Mice at work

    Since we're talking about sewing, here are one or two of the beautiful illustrations from Beatrix Potter's The Tailor of Gloucester, a favourite of mine,

and if you've never seen the excellent animated version, the first part - with links to subsequent parts - is here, and let the story be a lesson to us not to entrust the shopping to a cat!

    Above: cornflowers on the mayor's wedding waistcoat, but "no more twist".

Comments

[Dark Puss]

What would you entrust a cat with?

I had a lovely wooden jigsaw puzzle with one of The Tailor of Gloucester illustrations, possibly the first one you show here.

[Cornflower]

Now, what are cats good for?
Guide cat? Search and rescue cat? Assistance cat? Sniffer cat?...
I rest my case.

[Dark Puss]

You have a rather low opinion of the usefulness of cats. They can make good models (but not very cooperative my muse tells me) and a number of other examples can be found at this site (sorry about its silly name!)

[B R Wombat]

The mice managed very well with no fittings - not like the Sewing Bee contestants.

[Cornflower]

True!

[Cornflower]

Never mind ornament, what about use?!

[Mr Cornflower]

In fairness to cats, and being scrupulously accurate with the text, the Tailor of Gloucester's cat - at some personal inconvenience - did get all the things asked for. He only withheld them in an understandable fit of pique on finding that the tailor had released all his captive mice from under the tea-cups. I suppose the moral is, cats are fine, but don't push your luck.

[MelD]

Oh yes, so sweet! Another one we have on video rather than DVD - the girls used to love it :) I think we had a jigsaw, too, as well as the book - apart from anything, the format of the Beatrix Potter books was so right for children, which is lost in all these "complete" editions etc.
We're making sure my little Swiss grandchildren don't grow up in ignorance, anyway!

[Cornflower]

You are too kind to that Simpkin - he did a mean thing. A dog, on the other hand, would not have borne a grudge.

[Cornflower]

It's wonderful that those books have been entertaining children (and the adults who read to them) for over a hundred years.

[Georgina]

Sorry I missed all this on the day. Dogs are really extensions of ourselves, aren't they? Cats do their own thing, and more power to their paws. My cat manipulates the dog (and me) quite blatently and successfully. Oh, and cats are useful for mousing, but alas it doesn't stop there - just like us?

[Liz Davey]

Ah, the animated version was one of our favourites and a friend and I, when we hear the Sussex Carol, always turn to one another and say "Tailor of Gloucester".

[Cornflower]

So do we!

[Cornflower]

"Dogs are extensions of ourselves" - you are right, Georgina.