It's a quiet evening at Mrs. Ford's dress shop. Addy is putting the finishing touches on an apron she is embroidering. Mrs. Ford gave it to her to encourage Addy improve her sewing skills. It definitely worked; Addy learned a lot about needlework along the way! Momma helped her with some of the more complex decorative stitches.
Addy realizes needlework is fun when she gets to make something pretty and practical for herself.... and of course, when Momma is nearby.
She stores her sewing needles in this elegant little book, also given to her by Mrs. Ford. It ties closed in a dainty blue bow.
Working by bright lamplight instead of candlelight makes sewing easy as well as fun. Addy still remembers the nights she and Momma lived in the cold garret above the dress shop, and how Momma had to sew by the dim glow of a small candle. How blessed her family is now to have so much.
Addy's apron, needle book, and lamp were made by me, modeled after the original set in Addy's retired collection.
In Addy's Surprise, Mrs. Ford does indeed give Addy an apron to practice her stitches on. This set was sold as a kit that could really be embroidered. And the oil lamp also figures into the story.
I did all the embroidery on the apron without a pattern. I looked at a picture of the finished product, and just hoped for the best and started stitching! The needle book is a printed image of the actual item. I cut around it on the fold, so it does open, and there's a slit on the opposite side of the fold for it to be tied shut with a piece of ribbon.
The lamp is a combination of a few random bits.
I found the glass jar at a thrift store, while I was specifically looking for small glass containers to be the bulb of the lamp. The wick inside is a small piece of cotton. I put superglue on the end and used tweezers to put it inside. The base of the lamp is three container lids (from a jar of yeast, a baby food jar, and a prescription drug bottle) glued to each other and painted gold. In the above picture I removed the aluminum can lid that serves as that circular thingy at the back. It's attached to the lamp base with a paperclip.
Like the original, my lamp does not actually light up! Instead I just edited the pictures to make it look lit.
