Layers of Meaning
commentary on design, fiber art, & modern embroidery from Serena Fenton
Thanks to all the wonderful folks at the Quiltart email list, I know what the heck this thing is! It is a 'vibrating shuttle' bobbin from an old treadle machine. An article, 'Singer's Missing Link, the Legendary Vibrating Shuttle #1' by D.A. Brumleve, has a solid explanation and good images of the shuttle and bobbin.
Lois, of nightstitcher.com, gave this explanation of the bobbin: "'Eldredge' machines were made by the Eldredge company in Illinois, and later by National, after Eldredge merged with another company, with "National" as the new name for the combination. Your shuttle is known as a "vibrating" shuttle, named after the front-to-back arcing motion of the shuttle. Most of the references I've found for vibrating shuttle Eldredge machines suggest a date of 1890 to 1920 (or so). In that time period, the VS configuration was very common: it was used, for example by the Singer model 27, White VS, and many others. Shuttles for different machines were, however, usually not interchangeable, even though similar in basic configuration. The bobbins (usually called "long bobbins") are a bit more interchangeable: one brand's bobbins might fit into another brand's shuttle and sew ok, however they might not work properly in another brand's bobbin winder."
I am always amazed by the amount of knowledge that the internet has put at our fingertips and the kindess of those who are happy to share their wisdom. Thanks all!
An apparently very old bobbin & bobbin case came into my possession today, by way of our local charity thrift shop. It was so beautiful that I couldn't pass it up. But now that it is home with me, I am wondering what exactly it is. It's quite heavy and very beautiful. It says ELDREDGEE on the side. Anyone have any ideas?
I have enabled the "comment feature" if anyone would care to post their thoughts. You do have to sign in with your email. I apologize for the inconvenience and I promise not to do anything with anyone's email information. This is just a precaution to keep spammers out. For awhile, there were lots of offers coming to the blog about getting bigger, richer, etc.
->->A quick update: I just discovered that Alex has his own site (Sussex Sewing Machines). He restores old machine (my hero). On his site, he has a more recent illustrated guide to tension adjustment! <-<-
Alex Sussex, a kind sewing machine technician, who specializes in Singer Featherweights, has written a useful and humorous article on adjusting bobbin tension on the older machine. I know that most folks don't touch the tension, but all my sewing machines are 20-40 years old and they need the care and attention of adjusting the tension. Prior to finding this article, I just fooled around myself in the hopes of making an improvement. My next attempt will be far more scientific!
Alex begins with the a test to see if the upper thread tension is correct. "To test this simply raise your sewing foot and see if the thread pulls out easier than if it were lowered ready for sewing. To test if the thread is being held by the tension discs properly when ready for sewing, you need to pull the thread from where it comes out of the eye of the needle-with the foot lowered. The thread ON ALL MACHINES should be tight enough to bend the needle when pulled. If it does not then you need to investigate why it is not tight. The most common reason is a restriction between the tension discs themselves, caused by fluff, corrosion or trapped threads. a loose top thread leads to a bunching of thread UNDERNEATH the work (or looping on minor tension failure). Once you have done this put your numbered tension dial half way, for instance if you have a dial that goes from one to four put it on two, one to nine put in between the four and five, get the idea. on older machines with no tension dial numbers turn the dial clockwise until the thread bends the needle when pulled through as I have mentioned earlier. Then leave the top thread tension alone. Well, by now only the mad will still be with me the brave and the foolish have gone out for pizza, and we have not even got to the lower thread tension that we are going to discuss."
If you are not going to read the entire article, you can a least glean his closing wisdom on the correct thread to use to keep your machine happy: "if you mix your threads it is a lottery whether the tensions will work effectively. The worst culprits are the old wooden reels of cotton that can become hard, springy, weak and sticky they can really mess up your sewing machine, big time. Try and stick to the same threads, if in doubt about a thread, bin it, really all the grey hairs and profanities it can cause is just not worth it."
The embellisher by any other name would look the same: Needle Punch Machine by Mitz 8 Needles Raku-Raku and the industrial strength needle punch machine. They also have some examples of the machine used on knit fabrics, including felting done from the back (a crisper edged design) or the front (a fluffy flower). It would seem that the market they are aiming for is ornamenting sweaters by a commercial clothes manufacturer.
In Australia, Pierrot has introduced a 5 needle felting machine. "Pierrot does exactly the same as Babylock's Embellisher . But for half the price" (an aside: 5 needles are not 7 needles, and even with currency conversion, $750.00 sounds close to list price in the US for an Embellisher)
I also came across a fascinating "needle punch machine" which appears to be used to join layers of fabric. There is a brief reference to creating patterning on velour. I think typically, these are used to produce items such as needle punch batting or needle punch felt, blankets and carpet. What struck me as most interesting was the needles. Babylock charges $3.00 each. If these are the same needles, it would seem that there should be a cheap outlet for them somewhere.
When I have a spare moment, I have been playing with my Babylock Embellisher. This is not a sewing machine, but rather a needle felting machine that literally pummels the fibers together. My current favorite technique is to 'felt' silk fabric and silk thread scraps onto a stiffer dark wool background. The contrast of these colors and texture is so rich and enticing. An added plus, I find the rhythm of the felting to be a restful tmeditation. I am not wrestling with seams or edges, freeing my mind to wander over color and aesthetics.
The landscape pictured to the right (large image here) began as a fabric-crayon sketch on black twill. There are layers of silk, rayon, and silk fibers 'felted' on top of the sketch and then free motion embroidery. This is still a work in progress. Actual size is about 17" X 26".
Ever wanted to learn more from the greats of modern embroidery, but can't get to the U.K. for a guild workshop? A collection of stitchmasters got together in 1994 and donated one article each to the newsletter of the Young Embroiderers group. Those articles are now available online (free!) in .pdf format as The Riches of Stitches. The articles have simple and not-so-simple stitch instructions plus design guides and inspiration. The list of articles and contributors is as follows:
Fabric transfer paints : : Jan Beaney
Stitches worked on bars : : Chris Berry
Raised stitches : : Muriel Best
Breton stitch : : Joy Bradshaw
Battlement couching : : Jenny Bullen
Pattern into texture : : Anne Coleman
Flying stitches : : Gavin Fry
Developing stitches : : Linda Lewis
Textured triangles : : Jean Littlejohn
Planting in patterns : : Vicky Lugg
Pulled thread : : Moyra McNeill
Blackwork : : Anne Mullins
Book & book cover project : : Elaine Osborne
Indian mirror work : : Jennie Parry
Hot spots : : Dorothy Tucker
A previous LoM article about the embellisher featured some images from the Babylock site's Flash movie, which were made by Margo Duke. Duke's creations are now online at Her Majesty Margo.
Duke's site offers a gallery of her work (though the pictures are a bit fuzzy), and best of all, an online catalog of materials and kits for machine felters. Scroll past the kits to see some lively hand-painted mohair roving and hand-dyed silk ribbons and fibers. If you are not lucky enough to live by a weaver/spinner's supply house, this catalog is a nice source for varied colors of roving. There is also a short explanation of both wet and dry felting.
Parisian fiber artist, Fanny Viollet, creates Contemporary textile art based on text and assemblages of embroidery and diverse fabrics. She expands the materials and uses of fiber arts in multiple directions. She has won a Hermes design prize in the International Contest
of Hat Designers 2003 for her hat created from colorful candy and yogurt wrappers stitched together.
At the International Quilt Festival 2002 in Houston, Viollet exhibited 229 Couleurs à coudre, à écrire, à broder, en toute liberté, a 51 inch square quilt consisting of "free-motion embroidered words on a transparent vinyl backing. Using similar materials, the British Young Embroiderers site features images of lifesize dresses that Viollet created from "used waste plastic bags, food packages, fabric flowers and free machine embroidery with multi-coloured threads."
Seaton Hall library, in 2000, held a solo exhibition of Viollet's work. Their site offers insight into the thought behind the stitches: using the feminist tradition as a springboard, "Viollet tackles the male-dominated history of art in pieces such as Palette and Les Cartes Postales Brodees (Embroidered Postcards), which satirically question the objectification of women and the exploitation of art in museum shops. Other work such as Triptych, are more abstract with hundreds of names of colors from the famous DMC cataloguea seamstress' Bible in Europe" Selected images from the exhibit illuminate the diversity of Violette's output.
A web site that is almost entirely in Japanese, with a small amount of French (and therefore completely inscrutable to me) offers a glimpse of a mail art exchange between Viollet and Yukiko Og______. The works encompass sewn, painted and drawn two and three dimensional images which are attached to a variety of backings. The series begins with Courrier du coeur by Viollet and continues for the next five pages (view by clicking the 'next' button.)
Mary Cozens-Walker was featured in LoM last December. At that time, there were few web images available of her painterly-sculptural fiber work. This past summer, Fiberart Gallery had a show of her work and has archived several of the images online.
Boundary Gallery offers this insight into Cozens-Walker's work: "Mary Cozens-Walker draws strength from her memories of seemingly trivial events shared with her husband, Anthony Green, and their daughters - meals, attending church, visiting aunts, walking the dog etc. She introduces these subjects in a combination of her chosen media - painting, sculpting with papier-mâché and plaster, stitching, collaging.
Her pieces require a high level of skill though she is careful that we should not be distracted from the theme. Her boxes are not unlike doll's houses but with character and great humour including the smell of mothballs used, for instance, for Marjorie's Bungalow - an affectionate recollection faithfully reproduced of a member of the family frequently visited in her old-fashioned surroundings. Most recently, she has sculpted plaster heads, stuck on tall metal rods which are simple and erect, in total contrast to the delectable and ornate, folk-loric rendition of a scent bottle, Parfum Oil Seed Rape. Her Family Tree pays homage to three generations of one family, closely observed and then re-interpreted - her own way. Whatever she chooses to portray, her own ideas and style always prevail. As one title of her work says: I am what I am."
Twisted Thread offers a slide show of the Cozen-Walker and Anthony Green's work from the 2002 Knitting and Stitching Show. The couple has been married and working collaboratively since 1957.
Gavin Fry has two degrees in art and textiles from outstanding British universities, but now earns a living as a mental health professional and pursues his art in what he calls 'Sunday embroiderer' status. Twisted Thread described Fry's work at the Knitting and Embroidery Show 2004: "There is no set format in his work, and technique is employed according to the desired effect rather than for its own sake. He describes his pieces as collages. He uses imagery which isn't intended to shock, but to tell a story. He reinvents the familiar to challenge myths and he says, 'sex rears its ugly head to laugh at life and death'."
Fiberart Gallery in Cornwall features an online exhibition of several of Fry's small witty pieces. It is simply captioned: "Hand embroidery commenting on contemporary issues using masculine images."