Adventures in Sewing

I have owned 5 sewing machines. My first was a White machine. It did straight stitch, zigzag, and if you held your mouth right, a blind hem. It had a buttonholer, but I never really got along with it. I bought it with the proceeds of a summer working as a camp counsellor. The machine weighed a ton, and I lugged it with me, to university and on my coop job placements, unless I had to use the plane to get to my placement. I used it to sew my clothes, including numerous formals and bridesmaid dresses. We were very close.

When I was a woman of independent means, I bought a Beaumark machine. It was much lighter then the White, and it had electronic speed control. When you stepped on the foot pedal, it started to sew. I used it to make baby clothes, children's clothes, costumes for my kids Halloweens and theatrical endeavors. I actually wore it out.

I added a White serger to my collection, when knit fabrics were popular. I made track suits and t-shirts, as well as 1 hour shorts. It still lives in my sewing room and serves me well, though not as often as it used to,

I then made the big plunge and replaced the Beaumark with a computerized Husqavarna. I was assured that I would not wear it out as easily. I enjoy it thoroughly. It does everything I would want a sewing machine to do. It even has an alphabet.  The only thing it doesn't do well, is handling thick fabric. This is a bit of a problem when bag making.

A couple of years ago, I found this machine, filthy dirty, at the church jumble sale.

It was originally priced at $25. Then some volunteer looked at it, declared it was a featherweight and that it was very valuable, so they changed the price to $150. I realized it was not a featherweight (the thing weighs a ton), so I volunteered to research a price. It is a Singer 15-91. According to the historic singer websites it was built in 1939, and sadly, for the church, its value is $25-$50. Armed with this information, I went back and bought it for $50. They were willing to take the original $25, but it was for charity, I paid $50.  It is a direct drive machine, which should take heavy fabrics well.

Last winter, my husband took the motor apart and got it running much more smoothly. Today, I plan to take it for a test drive, quilting the tree skirt that got lost over Christmas, when things in life went wrong. I figure that quilting the skirt in February guarantees that it will be ready for next Christmas.

Meanwhile, I finished my first sample bag for the course I am teaching.

I think it turned out well.

It has a zipper in the top.

Pockets on the inside, including one for your name badge.

The lining is a piece of "What was I thinking?" out of my stash.

The pockets are cut from more patches from the scrap of Laurel Burch.