The Flickr Embroidereddoily Image Generatr

“Breakfast without orange juice, is like a day without sunshine.” – Anonymous.

The theme for "Smile on Saturday" for the 23rd of November is "observe the O", where the requirement is that I take a picture of something (person, animal, plant, object) that begins with the letter O, with the idea that just adjectives that start with O are not sufficient for it. I had plenty of ideas, but I settled upon oranges. Now oranges are an obvious choice for the theme, so I decided to make mine a little different. Anyone who follows my photostream knows that I love and collect 1:12 size miniatures which I photograph in realistic scenes. The artifice of recreating in minute detail items in 1:12 scale always amazes me, and it’s amazing how the eye can be fooled. Therefore, whilst this still life with oranges and a jug of orange juice may look life sized, it is in fact made up completely of 1:12 miniature pieces, even the tiny silvers of orange on the chopping board! I hope you like my choice for this week’s theme, and that it makes you smile!

The oranges come from Beautifully Handmade Miniatures in Kettering and have been hand made using polymer clay by an unknown artist. The jug and glass of orange juice, both of which are made from real spun glass, also comes from Beautifully Handmade Miniatures, as does the wooden chopping board. The juicer was made by Warwick Miniatures in Ireland, who are well known for the quality and detail applied to their pieces. The knife comes from Doreen Jeffries’ Small Wonders Miniatures Shop in the United Kingdom. The orange slices came from an online stockist of miniatures on eBay.

When it was my birthday last year, a very dear friend who enjoys photography as much as I do, and knows that I collect beautiful and vintage pieces, gave me a wonderful selection of antique ribbons, buttons, buckles, lace and other fine notions. She also gave me three follow up tins of similar delightful gifts for Christmas. Those wonderful gifts have inspired me to create a series of still life images showcasing them along with spools of brightly coloured cottons from my vintage bobbin collection entitled “Embroider my World”. If you are interested, you can see the series here: www.flickr.com/photos/40262251@N03/albums/72177720314094967/

In this case, I have chosen two Dewhurst's Sylko Turkey Red Shade spools of cotton, which date from between 1938 and 1954. I have placed them on a 1930s red and black floral embroidered doily and accessorised them with some delicate ruched red satin ribbon and lacy red and white trim, both of which are Victorian pieces from my collection. When you look at black and white photographs of the Victorian era, you don’t imagine it to be such a colourful place, do you?

The shade of Turkey red comes from a dyeing method that was widely used to give cotton a distinctive bright red colour in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. It was made using the root of the rubia (madder) plant, through a long and laborious process which originated in the historical Levant region, namely being developed in India and China. Turkey red was brought to Europe in the 1740s and in France was known as Rouge d'Andrinople.

The theme for "Looking Close on Friday" for the 6th of September is "two of a kind", and I thought this lovely pair of Dewhurst's Sylko Turkey Red Shade spools of cotton perfect for the theme this week. I hope you like my choice, and that it makes you smile!

Belle Vue Mill, commonly known as Dewhurst’s, was built by Thomas Dewhurst in 1828. It opened in 1829 as John Dewhurst & Sons and was one of Skipton’s largest spinning and weaving mills. The mill’s position next to the Leeds Liverpool Canal meant that raw cotton could be shipped in by boats from Liverpool. Finished goods would then be sent back the same way ready for distribution. Coal to power the machine’s steam engines was also delivered by barge. In 1897 Dewhurst’s was bought by the English Sewing Cotton Co. It continued to produce Sylko, one of the mill’s most famous products. It was produced in over 500 colours and sold throughout the world. Sylko cottons are still available at haberdashers today.

When it was my birthday a few months ago, a very dear friend who enjoys photography as much as I do, and knows that I collect beautiful and vintage pieces, gave me a wonderful selection of antique ribbons, buttons, buckles, lace and other fine notions. She also gave me three follow up tins of similar delightful gifts for Christmas.

Those wonderful gifts are what has inspired me to create this series of "Embroider my World" images featuring my vintage bobbin collection. In this case, the wonderfully delicate vintage lace come from my own collection of antique notions, and the beautifully embroidered scalloped ribbon from India comes from the same aforementioned friend, but was given to me as a gift by her several years ago. I have accessorised them on a 1930s embroidered doily with two Dewhurst's Sylko Geranium coloured reels of cotton which date from between 1938 and 1954.

Belle Vue Mill, commonly known as Dewhurst’s, was built by Thomas Dewhurst in 1828. It opened in 1829 as John Dewhurst & Sons and was one of Skipton’s largest spinning and weaving mills. The mill’s position next to the Leeds Liverpool Canal meant that raw cotton could be shipped in by boats from Liverpool. Finished goods would then be sent back the same way ready for distribution. Coal to power the machine’s steam engines was also delivered by barge. In 1897 Dewhurst’s was bought by the English Sewing Cotton Co. It continued to produce Sylko, one of the mill’s most famous products. It was produced in over 500 colours and sold throughout the world. Sylko cottons are still available at haberdashers today.

The theme for "Looking Close on Friday" on the 8th of March is "collage in a square", so a collection of pictures put together to make a single picture, in this case in a square format. When it was my birthday a few months ago, a very dear friend who enjoys photography as much as I do, and knows that I collect beautiful and vintage pieces, gave me a wonderful selection of antique ribbons, buttons, buckles, lace and other fine notions. This set me off on my latest passion: photographing haberdashery still life. In this case I have used the same corner of a hand embroidered doily accessorised with a spool of cotton in one of the four colours used to embroider it. All four images recreate the full image of the doily, which I thought made for a great collage in a square. I hope you like my choice for the theme, and that it makes you smile.

When it was my birthday a few months ago, a very dear friend who enjoys photography as much as I do, and knows that I collect beautiful and vintage pieces, gave me a wonderful selection of antique ribbons, buttons, buckles, lace and other fine notions. She also gave me three follow up tins of similar delightful gifts for Christmas.

Those wonderful gifts are what has inspired me to create this series of "Embroider my World" images featuring my vintage bobbin collection. In this case, the wonderfully delicate salmon pink vintage lace comes from my own collection of antique notions, and the beautifully embroidered ribbon from India with sequin embellishments comes from the same aforementioned friend, but was given to me as a gift by her several years ago. I have accessorised them on a 1930s embroidered doily with a Dewhurst's Sylko Red Salmon reel of cotton which dates from between 1938 and 1954 and an Edwardian miniature reel of Salmon Pink cotton from Coats.

Belle Vue Mill, commonly known as Dewhurst’s, was built by Thomas Dewhurst in 1828. It opened in 1829 as John Dewhurst & Sons and was one of Skipton’s largest spinning and weaving mills. The mill’s position next to the Leeds Liverpool Canal meant that raw cotton could be shipped in by boats from Liverpool. Finished goods would then be sent back the same way ready for distribution. Coal to power the machine’s steam engines was also delivered by barge. In 1897 Dewhurst’s was bought by the English Sewing Cotton Co. It continued to produce Sylko, one of the mill’s most famous products. It was produced in over 500 colours and sold throughout the world. Sylko cottons are still available at haberdashers today.

In 1802 James Coats set up a weaving business in Paisley. In 1826 he opened a cotton mill at Ferguslie to produce his own thread and, when he retired in 1830, his sons, James & Peter, took up the business under the name of J. & P. Coats. In 1952 J. & P. Coats and the Clark Thread Co. merged to become Coats & Clark's. Today, the business is known as the Coats Group.

When I joined Flickr, it was so I could enter a photographic competition. I never imagined, fifteen years later that I would have so many followers, have shared so many images, or have made some of the best friends I have (even ones whom I have never physically met but have connected with emotionally and spiritually). Thanks to Flickr, and the exposure it has given my work, my images have appeared in books, journals and magazines around the world, I appear on numerous websites, and I have three postage stamps all featuring my images. The world of social media can be ruthless, yet here on Flickr, I have found a kind, friendly and receptive community of like minded people ready to embrace other members. I have much to be grateful about, thanks to Flickr.

So, happy twentieth birthday, Flickr! Thank you for everything you are, and all that you do. I am paying tribute to this wonderful platform by using the Flickr livery of bright blue and hot pink in a still life using my latest obsession, cotton spools.

When it was my birthday a few months ago, a very dear friend who enjoys photography as much as I do, and knows that I collect beautiful and vintage pieces, gave me a wonderful selection of antique ribbons, buttons, buckles, lace and other fine notions. She also gave me three follow up tins of similar delightful gifts for Christmas.

Amongst the gifts was a pretty ribbon of vibrant blue and white embroidered daisies, some blue, magenta and pink crocheted daisies from Poland, some Estonian hand dyed lace and some tiny segments of crochet, all of which I have set up on the back terrace against one of my antique embroidered Art Deco doilies from the 1930s, and accessorised with some peacock blue silver and enamel buttons from Birmingham, hallmarked 1910, some tiny Japanese cloisonné vest buttons from the 1880s, some pink rose buttons from the 1960s, a Victorian spool of W. and J. Knox peacock blue linen thread and a spool of Dewhurst's Sylko Rose Pink cotton which dates from between 1938 and 1954.

W. and J. Knox Ltd was first established over two centuries ago when the Knox family set up a small textile mill in Kilbirnie to spin the locally-grown flax fibre and to manufacture linen thread. It was first registered as a company in 1778 then subsequently named W. and J. Knox in the 1800s by the sons of the founder. The Knox family was involved with the company for the first 200 years, with ownership passing through the generations, and agents being set up all over the world. Hearsay places an agent in New Zealand only ten years after Captain Cook’s discovery, and written records show trade agreements in place in the early 1800s in Canada. Cosalt plc purchased the company from Linndustries in the 1970s, with ownership passing to the local management team in 2004, following an MBO. Two centuries after opening, Knox is still based in the same Ayrshire town, and is now owned by the local management team, following an MBO from Cosalt plc in 2004.

Belle Vue Mill, commonly known as Dewhurst’s, was built by Thomas Dewhurst in 1828. It opened in 1829 as John Dewhurst & Sons and was one of Skipton’s largest spinning and weaving mills. The mill’s position next to the Leeds Liverpool Canal meant that raw cotton could be shipped in by boats from Liverpool. Finished goods would then be sent back the same way ready for distribution. Coal to power the machine’s steam engines was also delivered by barge. In 1897 Dewhurst’s was bought by the English Sewing Cotton Co. It continued to produce Sylko, one of the mill’s most famous products. It was produced in over 500 colours and sold throughout the world. Sylko cottons are still available at haberdashers today.

When it was my birthday a few months ago, a very dear friend who enjoys photography as much as I do, and knows that I collect beautiful and vintage pieces, gave me a wonderful selection of antique ribbons, buttons, buckles, lace and other fine notions. She also gave me three follow up tins of similar delightful gifts for Christmas.

Amongst the gifts was this pretty ribbon of lilac and white embroidered daisies, some lilac and lavender crocheted daisies from Poland, some Estonian hand dyed lace and some tiny segments of crochet, all of which I have set up on the back terrace against one of my antique embroidered Art Deco doilies from the 1930s, and accessorised with a spool of Heminway and Bartlett violet cotton which dates from the Edwardian era and a spool of Anchor orchid purple cotton which is also Edwardian.

Buell Heminway (1838-1915) learned the silk thread business under his father, General Merritt Heminway (1800-1886), who had established the company that would become M. Heminway and Sons Silk Company (later the Belding-Heminway Co.) in Watertown, Litchfield in 1822. Buell organized the Heminway-Bartlett Silk Company with his own son and H. H. Bartlett in 1888 after his father’s death, building just down the road from the M. Heminway facility. While the company never grew as large as M. Heminway and Sons, it experienced relative prosperity. The firm, which produced spool, embroidery, knitting and crochet silks, established trade relationships with emerging chain department stores in America, and extended large retailers goods on credit. It was a risk that paid off, as the company’s business came to rely heavily upon those retailers. By 1912, the product line was expanded to include silk hosiery. The company was quick to adopt the use of rayon and other synthetic fibers in their products as early as the 1920s, keeping them relevant in the market. In 1930, over 300 workers worked at the Watertown facility. Buell’s enterprise outlived his father’s by decades, and in 1963 the firm purchased the Starr Net Company, a manufacturer of fishing nets in East Hampton. It closed only in the early 2000s.

The Anchor brand can trace its history back to 1866 when the Clark family adopted the Anchor brand for their embroidery threads manufactured in Paisley, Scotland. Embroidery threads came into being circa 1812 when supplies of silk became unobtainable in the UK due to a blockade by Napoleon. Two weavers, James and Patrick Clark, turned their attention to cotton and managed to produce yarn which was sufficiently fine, smooth and strong to be used instead of silk for weaving. Sewing thread was primarily silk or linen at the time and the Clark brothers developed their cotton yarn into the first cotton sewing thread.

When it was my birthday a few months ago, a very dear friend who enjoys photography as much as I do, and knows that I collect beautiful and vintage pieces, gave me a wonderful selection of antique ribbons, buttons, buckles, lace and other fine notions. She also gave me three follow up tins of similar delightful gifts for Christmas.

Amongst the gifts was this pretty ribbon of lilac and white embroidered daisies, some lilac and lavender crocheted daisies from Poland, some Estonian hand dyed lace and some tiny segments of crochet, all of which I have set up on the back terrace against one of my antique embroidered Art Deco doilies from the 1930s, and accessorised with a spool of Dewhurst's Sylko lavender cotton which dates from the 1960s.

Belle Vue Mill, commonly known as Dewhurst’s, was built by Thomas Dewhurst in 1828. It opened in 1829 as John Dewhurst & Sons and was one of Skipton’s largest spinning and weaving mills. The mill’s position next to the Leeds Liverpool Canal meant that raw cotton could be shipped in by boats from Liverpool. Finished goods would then be sent back the same way ready for distribution. Coal to power the machine’s steam engines was also delivered by barge. In 1897 Dewhurst’s was bought by the English Sewing Cotton Co. It continued to produce Sylko, one of the mill’s most famous products. It was produced in over 500 colours and sold throughout the world. Sylko cottons are still available at haberdashers today.

When it was my birthday a few months ago, a very dear friend who enjoys photography as much as I do, and knows that I collect beautiful and vintage pieces, gave me a wonderful selection of antique ribbons, buttons, buckles, lace and other fine notions. She also gave me three follow up tins of similar delightful gifts for Christmas.

Amongst the gifts was this pretty ribbon of yellow and rose pink embroidered daisies, some pink crocheted daisies from Poland, some Estonian hand dyed lace and some tiny segments of crochet, all of which I have set up on the back terrace with my garden as a backdrop against one of my antique embroidered Art Deco doilies from the 1930s, and accessorised with two spools: one Dewhurst's Sylko Fiesta Pink cotton which dates from the 1960s and one Anchor pale pink cotton which is Edwardian.

Belle Vue Mill, commonly known as Dewhurst’s, was built by Thomas Dewhurst in 1828. It opened in 1829 as John Dewhurst & Sons and was one of Skipton’s largest spinning and weaving mills. The mill’s position next to the Leeds Liverpool Canal meant that raw cotton could be shipped in by boats from Liverpool. Finished goods would then be sent back the same way ready for distribution. Coal to power the machine’s steam engines was also delivered by barge. In 1897 Dewhurst’s was bought by the English Sewing Cotton Co. It continued to produce Sylko, one of the mill’s most famous products. It was produced in over 500 colours and sold throughout the world. Sylko cottons are still available at haberdashers today.

The Anchor brand can trace its history back to 1866 when the Clark family adopted the Anchor brand for their embroidery threads manufactured in Paisley, Scotland. Embroidery threads came into being circa 1812 when supplies of silk became unobtainable in the UK due to a blockade by Napoleon. Two weavers, James and Patrick Clark, turned their attention to cotton and managed to produce yarn which was sufficiently fine, smooth and strong to be used instead of silk for weaving. Sewing thread was primarily silk or linen at the time and the Clark brothers developed their cotton yarn into the first cotton sewing thread.

I found this doily at the bottom of the scarf bin in a thrift store and I thought "this would be awesome if it had a swear word embroidered on it" and so here it is. It's in my shop -see profile.

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