The Forgotten Seamstress and Patchwork Tea Sandwiches

 I’m joining The Novel Bakers with

The Forgotten Seamstress by Liz Trenow:

 A tale of royal intrigue, forbidden love, and long-held secrets surrounding a beautiful patchwork quilt. . .

A gripping tale spanning three generations, The Forgotten Seamstress by Liz Trenow, unravels the intertwined stories of a modern-day London designer struggling to make ends meet, and a remarkable young seamstress employed by the royal household in the early twentieth century. Their lives are bound by a beautiful and mysterious quilt with secrets stitched into every seam. . .

Decades later, Caroline Meadows discovers a beautiful quilt in her mother’s attic, passed down from her grandmother.

As luck would have it, I have a quilt passed down from my grandmother, whose origins are a little ambiguous, my Grandmother’s Flower Garden Quilt. . .

The quilter’s identity is uncertain but thought to have been my grandmother’s friend and neighbor, painstakingly made with thousands of stitches and mini blooming hexagons . . .

“One of my pieces was the start of a patchwork. I’d only finished a couple of dozen hexagons as yet, but I was pleased with the way it was shaping up. . .”

For a little Novel Baking,

I pieced together some tea sandwiches

at the mention of sandwiches along with the

many references to tea in the book. . .

 Made with a patchwork of cucumber,

thinly sliced radishes, and strawberries,

for Patchwork Tea Sandwiches.

Use a mandoline to make thin slices or strips

from an English or seedless cucumber, radishes

 and strawberries (large strawberries work best).

Drain the slices on paper towels to absorb any excess moisture. I used a vegetable cream cheese spread on Pepperidge Farm Very Thin Bread for the tea sandwiches. 

Place strips/slices on top of cream cheese spread, overlapping slightly and pressing down gently. Trim crusts of bread and slice sandwiches in half.

Garnish with edible flowers (pesticide free) and herbs. I used  violas, flowering thyme, chives, parsley and a couple of sprigs  of lavender that were just starting to bloom.

Patchwork (noun)

a. Work consisting of pieces of cloth of various colors and shapes sewn together.

b. Something composed of miscellaneous or incongruous parts.

“My quilt panel was complete, and I finished a beautiful border of pieced lozenge-shaped hexagons, in silks and satins, that would hold the secret of my love, hidden forever.”

“I stitched my love into this quilt, sewn it neatly, proud and true. Though you have gone, I must live on, and this will hold me close to you.”

Brew yourself a cuppa and find more about

The Forgotten Seamstress along with a free download

for a pattern of Maria’s quilt on Liz Trenow’s website.

 “Liz Trenow sews together the strands of past and present as delicately as the exquisite stitching on the quilt that forms the centerpiece of the story.”

—Lucinda Riley, author of The Orchid House

Visit Jain and Michael Lee

to see what they cooked up

for The Forgotten Seamstress:

 a quiet life

Rattlebridge Farm

Thank you for your visit, also sharing at:

Metamorphosis Monday