and next…

 (this is a continuation of the previous post here)

I’d no knowledge whatsoever of Saurer before this morning, so I didn’t know that their principal products were vehicles. When we arrived in the museum and came immediately upon the embroidery machines, I wasn’t surprised.  But I’ll bet those who come looking for old vehicles are!

Towards the back of the museum were the vehicles then, including a lovely old Post Bus.

As we pottered about here, a door opened and a woman appeared.  We were not alone!  But she walked briskly through the museum and out of the door we’d come through, wishing us a cheerful “Grüezi!” as she went.  We were alone again.

I’d had so much fun amongst the sewing and embroidery, I was more than happy to browse the buses and lorries.  It was only fair…

But I knew my Hero wasn’t that fussed about such things, in spite of his professional transport background, so we didn’t linger so long.

Oh no, because both our attention was taken by further textile machinery!  Much more interesting      Looking closely at this first machine, we recognised it as being similar to the bobbin winder – except it was for winding shuttles.

OK.  We’re in the weaving department!  This huge loom was weaving terry towelling.

I’d not seen such a thing before and was interested in the table of samples nearby.

Next to it was another loom, this one with three placements for weaving narrow goods, such as twill tape.

These machines were more modern, from the 1940s and 50s we thought.

Similar, but finer machines were there too, for weaving silk ribbon.

Alongside a larger loom was a machine for creating a punch card design from a drawing.  It being Switzerland, the design was of a cow.

The card was made of plastic, more durable and less likely to be damaged with heavy use.

The loom was set up to create twill fabric with a linen weft, suitable for traditional tea towels, we thought.

The design was so cute!

I liked the look of the warp, too, carefully wound with precision, most certainly by some kind of machine!

Here spindles were loaded automatically into the shuttles, threaded automatically using what appeared to be a vacuum process too.

There alongside, was another unrelated sample.  We had no idea why it was there, but thought it cute too.  After all, who couldn’t like the backside of a cow?

With a last look at the most modern (and least interesting, in our view) weaving machines, we took the door through to the last room.

The cafe/gift shop.  Except there was no-one there either.

But on the counter was a small cardboard box with the word “geld”.

There was a tea towel too, with the cow edging and the embroidered motif. 

And since there was a price list, you know what we did, don’t you?

Well, who knows?  But you would have surely done the same, wouldn’t you?

By the exit was a small display about Saurer today, most significantly, the aquisition in 2012 by the Jinsheng Group.  Though there are still Swiss connections the focus of manufacturing appears, as in so many similar companies, to have relocated to the Far East.

I was glad to see that some aspects of the company remain in Arbon, though, including Melco, a name I recognised as a manufacturer of commercial embroidery software.  I googled to learn more about the company and spotted another of their locations…Seestrasse 161, Steckborn.

Now, where have I heard that address before?

A wonderful discovery

We’ve explored this part of Switzerland pretty well during our several visits here – or so we thought.  Having picked up a leaflet in the Textile Museum with the title “Textilland” I visited the associated website and suggested to my Hero that we could use some of the suggestions for a little rundfahrt.  The next day, we set out and headed for Arbon, a town on Lake Constance.

As soon as we arrived, it was clear that there was a rich history here.  The grand, Victorian mansions were richly decorated and there was a “resort” feel to the buildings overlooking the lake.

Our satnav took us to the first place on our list and an adjacent car park, though we appeared to be in some kind of building site and were none too sure where the entrance to the museum was.

We followed the sign and thought we’d found the way in but the map and the sign alongside with arrows pointing around the corner added to our confusion.  Eventually, we got it – we had to go and buy our tickets from the hotel next door and then come back here to gain entry.

I liked the look of the electricity sub-station and became yet more curious about what was in the museum.

It was to become a little stranger still.  We put our tokens in the turnstile and entered the museum, which appeared to be empty! 

“Hello?” (spoken in my best Hull accent)

“Hallo?”  (better speak German, just in case )

The mannequin wasn’t saying anything, so we just went in…

The first small room set the scene.  “Franz Saurer was born in a turbulent time.  Napoleon continued his conquest of Europe and England prepared itself for regular construction fever following James Watts invention of the steam engine…  The industrialisation starting gun fired and Franz Saurer would soon be sucked into it all”

We didn’t really know what to expect and this first orientation scene didn’t bode so well.  Underneath the caption about the first railway engines (dated 1830) was this small toy train – from a century after that, said my Hero.  Not so impressive!  Here’s hoping the rest of the museum would get such details correct, otherwise we were going to be irritated…

We opened the door into the museum proper.

Ooo!

A huge warehouse-type space was filled with assorted machinery, but the first thing which caught my eye?

Samples of a variety of machine-embellished fabrics cleverly displayed on light fittings.  From left to right, Soutache (I’d say couching), Superpose, Tullestickerei and Atzstickerei (also known as “guipure”)

Four more were set at right angles to the first group: Locherstickerei, rather similar to Broderie Anglaise, Abzeichen (badges or patches) and Allover .   

Nearby was a sample book as we’d seen in the textile museum yesterday and some larger, more contemporary fabrics alongside.

These were all examples of the kinds of products created using the Saurer machines in the museum and rather than linger longer here, we went right in to see what’s what.

The machines were arranged in a kind of timeline, with the oldest, manually operated embroidery machine right there opposite the samples.  4 or 5 metres in length, the operator sat at one end, facing the pattern which was pinned on the board in front of him/her.

This pattern had been precisely drawn to scale and was linked to a pantograph, moved by the operator’s left hand.  At the same time, the feet operated the machine in the same way as our mothers used the treadle) and the right hand turned the wheel to lift the needle up and down. 

Multitasking?  Oh yes.

As the single tracing was made, twenty four patterns were embroidered on the frame.  In this case, each was an individual motif, though I imagine the design could easily be manipulated to form a continuous row or edging.

The tools of the trade were close on hand too, the tray looking remarkably like my own sewing machine kit.

My Hero and I both love the engineering, the heavy moving parts which are made to move smoothly and precisely to create the fine end result.

Across the way was a slightly newer machine which was set to create a continuous pattern.  this one showed the schiffli  - the bobbin which contains the lower thread.  I’d heard the term schiffli used in relation to machine embroidery but until now had not made the Swiss connection (in Swiss-German, the suffix –li is used instead of the High German –chen or –lein to form a diminutive)  So, the word for a bobbin, schiffli is literally, a little ship.

A machine like this was operating twenty four needles or more, each one with a schiffli underneath carrying the bobbin thread.

So the next machines to be developed were needlethreaders…

Note the bottom line of the explanation which states that in twenty years, Saurer sold 6600 of these machines.  This was big business, wouldn’t you say?

The needles were threaded and delivered in a line, ready for use.  What a time saver!

No surprise that another development was a bobbin winder then.

By 1907, these machines could wind at a rate of 3500 – 4000 turns a minute. 

Better have a good supply of schiffli on hand, then!

So at the same time as developing the embroidery machines, Saurer was designing and manufacturing the supplementary products, applying their technical knowhow and engineering skills to enable textile manufacturing to develop at incredible speed.

Patterns were transferred from scale drawings to punchcards and yes, here were the machines to do just that.

Further automation and larger frames followed.

I would have liked to know how long it takes to set up such a machine but we were still alone here, with no other person in sight!

We were working out how everything worked then and actually rather enjoying the puzzle.  Is this a device for creating a punch card from a scale drawing?

And we understood the need for precision in those drawings, so high quality technical drawing and pattern making tools were needed such as these wheels which created dots/holes at regular intervals.

But what was the difference between the sets with different coloured handles?  We couldn’t see any, and yet…

Aha!  Here was something I did recognise.  This machine was creating a broderie anglaise edging.

And just like my Bernina machine, there’s both a needle and a blade, cutting fabric as well as embroidering it.  Fascinating to see the similarities here.

Alongside was a panel with photographs of the modern equivalents of these machines and a sample of contemporary fabric, much like the samples we’d seen in the museum in St Gallen.

Reminiscent of that exquisite piece of whitework embroidery with the medals, this piece of work was no less impressive and required a similarly high level of skills, albeit rather different ones!

I think it’s clear how much we were both enjoying this small, deserted museum and we were not even half way around it.  I loved the insight into the development of sewing machines, knowing that my favourite Bernina is located just a few miles along the lake in Steckborn.  No accident, that – we are in Textilland, after all!

So, what else was in the museum then?  All will be revealed in the next post.

A little sunshine

The hospital-related activities of last week together with a funeral left me feeling in need of some light relief by the time Thursday came around.  Thankfully, it was a WI week, so a fun evening promised to lift the spirits and a lunch date with an old friend on Friday followed through nicely.

Such things are a reminder of the important things in life, for as I listened to the eulogy at the funeral I wished I could chat to Margaret once again, about some of the things I didn’t know about her life and to get to know her a little better.  It’s not the first time I’ve left a funeral and felt sad that it was too late to learn more: a useful reminder to spend more time with friends whose company I cherish.

More fun on Saturday too, with a fish and chip date before going to the opera at the cinema in Cheltenham to see La Traviata live from the Met in New York.

Wow.

We loved it – and were not alone.  A fantastic set design and marvellous performances from the whole cast.  Even if we thought Alfredo was a bit wet, at least he had a great voice!  Of course, it’s not a story with the happiest of endings (!) but at least in this production Violetta held her own until the very last gasp and left the audience similarly breathless.  Only on the way home did we realise that Ellis and Mary were at the cinema in Thousand Oaks watching the same live production and feeling equally positive, even without the benefit of haddock and chips to sustain them

Oh and another little ray of sunshine dropped through my letterbox yesterday.  I have plans to install the update this afternoon and am trusting for no unexpected changes in the weather.

Fingers crossed.

Creative days like these

I have a new post on the Bernina English language blog today about the inspiring demonstration of some new Bernina accessories and software I went to last week.

I took my amazing machine to Frank’s with me, because of late it’s been misbehaving and not responding to my gentle touches as it usually does.  I left it for his technician to investigate and learned that the bobbin sensor was not working as it should.  A new replacement part was ordered, arrived within 24 hours and hopefully, my machine will be home again in a couple of days, complete with a firmware update and refreshed from a little TLC!

I keep looking at the large space where it normally sits in my studio and feel quite bereft, even though I know I could get my older, Bernina 1630 out to play…or the even older still, Bernina 1030 (do you see a pattern here?)  I know, however, I am not in the same league as many when it comes to collecting sewing machines!  (You know who you are )

Speaking of Maggie (!)  who came with me on Thursday and shared all the Quilting Ruler fun, on the way home we had a small errand to run for our dear friend Jordi, who had seen a couple of things online which she liked the look of.  I immediately followed the link to Sue Brown’s blog and discovered that she’s just up the road from me, in Cheltenham.  No need for mail order there, then!

 

So on the way home, Maggie and I spent a fascinating half hour looking around the yard ARTspace and just knew that we’ll be back there before long.  There’s an interesting programme of workshops and classes, right up our alley, and Sue herself creates some amazing work.

So much inspiration on our doorstep and lovely friends to share it with. 

Now, if only I could stop being bothered by that bird up there…

A mystery on my hands

Our family is not one for having heirlooms.  My parents had nothing much of value in their home and neither of them had family treasures such as old photograph albums to illustrate their heritage.  So researching my family history is a bit of a challenge.  I have the facts but not much of the back story.  Thankfully, I began to record what little they knew before it was too late and a few of their memories got me off to a good start. 

My Mum, however, did have one real treasure, which she gave to me.

The sampler had been passed to my Mum by her mother and she understood that it had been passed through her mother’s side of the family – but knew no more than that.  So, one of my aims in finding more about my family was to identify who Mary Farthing was and how she fitted into my story.

Considering its great age, the sampler is in pretty good shape and years of being stuffed in a dark sideboard cupboard means the colours are still bright.  When I was out judging a class of cross stitch pictures at Thornbury Show yesterday, I wondered how many of them will still be around in more than 250 year’s time, still looking good and provoking questions for their owner?

So, what has provoked this little flurry of excitement?  What sent me to my cupboard to retrieve the sampler and scan it into my computer?

The answer is, I have found Mary Farthing!  Not only have I found her, she’s there on the correct side of my family with links to the people I’d expected her to be linked to.  She’s not exactly a close relative: Ancestry.com identifies her as the 3rd great aunt of the wife of my 1st cousin 2x removed!

The bad news is that her dates don’t tally with the sampler.  “My” Mary Farthing was born in 1769, rather too late to stitch a sampler in 1754. 

One step forward, two steps back.

But I’m not done yet.  “My” Farthing family lived in the area of Foston in the Wolds, East Yorkshire, where there are other Farthings to investigate.  I have another lead from Google, which turned up this, which states that, “A tablet on the east wall commemorates Mary Farthing, who died in 1763.”  Could this be Mary the embroiderer?  I think I have some further investigations to make.

It’s not easy, but that’s the fun of researching family history, isn’t it?