Sewing Machines

Jessica Knowlden, my sister's granddaughter and my mother's great granddaughter sewing on my mom's Featherweight

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My mother sewing on the Featherweight sewing machine that I learned to sew on

 

            

My mother sewed a lot.   All my life I remember her sewing on that little Singer Featherweight.   She made matching "watermelon" dresses for my sister and I.  The bodice (if I remember correctly) was pink and the main body of the dresses was a print fabric with watermelon pictures on it,  Very cute.   I remember her sewing away in a big hurry to finishing up the dress I was to wear to school for picture day.

When I was around 10, we (my mom and I) went to the Sew and Save fabric store near our home.  There were panels of fabric printed with Barbie clothes patterns.  All I had to do was cut them out and sew on the lines and there I was- with brand new Barbie doll clothes that I had made myself!

In high school I started to sew a lot.  Most of the dresses I had back then, I made myself.   I loved looking at the fabrics and figuring out what patterns and colors went together best.

My sister used to sew a lot too.  Sometimes I would go to her house with whatever I was working on ans sew it there on her machine.

In eighth grade, in home-EC, we had to first sew a simple apron with a pocket.  Then we graduated to sewing a dress with darts and a zipper.  That was hard!   Even after all these years and all of the sewing I have done, I am still overwhelmed by putting in zippers!

In high school I got a job selling sewing machines at the local Singer Sewing Store.  I worked a couple of evenings a week  and on Saturdays .  Stores were not open on Sundays then.   I have a picture that my dad took of me demonstrating a sewing machine to my step mother.

 

Me at work showing my stepmother how I sell sewing machines

My mom's Featherweight seems to have gone back and forth between us.  I remember having it in our house in it's special card table when we were first married.  Maybe I gave it back when we started to travel?  I don't know I just know that my mom had it and I got it when she went into assisted living.

A couple of years after we got married, we lived near a different shopping center from where I first worked.  But this new to us shopping center also had a Singer Store.  It's a long story, but the gist of it is, I got a job there as their repair person.  I would make home visits, driving the Singer van and carrying my trusty tool box and I would repair people's sewing machines.  I also on occasion delivered new sewing machines to customer's homes.

While working at Singer I acquired a couple of treadle sewing machines.  That was even before we got married because I remember them being in Nick's apartment.

 

 

One of our two treadle sewing machines

Now I have my mother's Featherweight, my Touch and sew that I bought while working at Singer.   Two treadle machines in cabinets and the head of Grandma Thompsen's treadle machine (the head is the actual machine- I don't know what happened to the cabinet) 

 

Grandma Thompsen's sewing machine

 

 I have a Viking sewing machine that is all  computerized and I am not 100% sure I know all of the things it can do.  I have a serger, also called an over-locker.  And a variety of other sewing machines including at least 4 more Featherweights we bought on online auctions.

For years I made all of my kid's Halloween costumes.  I think that we only had one store bought kid costume that my mom bought.  Aside from that I sewed them all.  October was my stress time and I loved it.   I'll never forget how sad I felt when I was only making costumes for the two youngest.  The only one and then, no more sewing costumes.

I was the day care provider for my nephew's two girls for 8 years total.   I made them loads of matching dressed.  I made a few outfits for their American Girl dolls as well.

Now I don't sew very much at all even though I love sewing and I love sewing machines.   I hope that I can make some cute clothing for my expected grandchild!

(now I knit all the time)