)
I have also made a second correction to my article about the different editions of the Singercraft Guide. It turns out that one of the flat ended guides that I had listed as a No 1 Guide is actually a number 2!
]]>I can't remember if I have shared this song with you yet, but even if I have, it's worth listening to again. I love Tim Minchin to pieces :)
]]>Today I uploaded a different transfer B (two different rug designs were printed under "number" B)
The Singercraft Guide: "Singercraft Classes" Advertisement. The Brisbane Courier, Wednesday 2 August 1933
Sewing Machine Trimmings by Elisabeth May Blondell. From McCall's Magazine, February 1933
UK Singercraft Guide Instructions - Removing the Knife
"No Limit to what a Singer can do", Australian Newspaper Advertisement, 1934
You'll see that I have also added the Singercraft Fagoter to the website. I hadn't intended to add it at first, because so many of the frames have been separated from their special feet I thought it wouldn't be worth the trouble. However, I found that Mary Brooks Picken (author of Sewing for the Home and complete sewing Goddess) used a method different to the fagoter instructions that come with the frame. This means that you can make any kind of fagoting without using the special foot.
I may have gone "Squee" when I first read her method. OK, I definitely went squee :)
Here are the new updates, with MANY more on the way thanks to Julie from Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String. If you collect vintage needlework things go buy stuff from her. She has a knack for finding the most amazing things that I can't afford because I already gave her all my website funds for the rest of the year and probably some from next year too, lol.
Machine Made Rugs from "Sewing for the Home" 1946
Cutting Stockings for Use with the Singercraft Guide. From "Sewing for the Home" 1946
How to Use a Singercraft Guide, from "Sewing for the Home" 1946
Machine-Craft Trimmings, from "Sewing for the Home" 1946
How to Use the Singercraft Fagoter Without Stay Lines from "Sewing for the Home" 1946
(you can work this technique without the special fagoter foot)
Singercraft Guide Advertisement on the Back of the Singercraft Fagoter Manual 1933
The UK Singercraft Guide Instructions
Updated What is the Singercraft Guide
]]>http://knitting-and.com/singercraft/editions.html
A copy of Sewing for the Home by Mary Brooks Picken arrived in my mailbox this morning so I'll upload the three or four pages about the guide next. You may have noticed that I really hate tracing my Singercraft transfers or I'd have the last two of those up by now :P I'll do them after the book, I promise.
From page four of The Queenslander, Saturday 10 July 1926
CAKES AND FILLINGS.
You can't have anything nicer than a good layer cake for afternoon tea, and its great charm is that you can produce it in a dozen different guises and flavourings, so that one never gets tired of it, Once get the foundation recipe well into your head, and you'll simply invent new fillings for yourself! Here's the foundation recipe:-
Ingredients:-
Half pound of butter.
10oz. of flour
1/2lb. of sugar
3 eggs
1/2 a teaspoonful of baking powder
a few drops of any flavouring desired
a little milk.
Beat the butter to a cream, add the sugar, beat up the eggs (whites and yolks separately), and stir in gradually. Beat well, add the flavouring, flour and baking powder, and enough milk to make the right consistency. Divide into three portions. Take three shallow round cake tins and line them with greased paper. Pour in the mixture and bake in a moderate oven for about three-quarters of an hour. When cold, spread two cakes with the filling chosen, and place the three
cakes one on the top of the other. Cover the top with the icing preferred,
Now for some fillings :-
ORANGE FILLING.
One tablespoonful of cornflour
1/2 a pint of orange juice
2oz. of sugar
2 table- spoonfuls of lemon juice.
Mix the cornflour smoothly with the lemon juice, add the orange juice boiling and the sugar. Let it boil for five minutes over the fire, stirring all the time. Use when cold. Use orange icing for this.
ORANGE ICING.
One and a half tablespoonfuls of orange juice
6oz. of icing sugar
Rub the sugar through a hair sieve, place in a saucepan with the juice, and mix well until it is liquid. Allow it to get just warm, then use at once.
COCOANUT FILLING.
A 1/4 of a pint of cream,
1oz. cocoanut,
1oz. of sugar.
Whisk the cream until stiff, add the sugar and cocoanut. Cover the top with white icing and sprinkle with cocoanut. If a larger quantity is desired, add the beaten white of an egg.
WHITE ICING.
A 1/4lb. of icing sugar,
1 tablespoonful of boiling water.
Mix the sugar and water together until of the consistency of good cream, and use while warm.
NUT FILLING.
Two ounces each of brazil nuts, barcelonas, walnuts, and almonds,
2 or 3oz. of caster sugar,
a little cream.
Shell the nuts and pass them through a mincer, then add sugar to taste (not too sweet), and enough cream to make a smooth mix- ture. Cover the cake with white icing, with some chopped almonds on the top.
ALMOND FILLING.
A cupful of thick cream,
a cupful of blanched almonds,
1/2 a cupful of icing sugar,
a few drops of rose water.
Beat the cream up stiffly, add the sugar (sifted), rose water, and finally the chop- ped almonds. Mix all well together and use at once. Use white icing with this, flavoured with rose water, and sprinkle some chopped almonds on the top.
COFFEE CREAM FILLING.
Four ounces of butter,
3/4lb. of icing sugar,
a little coffee essence, or strong cold coffee.
Cream the butter with the sugar until it looks exactly like cream; Add 2 teaspoonfuls of coffee essence and beat up again.
COFFEE ICING.
A quarter pound of fresh butter,
3oz. of icing sugar,
a dessertspoonful of coffee extract.
Beat the butter and sugar to- gether until quite smooth. Add a tea spoonful of coffee essence. Use while warm.
LEMON FILLING.
One pound of lump sugar,
1 egg,
1 lemon,
1oz. of butter.
Rub the sugar on the lemon rind, place in a jar and add the lemon juice (strained) and the butter. Stir in the egg, well beaten, and put the jar into a pan of boiling water. Stir until the mixture is thick. Use white icing with the filling, or a little vegetable yellow colouring may be added.
CHOCOLATE FILLING.
Four ounces of butter,
6oz. of icing sugar,
1oz. of grated chocolate.
Cream the butter, add the .sugar, and when quite smooth stir in the chocolate. Warm a little if necessary. Use at once, or it will become stiff.
CHOCOLATE ICING.
Four ounces of icing sugar,
1oz. of grated chocolate.
Put into a pan, add a teacupful of cold water and stir until dissolved, then allow to cool until it is as thick as thick cream. Use while warm, and put the cake in the oven for the icing to harden.
RIBBON CAKE.
You can use the foundation cake recipe to make an attractive ribbon cake. Divide the mixture into three portions. Leave one white, add a few drops of cochineal to the second, and a little grated chocolate to the third—just sufficient to make it brown. Use the fol- lowing filling:—
VANILLA FILLING.
Three ounces of butter,
3oz. of icing sugar,
1/2 a teaspoonful (or more) of vanilla essence.
Beat the butter to a cream and add the sugar and vanilla. Use white or chocolate icing.
MARBLE CAKE.
Use the same foundation mixture, then divide into four portions. Keep one white, add a few drops of cochineal to the second, add a little chocolate and a little milk to the third, and add a little yellow (vegetable) colouring to the fourth. Take a deep cake tin, and line it with greased paper. Put the mixture in, using a small spoon and varying colours as much as possible to get a streaky marbled effect. Bake in a moderate oven for about an hour, and cover with white or chocolate icing.
On a side note: I've been experimenting with carrot and orange marmalade recipes and almost have a perfect variation. I would have blogged and taken pictures but by the time I get myself together enough to do it, it's all been eaten! Next time I'll just tell everyone I haven't set it properly yet so they won't eat it before I take pictures :)
]]>The Singer Display at the Royal National Show (Australia), 1933
Mr Pickworth's Presentation, 14 April 1934
A Description of Singercraft Articles to be Shown at the Royal National Show (Australia), 1934
I particularly love the article about Mr Pickworth. Can you imagine, he started working for Singer in 1884? Colonial Australia hadn't even been settled for 100 years at that time!
]]>Today I've uploaded the outline of what can be made with the Singercraft Guide from the Teacher's Handbook of Machine Sewing
The 1933 Chicago World's Fair special edition transfer and
A "Wee House" design from 1933.
I'm going straight onto adding some Australian newspaper pictures, stories and advertisements which I hope to have up tomorrow.
Basketweave Rug. Rug Hooking Design, 1932
Early American Rug (aka "Star Rug")
Rose Chair Seat Rug Hooking Design, 1932
I'm trying really hard to get all the vintage stuff about the Singercraft guide up so I can start on my tutorials but I keep finding more vintage information!
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