A Singer Featherweight

This sewing machine is just fantastic, so well designed with amazing attention to detail. As well as being made whilst studying for a pretty serious set of exams.

OK so it is not a real Singer Featherweight.  I do have the real thing, which is what made Cath suggest it as the design idea for my birthday cake. Cath's daughter Jen is a sugarcrafter extraordinaire who uses cake making as a method of relaxation. Cath's blog contains many examples of Jen's creativity and she has blogged about my cake. Jen did have some help with the finishing touches from her sister Christina who is starting to develop her own sugarcraft skills.

Jen designed my Singer Featherweight cake from pictures on the internet having never seen one in real life, which makes the realism achieved even more amazing.  There was no time to make a foot but a cocktail stick was an excellent needle that also provided much needed structural support. The scroll work on the faceplate is so close to the real thing.

 

It was such an amazing cake that it was three days before we could bear to cut into it! The sewing machine survives the cake cutting intact as do the roses but it still seemed a shame to destroy the careful quilting in the blue icing.

The sewing machine was quite heavy for the cake and there was a definite slump at the faceplate end of the cake when we finally cut into it.  The cake itself was a Victoria sponge and very tasty. The sewing machine is not for eating although made of edible ingredients (rice krispies and marshmallow).

It was great to spend my birthday last year in England with family and friends. This cake was just the icing on top!

Thanks Cath and Jen for an amazing cake which made for a very special birthday.

A New Pair of Scissors

I was recently given a very special pair of Ernest Wright and Sons scissors. They are not perhaps what you were expecting being a small pewter brooch from a traditional scissor manufacturer in my old home town of Sheffield, England.  These are a very special pair of scissors because as well as being a gift from a friend they are an example of the modern phenomena of crowd funding.

A few months ago Ernest Wright ran a Kickstarter project to start production again of their handmade Kutrite kitchen scissors first produced in the 1960's.  This seemed like a good opportunity to support an old industry with dying skills. Many other people agreed with me as the Kickstarter project raised £248,419 from 3,684 people, way above its original target. After making my pledge and supporting this worthwhile cause I spread the word - letting all of my 22 Facebook friends know!

Cheryll joined the cause to keep the traditional skills and industry alive.  When Cheryll received her traditional Turton kitchen scissors she shared her bounty with me,  giving me one of her pewter scissor pins, which I wear with pride. Just love my scissors, thank-you.

I have to wait a bit longer for my scissors as the Kutrite scissors are being started from scratch with the dies being made and the blanks forged before being handcrafted into my new kitchen scissors.

If you too would like to support a small family owned business that has been making the finest hand-made scissors and shears since 1902, in a once great manufacturing city famous for its stainless steel, they make some great sewing and embroidery scissors.

The Ernest Wright and Son website contains two fascinating and informative videos about the art of scissor making.  One is by the late Shaun Bloodworth, also a Sheffield local and the other is a BBC interview.