Why Do I Need So Many Sewing Machines? And PURPLE Potatoes!

Well, Mother Nature sure is fooling us. We had already battened down the hatches and started preparing for normal November weather in Wisconsin. Instead, it's an absolutely gorgeous day and it's going to reach into the seventies!

Steve decided to take down my rain chain from the front porch. That way the upcoming ice and snow and freezing rain doesn't destroy it over the winter months. We will hang it up again next spring.

It is so nice out this morning that before 10:00 a.m. we were sitting out on the front porch. I took out the spinning wheel and we've spent some time just relaxing and sipping our coffee. Even filled our breakfast bowls with cereal and yogurt and fruit and came out to eat on the front porch. Dining El Fresco!

I have an INDOOR meeting at noon,

and I don't want to go! 

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The other day I got a package in the mail. A friend from Missouri sent me this beautifully hand stitched and quilted wall hanging. It's one little block for each month. It's all hand stitched and I really appreciate the work that goes into this. I don't do that kind of hand stitching.

I hung it for now in my kitchen next to the big pantry cabinet. But I do think I'm going to put it into the motorhome because I have a perfect spot there to put it too. 

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So on to my title topic....   Why Do I Need So Many Sewing Machines? 

Someone asked me that?? Well, is that kind of like asking a woodworker why he has so many saws or chisels? Or asking a mechanic why he has so many tools? Or asking a golfer why he has so many clubs in his bag? Each one really does kind of a specific job. 

I only have FIVE. 

The big Janome 1600p- DB is on a big quilting frame and that's what's used at high speeds to free motion my quilts. It attaches the pieced fabric tops by stitching down through the batting and into the backing to create the quilts which are moved on the big rollers. 

The smaller Janome 8077 is the one with all the fancy stitches if I need something zigzagged or zippers installed or any other fancy stuff. I got that from my friend Rosie, and I think of her each time I sew on it.

The old antique 1941 Singer 99-24 is from my grandmother, Olga Groop. She gave it to me about 30 years ago, and I was soooo pleased to be given it.  I use it to sew the triple folded hems on my heavy handwoven rugs. This sewing machine is a real workhorse and sewed anything from my grandfather's heavy duty mining clothes right down to my aunt's really beautiful prom dresses. 

The 1945 Singer Featherweight is a fun little easy portable machine that is a delight to sew on. I can take it in the motorhome or to quilting retreats and workshops.  I got it last year from a vendor in the Antique Village at the Escanaba State Fair. I call her "My Fair Lady." She is my go-to machine for doing quilt piecing or seams or borders.

And then there's the 1916 Franklin Treadle in the original parlor cabinet. This one was completely an impulsive buy earlier this summer. I didn't need it. But I really wanted it! I do enjoy the gentle rhythmic tickety tickety tickety of the treadle machine. There is something soothing about working on it and it brings about nostalgic memories of things in the past. My great-grandmother Anna Today (Olga's mother) had a treadle machine out in her sun porch. I remember my brother and I taking turns sitting our butts on the bottom treadle base and the other one pumping furiously with their foot to give each other a ride. I am sure we snarled up the machine or possibly broke the needle or jammed the bobbin for my great grandmother. She never said anything, but I am sure that we weren't supposed to be doing it. I wonder what ever happened to that machine when she passed away?  I was only 12, so I didn't know what family mementos went where. 

Here is my treadle machine parlor cabinet all opened up. The machine rises up from down below on a chain on a gear device kind of like a little elevator. The doors open wide and the foot treadle piece is mounted inside of the cabinet as well as the big wheel with the drive belt. It is all contained inside of the cabinet.

When I am done sewing, everything folds back up and inwards to close down. The machine lowers back down inside and the lid flips over the top. This beautiful quartersawn oak parlor cabinet is a wonderful piece of furniture to look at and fits perfectly into the corner.  There are tiny wooden caster wheels underneath that I fear will damage our flooring.  I have it on a rag rug in the pic below.   But now I have it setting on an upside down carpet sample from a carpet store. The nap side of the carpet sample allows it to slide nicely across the vinyl plank flooring so I can slide it in front of the window if I wish.

 

That reminded me of something that I spoke to Steve about while I was sewing on my treadle machine I had wondered aloud to my husband if the person who first owned this machine had waited impatiently for it to come?

 Did they cherish it and love it?

 Or was it just another tool of the household, used to do the mending? 

Was it a chore just like doing the washing and the cooking and the cleaning? 

Or was this machine dreamt about and looked at in the Sears catalog for months on end (or even years) and saving up the pennies until you had enough to order it? 

So then I looked it up and the sewing machine was in the $40 range. The Parlor cabinet was $26 in this era. That was in 1916.

Transferring that into today's dollars is almost $2,000!

The last few days, the weather was a little cooler and windier so I spent more time inside. I decided to slide over my Franklin treadle sewing machine right in front of the big French windows in the she shed. What a great view to look out and daydream in between sewing blocks on my newest quilt.

The light fills the she shed during the day and it's nice to sew right in front of the windows. Because of course the treadle machine does not have a light on it the way that the electric machines do. If I sew at night I bring over a table lamp to shine down on my work.

This morning I did finish sewing the sixth row of blocks onto my pineapple quilt. I'm not sure what I'm going to name this one yet. When it's done I will put it in my Etsy shop for sale. For now, I clipped the quilt top to a long white stick that I can suspend from the hooks out on the front porch. I did that so I can get a view of what the quilt looks like and decide whether or not it needs a border around the edges.

I think it came out kind of cute and it was what I was looking to achieve from these harvest fall looking fabrics.

It's a pretty busy pattern, so I think I'm just going to do a thin brown strip of border around the edges and leave it as a queen size. Queen sizes are easier to sell over King sizes.

Next quilt on the list will be something I'm starting for my friend Vicky, in memory of her mother.

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Our friends Joyce and Bob gave us some of the harvest from their garden this summer. They work very hard on a huge garden and ended up with a lot more produce than they bargained for. They shared with us some of these absolutely amazing purple potatoes! Yes, they are purple! They taste like a regular potato, but they are purple. They also gave us some beautiful German Gold potatoes. Both taste wonderful and are flaky and rich. I boil them up until the skin's burst because they are kind of little like red potatoes. We thoroughly appreciate the generosity of our friends.

Steve has been busy busy busy out in his garage. Now he has the entire ceiling insulated and sheetrocked and about 2/3 of the walls. He started over on another section of wall by his workbench and insulated the top portion. Then he built a very sturdy shelf across the top about 16 in down from the ceiling.

Across on that top he was able to stack a bunch of my very heavy totes of fiber supplies. These are things for weaving and spinning and other crafts. By getting them up and off the floor he has more room for his things to move around and to store away the lawn mowers and summer garden tools like the wheelbarrow and the wagon.

Last January we tried storing our Christmas tree by leaving it completely decorated including the ornaments and the lights. We wrapped it round and round with pallet strapping plastic and carried the tree out completely and stored it in the garage. It worked pretty good, but the only problem is it took up a lot more space in the garage then we realized. Steve would like to claim the space back again and I don't blame him. 

So I think this year we will carry the tree in after thanksgiving, unwrap it, and enjoy it. In January, when when the season is over we will take it apart piece by piece the way we should and stow it away in individual packages. Then he can have this valuable floor space back in his work area.

While Steve was organizing out in his garage I decided that I needed to do a little organizing in the kitchen. I have this very large wide utensil drawer that is actually over 2 ft wide. Every time I pull it out or push it in, everything rattles around and moves around. The little things slide to the back and then I have to dig for them. It's quite a mess. I can never find what I want. I bought these wire mesh baskets from Aldi's. They were two in a pack for $7.99. I needed them wide enough to accommodate some of our wider utensils, and they are different than just what a silverware tray could allow me to place in there.

I sorted through everything and tossed out stuff I wasn't using. Now everything is right at my fingertips. Especially, it doesn't slide all over every time I open the drawer. The little mesh baskets have rubber tips on the bottom corners to keep them from sliding around. 

That's about it for today. I should get this posted and get downtown for my meeting. Then we will enjoy the rest of the sunshine before real November weather bears down upon us.