A story about a machine (and women)
I loved sewing as a teen, and majored in it in high school. Then, I literally forgot about it. Uni, moving out of home (no machine), work, travel, life…
A few years ago, I inherited grandma’s 1947 Singer. Grandma passed away last year, and would have been 100 this October.
Actually, I think of her every time I think about sewing machines.
Let’s not get the truth in the way of nostalgia though. This machine was a workhorse and grandma and mum sewed clothes on this machine for decades, out of necessity. They both enjoyed the creative process, but for their generation, unless you had the dosh for a dressmaker, you made your own clothes.
This machine is responsible for mum’s school uniforms, girl guide uniforms… aprons, curtains… you name it. In fact, mum sewed her og wedding dress on this machine! I’ll pop some images of these creations in a future post.
The Singer is a heavy beast, and these days, a little cranky. I sewed Rosie’s first quilt on it, but after a couple more projects I got equally cranky and invested in a Bernina.
When I pull my finger out, get it serviced and have a tinker, I think it’ll come good. Perfect for straight lines, quilting my sandwiches together, and heavyweight stuff! I see it one day, set up in my sewing room, for some regular muscle.
Let’s not ever underestimate the Singer. Remember, wedding dress. Mum says it’s killer with organza, you just gotta get the needle right!
There was only one ever capture of the 4 generations talked about in this post, below 💗
