Sewing - the journey so far

This whole journey started when I realised it will be thirty years this year since my mum passed away.  She to me was the epitome of sewing.  My goodness she could have taught Esme and Patrick a thing or two. She was born in 1935 so was a 1950's women.  She was only little well under 5ft and the suits and dresses she had made all of which had a handbag and shoes to match. Then she had us four girls so her attentions turned to making outfits for us more than herself, although in the 1970's Dinner & Dances were a big thing. She always made her dresses which usually had to be full length so not something she could have bought off the peg with being so short, she always joked that the amount she would have to take off the bottom would make an outfit for one of us, but her dresses were stunning and to us she was always the belle of the ball.  

I had been having this conversation with a lady at our crafting group who is also a very accomplished sewer and can turn her hand to anything.  She is currently making scrubs for the medics. I was telling her how I had learned to use a machine at school but it was one of those with a handle. She was telling me she had one in her loft if ever I fancied having ago with it for old time sake.  I decided  I would quite fancy having a go. After all if I have to turn a handle I could keep control of the speed and what could possibly go wrong. 

On the day I went to collect it she asked me whether I wanted to take the vintage machine or whether I would like to go straight for an electric sewing machine.  I think she could see the horror on my face of all the what ifs especially the old god what if I break it face. Anyway she reassured me that she would spend an hour with me going through the rudiments of the machine and that I shouldn't worry as this particular machine had been given to her by someone no longer in need of it and she doesn't use it so it would be good for someone to have it up and running. So hence I got to meet little Melodie Singer.  

After my hour of going over the basics I was sent home with Melodie and the instruction manual.  Now I'm not normally good at reading instructions but as Melodie wasn't mine I did go through the manual like a good girl and I even got to see the original receipt of £169 from 1989 that is stapled in the front. By the end of the first afternoon I had even filled a bobbin, loaded the bobbin and threaded the needle and was ready to start sewing.

I can tell you, as I wouldn't dare show you, that in the beginning even sewing a straight line was a bit of a battle but eventually things started to improve. 

Since that time I have been playing around having ago at making little projects. The first of which was this little bag made out of an old sheet I even lined it too and it was the perfect size to keep Melodie's pedal and leads in so everywhere she goes in the future my little bag will go too.

You will remember that I wanted to make something for the lady who has loaned me her machine to say thank you and it was back in the beginning of March that I made my Let's Sew Cushion 

It was after I presented it to her that we got talking about learning new things and we arranged to meet up so that she could show me how to make a French Seam or as we call them French Sean's as predictive text kept changing the wording. 

This turned out to be an invaluable lesson as it wasn't long after this that Covid 19 really started to take a hold in Europe and we had started to get cases here in the UK and before we knew it we were on lock down with restrictions on travel put in place. It soon became evident that a lot of support was going to be needed for our NHS front line staff with shortages of scrubs and scrub bags to take their scrubs or uniforms home in so that they could put them straight into the washing machine meaning they didn't have to remove anything from the bag and could contain any chance of the virus being transferred to their homes.

It was at this point my kitchen turned into an episode of The Rag Trade 

Having gone through our old duvet covers I soon had my first batch of bags made, washed on the line ready for pressing and bagging to gift to my colleagues at work.  

Poor D has become a bit of a sewing widow as every opportunity and I am sat at this little machine and by Easter  I had reached forty bags. 

It was at this point I was a little worried that I was putting a little too much pressure on little Melodie Singer as she is quite an old lady, she is almost as old as my eldest son.  

Now I have been looking at machines for myself and there is so much choice out there these days with Janome and Brother etc.... but my mum and grandmother always had Singer machines. Now whether that was because there were wasn't too many other brands around in the sixties and seventies I don't know but I suppose I wanted to keep to a Singer because of them.  I had showed D many Singer sewing machines from basic machines to one that does everything but make the tea.  When I have talked to my sewing friends about it the one piece of advice they kept giving me was to buy the machine for the sewer you aspire to be not the sewer you are now.

It was whilst I was sewing away the afternoon on Easter Monday that D came into the kitchen to make us a cup of tea as I do tend to get a little engrossed and forget to have one.  He was asking all sorts of questions about a particular machine we had been looking at and at the end of which announced that for all my efforts in making the bags for my colleagues that he had gone ahead and ordered me a brand new machine.  I thought he was joking at first but no he wasn't and I promptly burst into tears. I'm not sure that was the reaction he was looking for. And look its arrived. He'd even taken note of the go for the machine for the sewer you aspire to be speech. She does make lots R2D2 noises when you switch her on but didn't think that was quite an appropriate name for her and she has to be a she doesn't she. I wonder if men that sew think of their machines as male or female or may be they don't think of them as anything other than a sewing machine. I had messaged my friend with a photo and said I would have to think of a really good name for her as I foresee that we were going to be great friends and having lots of fun together and straight away she came back with you better call her 'Pearl'  having had a busy day at work I was a bit slow and asked why Pearl to which she replied because 'Pearls a Singer'  brilliant I thought and so that is her name. 

She's got lots of fancy stitches for me to learn in the fullness of time. And as you can see I have a little light reading to do going through the manual. Although to be fare for every page their is three or four pages in other languages so if I take those out it will slim it down a bit. I am also one of those annoying people who like those little stickers that you can attach to a page so that you can go straight to it so before long it will be all colour coded. 

For now she has become a brilliant asset as she has a threader and an automatic cutter, so I won't spend an age trying to thread the needle or waste cotton when finishing off. 

Of course she's had to have her own little bag to keep her pedal and leads in for when she is tucked away or for when she goes travelling after lock down.  There are already sewing dates with my friends being planned,  so they can share their invaluable knowledge and hints, tips and know how. 

This was some of the leftover fabric that the lady who lent me Melodie gave me for bags.  Its called Autumn Leaves and it 100% cotton and those of my colleagues who have received one of these love the colours and I have to say I agree with them.  

and of course this one had to be lined and have French Sean's and of course I had to finish it off with its own sugar bag bottom to prove I have learnt these skills and I am putting them to good use.

And what of little Melodie I hear you ask. Well she's still here but she is having a well deserved rest and is now sitting on the bottom of the dresser until she can be returned.  I will miss her as she has been a good teacher in helping me learn and improve my technique.

I think I have waffled on enough for one morning I will get around to making a post that shows you the projects I have worked on with Melodie over the last two months.

Thanks for stopping by I hope you enjoyed your cup of tea and a biscuit as we approach the end of week 5 of Covid 19 lockdown. 

Stay Safe

Mx