In another life...
- Thread starter Zorba
- Start date
Suzanne Azhaar
Active member
Wow! That's impressive. Love old sewing machines. Congrats Zorba.
Shanazel
Moderator
Very cool! My sewing machine collection came about by accident over many years. I have my Janome, a 1970s Singer (my first machine), a 1940s Singer (my mom's), a Singer treadle (my grandmother's), and a New Automatic Treadle (my husband's grandmother's) plus a mystery portable machine that neither my husband nor I recall bringing into the relationship. I also have two working toy machines that do chain stitch.
Zorba
"The Veiled Male"
Like Shanazel, I got into sewing machine collecting by accident. It started with Belly Dance, of course. I needed to be able to do *some* sewing in self defense, so with the guidance of my dance teacher at the time, I bought my first machine, a 1976 White which is still my main machine. Then "somehow", others started trickling in, and I'm now up to 12 or 15 I think - including 3 chain stitchers. 2 are toys like Shanazel's, the other is a "real" machine that chainstitches. I have a serger too, which I use frequently. I have a particularly soft spot in my heart for Nationals.
For the curious, most of my collection is on my website at:
This new Singer and the toys aren't there yet...
For the curious, most of my collection is on my website at:
Zorba's Secret Sewing Machine Page!
www.doubleveil.net
This new Singer and the toys aren't there yet...
Shanazel
Moderator
If you aren't familiar with the site, cruise over to Pattern Review and check out the machine reviews and the forum discussions followed by sewing machine addicts. There's one thread about the most delusional prices for elderly and um, challenged sewing machines.
Shanazel
Moderator
It's the beat up, ground down, rusted out treadles that people ask the earth and sky for.
Zorba
"The Veiled Male"
Snort! That's funny!
Some of the troupes I've been in would have Stitch and Bitch sessions. We'd all get together and work on costumes. It was a LOT of fun!! Sometimes we all would bring our machines and work on our own costume. Other times, only a few would bring machines and we'd set up a production line. Some would be cutting, others sewing, others ironing, etc. I have one fond memory of one occasion of the latter where myself and a certain dance sister were the sewers, and we both ran out of bobbin thread at exactly the same time - and we both had similar choice words to say about the situation. We cracked ourselves up! Another time, myself and our eldest member were running the cutting table in the front room, while the troupe leader was serging in a back bedroom. Troupe leader sings out "I'm out of fabric in here!" - our eldest (a *very* proper Brit) yells back "Oh, just sit there and breathe in and out, you'll have more directly!". I stage whispered to her "Let's tell her (the troupe leader) that we cut it on the bias!". Eldest though that was funny, but troupe leader yells out of the back room, "I heard that!". Fun times. "Smart, like tractor."
Some of the troupes I've been in would have Stitch and Bitch sessions. We'd all get together and work on costumes. It was a LOT of fun!! Sometimes we all would bring our machines and work on our own costume. Other times, only a few would bring machines and we'd set up a production line. Some would be cutting, others sewing, others ironing, etc. I have one fond memory of one occasion of the latter where myself and a certain dance sister were the sewers, and we both ran out of bobbin thread at exactly the same time - and we both had similar choice words to say about the situation. We cracked ourselves up! Another time, myself and our eldest member were running the cutting table in the front room, while the troupe leader was serging in a back bedroom. Troupe leader sings out "I'm out of fabric in here!" - our eldest (a *very* proper Brit) yells back "Oh, just sit there and breathe in and out, you'll have more directly!". I stage whispered to her "Let's tell her (the troupe leader) that we cut it on the bias!". Eldest though that was funny, but troupe leader yells out of the back room, "I heard that!". Fun times. "Smart, like tractor."
Greek Bonfire
Well-known member
That's really cool. My mom hung on to her mom's vintage sewing machine (I think from the 1920s), but after my mom passed, I got rid of it - in pieces. It literally fell apart once I picked it up.