use. reuse. and fanboy surprise.

"nothing lasts forever.

but the thing is,

you can reuse some."

-rick riordan, leo's mother, the lost hero

nestled in the bottom of community's work basket are tons of almost forgotten scraps. slumbering peacefully away. until now.  i can't let them find their way to the waste basket...or lay idle for too long.  so i have embarked upon a new quilt journey.  while being comprised of cast off scraps from community, i think it will need its own name. it's own story. i'm not sure what that will be as yet. perhaps they will begin to whisper more clearly as more blocks are created.

these diminutive blocks are a mere 4" and are based upon a block from Quilted Moose.  one of several in Louise's garden sew-along. i fell in love with this one block, however, and have decided to create an entire quilt out of it...with 3/4" sashing and corner blocks between each.  it will pull solely from scraps from community.  

instead of sequestering myself in the sewing studio at my treadle, as is my usual behavior, i wanted to watch some television programs while i stitched, so i pulled out my "new" 1965 Bernina 730 Record Zig Zag machine. i found this machine (born the same year i was, so it's not that terrible old. ha!) languishing away on a sale table in a local charity shop with a meager $22.50 price tag. 

this lovely old machine came with all of its original papers (including bill of sale), all of its original accessories, several extra accessories, sewing deck, an immaculate case (original) and two original keys!

after brushing the dust away and giving the machine a good oiling, i set it up to begin to sew...and then i realized: there's no foot control pedal! ack!  so before putting it away and getting out my other "new" machine (the brother i talked about in an earlier post), i went looking online for a replacement foot control. then it hit me: this machine has no foot control.  it is a dedicated knee control machine!  i'd heard about these knee control bernina's before, but being a die-hard pfaff fanboy (at least, when it comes to new new machines) i never gave it much thought.  always figured they were talking about a knee lift bar.  ha! you learn something new everyday! after a little playtime, i'm rather fascinated by this knee control.  it's especially nice when sitting on the davenport and sewing on my antique fold away table. no foot pedal to migrate away and be chased after! so i guess i can't pooh-pooh bernina's anymore...now that i own one and actually really like it!  though, don't expect to see me replacing my computerized pfaff anytime soon, cuz i'm still a pfaff fanboy!

namaste'

an untrue story?

"if history

is any indication,

all truths will 

eventually

turn out

to be 

false."

-dean kamen

"the untrue story of ship's manor"... how can you not be drawn in and enamored by an introductory line like this??  erik shipley, the mind and talent behind this untrue story of ship's manor, creates the most exquisitely hand-dyed cotton and silk threads that you could ever dream of needle chanting with! my very first selection of his threads arrived this afternoon and i've been stitching away with them all evening. they are a delight! so vibrant and full of energy!  now, as you know, i've never been much for flosses and silks, preferring rather to throw in with the more substantial wildflower threads from caron. however, these sumptuous strands of erik's have carried me away on gossamer wings into a rich landscape of stitching pleasures! of course, this means, naturally, that you simply must have some, too!

meanwhile, on the other side of the needle, meet my new old friend: a 1964 brother 300 deluxe push button zig zag sewing machine! this sexy little number, dressed to the nines in apricot and deepest charcoal, followed me home for a local charity shop. now, i won't be so ungentlemanly as to call her cheap, but she was as easy on the wallet as she is on the eyes, let me tell you.  included in her travel valise are all of her original accessories, original foot pedal, original manual & warranty card, and her original bill of sale. in a society that seems to worship nothing but vintage singers, it is always a joy to find a gem like this one quietly shining her light beneath a basket. she sews like a dream and has obviously been treasured for years and will now be treasured for many more to come! who says other machines can't sing? i have a whole choir in my sewing room, and only a few of them are singers!

namaste'

a most amazing thing

this amazing new concept sewing machine created by british designer, sarah dickens, is the most amazing innovation in sewing machines i have yet to see.  if and when the alto hits the market, i will be camped out over night to be the first in line to get mine! (my mom will be rolling her eyes right about now as i have more sewing machines than i currently know what to do with...but this beauty is a piece of art and functional delight)

in an interview, dickens says, "i want to encourage people to have fun recycling and customizing their own clothes, rather than throwing them away."  where do i sign up??  shortlisted for the dyson award in 2012, though i have not been able to find any further info on this marvelous machine, i am hoping against hope that she finds a manufacturer and the machine hits the market soon. i can already see a myriad of applications for fiber artists and quilters alone....not to mention for me! ha!

namaste'

say hello to my little friend

i've been accused of owning too many sewing machines. but i simply couldn't resist adding one more to my arsenal. i have always wanted one of these little singer featherweight machines but just never seemed to come across one that i just couldn't live without (i.e., one that was actually affordable!). then one day i was lurking around the back alleys of ebay when i found a little beauty that was still sitting at $150 with only 8 minutes to go. sure, he was a little dirty (but hey, i have lots of elbow grease for that) and he was missing a few of his attachments (a quick excavation in the treadle machine's drawers turned out quite a few 221 attachments) and he still have 8 minutes to go. if you have ever travelled through ebay, then you know a lot can happen in 8 minutes. so, with nervous fingers, i punched in a bid of $175.52 and held my breath.

okay...so i didn't actually hold my breath. i walked away and assumed i would not get it since most of these machines sell for upwards of $350. imagine my surprise and delight when my smart phone dinged and informed me that i was the proud new daddy of my very own little featherweight!

he arrived today and i quickly set to work with that elbow grease and got him all spiffed up. he runs like a dream, so no adjustments were needed there! i look forward to a long and adventurous relationship! now i just have to figure out his name...

namaste'

a treadle and a crank

i've been asked to whisper a little more about my treadle  machine and why it has such a prominent place in my heart when it comes to sewing machines. if you know me at all, then you know that i have too many sewing machines. ha! is there such a thing? actually, it isn't as bad as it sounds. i know people who literally have hundreds of machines and don't think twice about it. however, i prefer to live smaller than that and would have no place to sleep if i had that many machines. at last count, i believe it was only 6 or 7 machines, ranging from a high-end, newfangled computerized pfaff on down to a little toy singer lock stitch machine!

one of my "go to" machines is an old treadle singer machine that has travelled half way across the world to live with me.  i purchased it at a yard sale in duarte a couple decades or so ago from a woman who purchased it in cairo several years before immigrating to california.  it was originally made in england, according to serial number records and has a lovely sphinx decal set. when i purchased it, it had been set into a reproduction treadle stand as the previous owner had to replace the original after it fell over in one of many earthquakes in that area and had become damaged. i have since acquired a wonderful, vintage oak cabinet and relocated the treasured machine into happy new digs!

i really enjoy sewing with my treadle machine as there is something nearly mystical about it. the rhythmic rock of the treadle is soothing and the hiss hiss of the leather belt turning the wheel is near hypnotic.  this machine and i have a long history together as it first came to live with me back in the 80's when i was making artist teddy bears. many a bear has come to life under its wondrous needles. since then, it has helped me create dolls, quilts, rugs, costumes and clothes. now it focuses on slow cloth and salvage re-invention garments.

one of the benefits of sewing with a treadle machine is that thicker, tougher fabrics can be sewn in many layers! since you are basically stepping on the needle by stepping on the treadle, so long as you have a good strong needle in place, you can really push through some of the thickest layers of denim, duck and canvas!

yes, yes. i could sew more quickly with the computerized machine. i could incorporate several hundred decorative stitches. my studio could be filled with the brassy beep beep of electronics. in truth, it is...but usually only when burning out a baby quilt or other gift that needs to appear post haste!  but my heart stays with the treadle. as i rock its gears into play, i can almost hear it whisper stories of past dressmakers and designers it and its forebears has known... there really is no substitute for this sort of connection, and this way i get to utilize the tool known as a sewing machine, but still feel a close tie to history.

however, if you would like to meet my deepest desire when it comes to sewing machines...then you want to shake cranks with this little gem! this baby is a treadle machine that has been mounted into a bentwood portable cabinet and fitted with a hand crank. now...i can already hear the groans as you begin contemplating the nature of this machine and its operation. coordination?!? you mean, you have to be coordinated?!?

yes. you do need to develop a little coordination to work this machine since you must crank the wheel with one hand while directing the cloth being sewn with the other hand. but it really isn't as complicated as it sounds. believe me...i am not one who can pat his head and rub his belly at the same time...but this machine truly is a breeze to operate!

why would i want to jump through so many hoops to sew with a hand cranked machine? it is as near to hand stitching as one can get with a sewing machine. it is extremely accurate as you have complete control of the machine. as well as it speeds the sewing process up a bit...

ever wonder how the kuna indians of panama turn out so many wondrous molas? yes, a great many of them are done as they have been traditionally created...each painstakingly hand-stitched!

however, they are not always stitched by hand. hand cranked sewing machines have been around for over 100 years and they have been put to good use by the kuna indians, chinese, malaysians, indonesians, europeans, eurasians and more!

lest you think that reverse applique by hand crank machines is an anomaly, the treadle machine has a long, time honored tradition of being used by masterfully skilled hands (and feet!) of embroiderers across the globe! i have seen amazing examples of traditional clothing bathed in embroidery that would boggle the mind when one stops and realizes that it was all created by hand....on a machine!

read one woman's recollections of her grandmother's "precision, control and skill in manouevring her embroidery hoops back and forth under the steady up-down-up-down of the [old treadle] machine needle" (and see other examples along with examples of hand-manipulated cut-work embroidery done on treadle machines) on her blog here. i dream of one day developing a fraction of the skill her grandmother had!



still can't believe it? watch a treadle machine in action here!

i hope now you may understand my passion for remembering and re-incorporating sewing machines into the process of cloth-making. when we are able to shift our perception and realize that the machine is merely another tool, then all sorts of possibilities open up to us! i personally tend more toward manually operated machines such as the treadle and hand crank machines since i feel i still have total control over the stitches i am making with the machines. however, i am open to the possibility that more modern, electric and computerized machines are simply another extension of these tools. but for now, i am loving my treadle and hand crank machines all over again!

namaste'