My New Obsession

Biking around the streets of Corvallis, looking at houses for my parents to rent, Dale and I stumbled across a free sewing machine. My dream come true. And even better, it is a Wheeler and Wilson D-9, late 1800s treadle machine in a cabinet. It is absolutely amazing. It's not in great condition but I love it anyway. We took the car back and loaded it in the back seat (we really need a truck, that thing was heavy and awkward).
When we got it home and put it on the deck we pulled out the laptops and started searching for information about the old machine. During my search I found out that Allen B. Wilson was a sewing machines pioneer and all of us sewers have him to thank for the wonders of our modern machines. He created the rotary hook and bobbin combination and four-motion feed that moves the fabric through the machine automatically. In 1905, Singer bought out Wheeler and Wilson and continued some of their lines as late as the 1960s. Wilson never got much money from his patents, definitely no where near what Singer is making on their franchise, but he will go down in history with die-hard sewers and machine hunters.

The other thing I discovered in my online searches was a Singer Featherweight 222K. Of course I know about Featherweights. After all, I learned to sew on my mom's brilliant 1950s machine before getting my own. But I didn't know about the Featherweight 222K. And know that I do know about them, I really want one. The problem is, only 100,000 were ever made (compare that over 1,000,000 Featherweight 221s made between 1948 and 1959) and their scarcity means they are pricey. Especially since they are still very useful machines.
The free arm cousin of the Featherweight 221s were made in Killbowie, Scotland and not only is it a convertible machine that has a tubular bed that is perfect for shirt cuffs, but the feed-dog can be lowered for free form sewing, a huge plus to quilters. So for now, since I am broke, I will keep my eye out on these wonderful little machines in hopes of one day using my own.

Thrist Store Finds...

It's been a LOOOOONG time once again! And again, I can blame school and work. Over spring break, I had my first field geology experience in the Mojave Preserve and it was a blast. Last week was spring camp at the Fleet, and this week I have no excuse really for not posting anything. I have been crafting this past week and created some eco-friendly dry snack bags (more on that later), discovered a new craft (also more on that later), and am finishing a dragon tie belt project (once again, more on that later). During my lunch break yesterday I went to my favorite thrift store in North Park and hit the jack pot on seam binding, biased tapes, piping, twill tape, and other sewing goodies. I did forget to grab the cute little oval embroidery hoop but maybe it will be there next time. The seam binding was the perfect find for my eco-friendly snack bags and was a much cheaper buy than the craft store and is using (almost) upcycled materials.
One of the other goodies is a sewing machine light bulb that fits my Singer Featherweight.
Ironically enough, the light just now blew on the Singer Featherweight. Good thing I got one at the thrift store. Let's hope it works so I can finish my dragon tie belt. That is (hopefully) going to be my next post.
Happy Crafting,
Cerise : )

P.S.
I started this post from end to beginning out of my humor for the blown light bulb. The new light bulb won't fit in my machine!!! So so sad. Off to the craft store after all!

Sewing as Poetry

One of my other art outlets is poetry. I had a reading at a local bookstore last weekend so was consumed with rewriting. I also wrote this (not my best, but apropos):

Learning to Sew on a 1954 Singer Featherweight

I.
First year 4-H, make a scarf and a handkerchief:
use an iron without getting burned;
stitch a straight seam on the sewing machine;
pivot and sew another straight line,
pink with shears (so as not to cut through
the seam that you just sewed). Tie a knot.

Second year, sew a practical apron:
learn how to gather a seam,
bunch the fabric for an attractive pouf;
learn to sew on pockets—
presumably for handkerchiefs
when weeping in the kitchen.

By the fifth year make a lined,
formal dress. Do not plan
on wearing it to the prom.
The color will be garish,
the left breast will sag.
You will stop sewing for 20 years.

II.
I am mesmerized by the needle
dipping in and out of the fabric,
ten, twelve stitches per inch,
a locking line of thread
linking two pieces together.

None of the other stuff, before
or after, interests me:

agonizing over choices of fabric,
pre-washing the cloth, ironing,
measuring, pinning, cutting patterns,
winding the bobbin, threading the needle.

The smell of the machine oil
and the whir of the wheel
keeps me sewing, anything
with long, straight lines.

Theresa, Poetmama

Featherweight 2

All righty, after a long, frustrating attempt to blog last night and lacking a picture of my wonderful Singer, here is my blog-in-a-better-mood. My mom taught me to sew and read patterns when I was a wee child (I don't really remember when we started sewing but I do remember the funny grey flannel pants we made when I was in 8th grade). I also remember we sewed a lot of 90s scrunchies, possibly for a sofball team. There are still retro memorries of those floating around the fabric bins. I became more avid of a sewer, not better but more excited to sew, in high school. Don't be jealous of the dress mom, the sleeves ripped off. When I moved out of the house and into a pad with my beau, I wanted my own machine. So I found a pretty good deal on one at Ebay (these suckers are expensive!) and got it with minimal plug damage (sad about it but I still have the peices I can glue onto it). Since then I have been sewing a few clothing items, including a pumpkin outfit for the Tiva the chihuahua, and lots of plushies that I sell on Etsy and to friends. I don't get enough alone time with her but when I do I relish it. I am still figuring out how all the doodads work with the machine (I love the pleater and zipper foot!). This is the most wonderful item I own and I can't imagine my life without it. I have a new digital machine (to be introduced in a later post) that I enjoy but I am so comfortable on my Singer Featherwieght (221!) that I use my other machine for making pretty stiches and such. I have too much fun editing my photos with picnik and I tried to give it an aged feeling, but there is my machine! And since I have some spare time and the cat and pig aren't bugging me, I am off to tackle a pile of elephant parts!
Happy crafting,
Cerise : )