Thursday, March 29, 2018

Scavenger Photo Hunt - March

Joining in once again with the Scavenger Photo Hunt organised by
by Kate at 'I live, I love, I craft, I am me' blog. The word prompts for March are:- 
Hole
Making
reading now
black and white
starts with an 'H'
Own choice

Hole - Rabbit hole spotted in the grounds of Beeston Castle, Cheshire, where we visited recently.  We did see a rabbit later on when we took the woodland walk around the castle.  Post about our visit - here.

Making- Paul makes a paper plane from a free downloaded pattern and then tests it outside.

Reading Now - The Sewing Machine by Nathalie Fergie.  I decided to photograph my kindle copy of the book with my Mum's old Singer sewing machine which was made, I found out from its serial number, in 1939 in Clydebank near Glasgow. My Mum would have been twenty three years old when she bought it. The book follows owners of the sewing machine in the title at different times over the last hundred years or so. Talking of generations, I was born when my Mum was thirty four and coincidentally my Mum was born when my Grandma was thirty four. 

Black and White - Swans on the lake at Trentham Gardens, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.


Starts with an 'H' - load of hay on a waggon driven by a tractor which we followed through Colsterworth and across the flyover which takes you to the other side of the A1.  We were on our way via Colsterworth and Bourne to Spalding in Lincolnshire.

Your own choice - I loved this bright red post box which I saw in the Museum of Iron at Coalbrookdale in the Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire when we visited the Women of Coalbrookdale exhibition - details here. The post box is called a Penfold postbox after its designer J W Penfold (1828 - 1909).  It is hexagonal in shape and made in cast iron by Cochrane, Grove and Co of Dudley c. 1870.

Follow the link above to find others who are joining in with the Scavenger Photo Hunt this month.

39 comments:

  1. I'm taken by your Mother's sewing machine as I have my Mum's on the table too. I don't know how old it is though, perhaps I should look for a serial number. Have you ever seen an Edward VIII postbox? There are a few around but I haven't seen one yet.😊

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    1. On mine the serial number is on the right on a small plate in front of the section which houses the bobbinyou can see it on my photo under the round gold mark. If you go on the Singer site it shows you which year the letters and numbers were used. I don't think I've ever seen an Edward VIII post box, I expect that there aren't many about:)

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  2. The swans are such a pretty pair!

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    1. They are, each swan had its own partner on the lake but I just happened to catch one of each type together:)

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  3. What a clever idea to photograph your singer sewing machine with your kindle copy of the book.And I love that you have caught a black and a white swan on camera. X

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    1. Love the black swans, they used to keep themselves separate but now they seem to stay in the same area of the lake as thewhites There are loads of white swans on the lake but only one pair of black ones:)

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  4. Such interesting photos! Black and white swans was great. There is an Edward VIII postbox in Colne, Lancashire and I must take a photo of it. For me the old Singer sewing machine brought back memories of my mother using one, not as old as yours. She used to make all our clothes, school uniforms too, except for the blazer! Such different days to today!

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    1. Thank you. Oh yes do take a photo of the post box. My Mum used to make my dresses and knit my cardigans:)

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  5. Lovely choice of photos Rosie, I also had a mum with a sewing machine like that, she used to make my dresses when I was young. Brought back memories. I expect some very cold animals were glad of the hay,although it can be a pain when stuck behind them. The swans just so lovely and serene.However I love the Hole picture ,can imagaine Alice fallng down that one with the white rabbit at the bottom. Have a good month.x

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    1. Thank you Barb, my Mum used to make my dresses and knit my cardigans too. Yes, I thought of Alice down the rabbit hole, the white rabbit too. Also as we were in Cheshire the Cheshire cat:)

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  6. A lovely selection of photos - especially like the black and white swans :) The sewing machine brings back memories of my mother - she had a singer too but it had a treadle! She used to make all her own clothes and many of mine. I wish I knew what happened to the machine.

    The post box is so unusual.

    Wishing you and Paul a very Happy Easter.

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    1. Thank you. My grandma had a treadle sewing machine, I remember she used to store her shoes on the treadle so I'm guessing it wasn't often used, she also used to peg rugs on the kitchen table. Happy Easter to you too:)

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  7. Great photo choices Rosie, but what I really want to know is did the plane fly! Happy Easter! x

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    1. It flew a litle way and landed on the wet grass! Happy Easter to you too, Simone:)

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  8. My reaction to your Hole picture was the same as Barb's.....Alice in Wonderland. The swans are gorgeous but like many of the above bloggers comments, the Singer sewing machine brings back memories. My mother also used a treadle one to make my dresses on and I have used one too. The Occupational Therapy Department where I worked at a Hospital in Durban had one. Thanks for the memory!

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    1. I wish the rabbit we'd seen had been nearer to the hole that would have made a super photo. I'm loving all these comments about memories of Mum's. dresses and sewing machines. My grandma (Mum's mum) had a treadle sewing machine but I only ever remember my granny (dad's mum) making me dolls clothes by hand sewing them:)

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  9. clever black and white! My mother in law, when alive, for years used to trawl the charity shops hunting for vintage sewing machines, she had 9 eventually. If I remember - the oldest was from the later 1800s and the 'newest' was from the 1930s. When she died we just took them all back to the charity shops. Lovely photos and stories, thank you for joining in :)

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    1. That must have been quite a collection I wonder if some of them ended up in Museums? Especially the very early ones. I always enjoy joining in, thank you for organising us all:)

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  10. I think most of our mums had a Singer. They were attractive pieces not like today's modern machines.

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    1. I seem to remember more Singers than any other make although Jones rings a bell too. They are very attractive items aren't they?:)

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  11. Lovely collection! That was a great find for black and white and I like the sewing machine up for reading now too.

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    1. Thanks Louise. It was unusual to see black and white swans in the same area as they usually keep a distance from each other. I thought it was about time I checked over Mum's machine and give it a dust as I don't use it myself, it is kept in a cupboard under the stairs with a bag full of her stuff that I just van't bear to part with:)

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  12. And enjoyable collection of photos. I have 'The Sewing Machine' on my Kindle ready to read.

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    1. Thank you. I've read the first few chapters and it keeps swapping from one character or age to another, I guess it will all come together in the end:)

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  13. What a lovely set of pictures. I also used to have a collection of sewing machines, not just Singer but other makes too. Unfortunately there was not room in this house for them.

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    1. Thank you Jayne, glad you enjoyed the photos. Sewing machines are fascinating things aren't they? Such a shame you couldn't keep your collection, they do takeup quite a bit of space don't they?:)

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  14. Glad you like the swans it is unusual to see them together isn't it? How wonderful that you can still get parts for those old machines. It is worth keeping them working as they are so beautiful and yours it a lot older than mine:)

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  15. I enjoyed your post, Rosie. Sewing machines have always been an interest of mine - I saw a programme about the history of the Singer sewing machines a few months ago, but I haven’t come across this book, so I’m going to see if I can find a copy at the library. Wishing you a very happy Easter. Marie x

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    1. Thank you Marie. I bet the programme was intersting I would have liked to see that. Wishing you a happy Easter too:)

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  16. Oh! your black and white swans are so beautiful! - and the paper plane brings back memories. Those tractors of whatever seem to wait for me when I'm driving and drive right out in front lol Great H. My mum had one of those Singers as well and I learned to sew on it - the electric machine has always baffled me since.

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    1. Thanks, Fil. Yes we seem always to get one or two of those vehicles on a long journey when it is too dangerous to get by them. The old machines are so much more solid than the modern electric ones aren't they? Glad you liked the swans:)

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  17. Love your old sewing machine & the letterbox. I've a photo somewhere very similar to your swans that I took at Chartwell with both black & white swans. Only ever see our black ones here in Oz. Take care.

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    1. Thank you Susan. The bright red of the letter box just stood out so beautifully against the black and white photos in the display. There is just one pair of black swans on that lake all the rest are white. Usually they keep their distance from each other but I was lucky to catch them together. I've never been to Chartwell I bet it was beautiful although I know about there always having to be a ginger cat there:)

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  18. You've shared some interesting photos and information for your scavenger photo hunt. I like looking for the different types of post box especially the earlier ones that you can still see in the streets in certain places. I hope that you are enjoying the Easter long weekend. I've updated my blog post that I posted yesterday as we have snow again! Hopefully it'll melt quickly this time.

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    1. Thank you Linda, we have had a quiet Easter mainly because of the weather, like you we woke up to snow yesterday but it soon got washed away by heavy rain, we need the garden to dry up as it is squelchy underfoot and flooded in places:)

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  19. We always used to photograph lorry loads of straw on our way to Northumberland though I feel I havent seen any for a while! Love your red postbox!

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    1. Wealways manage to get them too or a tractor of some kind or other!:)

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  20. The The Sewing Machine sounds great - I'm ordering it immediately. I have a wonderful Singer machine inherited from my grandmother, with its own table and wooden cover, it is one of my treasures.
    Amalia
    xo

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    1. I'd just started the book when I posted and am now halfway through as I'm reading something else as well. The Sewing Machine is ok a bit different to what I first thought it was going to be. I hope you enjoy it. My singer has a wooden cover with a key to open it attached to the handle:)

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