Photographs of pink dress and purse with black machine embroidery

Abstract

Photographs of pink dress with black machine embroidery and matching purse. “When Adrian bought me a new Singer machine on the 22nd July 1967, I sat down and made ten aprons for gifts, a white dress with green spots … and a pink satin evening frock, covering the entire bodice in black fancy stitching done on the machine. I wasn’t satisfied with all that, so then I sewed (by hand) tiny black beads all over the stitching. You can see that I’m a glutton for perfection, but nothing tried, nothing achieved.” (Marjorie Bligh). “Marjorie Bligh is Tasmania’s queen of the household scene. Often referred to as “Australia’s Mrs Beeton” or “Tasmania’s Mrs Beeton”, she was born Marjorie Pearsall, in 1917, in the Tasmanian midlands township of Ross. In her self-styled career as a housewife superstar, she married three times and produced six books on cooking, home economics, craft, history and gardening. She published her signature household manual under all three of her married names: Marjorie Blackwell, Marjorie Cooper and Marjorie Bligh. A pioneer recycler, Marjorie has for several decades been renowned for her spirited campaign against useful resources being poured into landfill. Famous for never wasting a thing, she has converted thousands of used pantyhose and plastic shopping bags into reusable items. It has long been rumoured that Marjorie was an inspiration for Barry Humphries’ Dame Edna Everage. Marjorie lives in Devonport in a house that incorporates a small museum where she displays her handcrafts, scrapbooks and other treasures. She is 94 years old.” [Danielle Wood 2011]