Addison Embroidery
at the
Vicarage

Building block monogram: a baptismal present for a baby boy (hand embroidered by Mary Addison)

When I’m planning a baptismal embroidery for a baby boy I always chew on my pencil much more than designing for anyone else. It would be nice to make something which they still find fascinating aged 5, 10 or 15 – a lot to ask. So no bunnies, lambs, dinosaurs or tractors; in fact let’s forget anything figurative and head straight for the abstract. The fact that what initially inspired me were textiles (Josef Frank) and jewellery (Josef Hoffmann) is neither here nor there and if you don’t tell, I won’t. Anyway the finished piece reminds me much more of my grandson’s building blocks with a few slightly architectural squiggles thrown in, so I’ll settle for that.

Building block monogram: a baptismal present for a baby boy (hand embroidered by Mary Addison)

Embroideries like this are great fun to do as you can just make up the shapes as you go along. Choosing colours is interesting too as less is definitely more. I’m always tempted to use lots of bright colours but have learnt that half-colours like grey, khaki, stone – and dare I say it beige –  provide the best setting in which just a few bright colours have a greater impact. Perhaps I have used too much red in my embroidery. I am, however, quite proud that I restrained myself with turquoise which I used only twice.

Building block monogram: a baptismal present for a baby boy: detail (hand embroidered by Mary Addison)

The subtle use of the smallest blob of red pigment has a great history. Constable understood its judicious use as a means of directing the viewer’s eye. In the Hay Wain of 1821 for example, he gave the horses in the middle of the picture a red harness to attract our attention (though they were more likely to have been brown leather). In other of his paintings there are often several small patches of the colour – a man’s jacket, a woman’s skirt, a red scarf  which help direct our gaze and mind to move around and explore the painting.

Building block monogram: a baptismal present for a baby boy: detail (hand embroidered by Mary Addison)

But in 1832, Constable was himself to be trumped by a blob of red paint – even worse,  a last minute blob of red applied by his arch rival J.M.W. Turner. One year older than Constable, Turner was made a full fellow of the Royal Academy while still a young man of 27 in 1802; Constable had to wait until another 27 years for the same accolade. There was much bitterness in this for Constable.

Building block monogram: a baptismal present for a baby boy: detail (hand embroidered by Mary Addison)

Varnishing day at the Royal Academy and Constable revealed one of his six footer canvases. He had worked on ‘The Opening of Waterloo Bridge’ for about 10 years and he was confident that it would be well received and reinforce his reputation. Varnishing day for Turner was usually spent extensively painting or repainting his canvases but this time his rather low-key seascape (Helvoetsluys, Dutch ships in a gale) appeared finished … and somewhat pedestrian. Turner must have found it rather anaemic too for he fetched his paints and low down in the middle of the raging sea applied that infamous blob of red paint. (Closer inspection reveals it to be a red buoy).

Building block monogram: a baptismal present for a baby boy: detail (hand embroidered by Mary Addison)

The viewer is now sucked into the picture via the red buoy and the composition has become vibrant and energised. I don’t see this myself but as Constable  took it very badly – “He (Turner) has been here and fired a gun” – who am I to spoil a good story. (And the excellent high point to a not quite so excellent Mike Leigh film -‘Mr Turner’ which was very beautiful in a somewhat ambling, unfocused way, I thought.) So, perhaps the moral of the tale is never underestimate the timely use of emphasis or a well placed manicule – but also don’t overuse them either.

Building block monogram: a baptismal present for a baby boy (hand embroidered by Mary Addison)

Building block monogram: a baptismal present for a baby boy (hand embroidered by Mary Addison)

Strawberry &mascarpone biscuits with white chocolate button topping

English strawberries have been very good this year with an intense characteristic sweetness and a medley of subtle flavour changes in the eating, from first bite through mastication, so I thought I’d try a strawberry biscuit. Now, I’ve never quite understood the notion of strawberry shortcake as both biscuit and fruit seem a bit too unyielding towards each other – and you really have to use cream to effect a marriage. This would never work for a church biscuit as it would need much too much in the way of hand-eye coordination, concentration and concern for clothing to ever let us get on with chatting and its accompanying gesticulations (today of arms flung out in amazement, accompanied by hugging as yet more and more grandchildren in utero are announced  – 2  this week and one last!).

So, in search of a much softer textured biscuit, I turned to the recipe for strawberry  ricotta biscuits in Miranda Gore Browne‘s book Biscuit.  Necessity caused ricotta to be exchanged for mascarpone as this was all I could find 8.30 pm last night in S.Oxfordshire. I also grabbed a packed of white chocolate buttons to put on top as I don’t care for an a iced topping , albeit one laced with a couple of puréed strawberries. Biscuit production was ably assisted by daughter No 3 who was in consequence  forgiven for not having planted out my delphiniums while I was in London. These biscuits are soft and cake like.

110 g unsalted butter cubed and softened

200 g golden caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

seeds from 1 vanilla pod (optional)

1 egg

225 g ricotta/mascapone cheese

250 g SR flour

1/4 tsp salt

125 g strawberries (wiped clean, not washed) and chopped

more  strawberries cut in half to decorate or  a packet of white chocolate buttons

Strawberry &mascarpone biscuits with white chocolate button topping

This recipe made over 30 largish biscuits. I lined 2 trays with non-stick baking paper and cooked them in 2 batches.

 Preheat oven to 180°/160° fan oven/Gas Mark 4 and line  baking trays.

Cream the butter and sugar with the vanilla extract and seeds until light and fluffy – about 2 minutes in a mixer. Beat in the egg and fold in the cream cheese. Mix to combine. Sift the dry ingredients and fold into the mixture. Finally, fold in the chopped strawberries.

Place dollops of the mixture on the prepared trays, spacing them 3-4 cm apart. If you are adding strawberry halves/slices add them now and bake for 10-15 minutes. If you are adding white chocolate drops, bake for c.8 minutes, then add the chocolate drops and bake for up 2-7 minutes more. (I put my chocolate drops on too soon and they went a bit brown.)

Let biscuits cool on the baking tray for 10 mins and then lift off with a palette knife and cool further on a wire rack.

Strawberry &mascarpone biscuits with white chocolate button topping

For fresh strawberry and almond blondies to see you though Wimbledon fortnight, see end of the post for cherry and almond blondies.

I must share with you a small note of triumph as at last, with daughter No 3 in residence, I have found out how to do a ° instead of spelling it out every time. Yipee. Such little advances, yet so much pleasure.