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| It seems a bit surreal but that's what happened to me this week. I sold this ledger to a person who works for the production studio of "American Horror Story". Ironically, this is a show that I had greatly anticipated but found too disturbing to watch so I stopped! Guess I'll have to start watching it again, right? I think it's so cool that so many people might actually see this ledger that I sold.....:). My small brush with fame........ |
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| Meet my lovely vintage Singer 101 machine. She's a cast iron maniac! For quite awhile now I've been frustrated trying to use her.......O.K., it's been over a year! Every time I go to use her the thread would break.....then I would start swearing. |
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| Isn't she a beauty? I've had her over 25 years. When my parents visited me here we found her in a consignment shop and my Dad re-finished the wonderful walnut cabinet for me. I never really used her much, but the table has been wonderful...lol! |
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| And since I've had a hankering to do some sewing for awhile now I thought I'd give her another try today.....I mustered together every positive thought I possibly could. I had even ordered a user's manual online specifically for my machine. |
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| If you're anything like me, you tend to not read the manuals. I'm glad I did, because I found out what the "big" problem was. My needle was turned the wrong way! That's right, I'm admitting it right here to the whole entire world. I'm a dunce! There's a flat side to the sewing needle and mine was facing outwards instead of inwards...towards the machine. I screamed with joy when she made a gorgeous stitch for me! Love her to bits and can't wait to use her....in fact I'm on my way to the fabric store after I post this. I just love these old machines because there are so very uncomplicated. There's very little to go wrong on them, and when it does it's an easy fix. I'm so glad I found this on my own before taking it down to the sewing repair shop. They would still be laughing about it next year, I'm sure! As for my beloved featherweight from my Aunt? It's not here yet (did I mention she's a busy woman?). I'll keep you posted....:) |
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| We were gone for 7 days at the Oregon coast....sheer heaven! |
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| To me it was both a vacation and a buying trip for my etsy shop. |
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| Many of these items will be listed, if not already. |
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| And some will remain in my studio forever! |
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| These old cabinet cards captured my heart....there are photos on both sides....did you notice the birds? I did right away... |
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| A beautifully hand-painted victorian purse... |
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| Stunning old wallpaper that I can't wait to use. |
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| An old wallpaper panel found at Vintage Hardware in Astoria....for a song! Can't wait to find a space for this in my studio. |
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| We had a fabulous time.....the hard part was coming back! |
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| Earlier this week, on my quest for my beloved Singer Featherweight machine, I decided on a whim to check out some local antique malls.......my favorite being the Oregon Antique Mall which is downtown Eugene. I love Penny, the owner, and have known her and purchased many things from her over the years. They have a huge space and part of it many people don't even know about. You need to go down a long and twisty hallway and you end up in a huge warehouse type space with low lighting which makes you think..."Should I even be back here?" Nothing is priced, it's obviously "new" old stuff that has just come in but they haven't had time to price it yet. I found lots of cool things, but the one thing that I walked out with was this decrepit but beautifully shabby old seashell box that someone, sometime lovingly put together. The lid isn't even attached and the shells that had become loose were inside the box. I carefully picked it up and knew that whatever price Penny wanted for it I would gladly pay. |
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| Amazing old Victorian era card encrusted with seashells.... "Remember Me" |
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| A heart with some sort of sawdust material inside..... |
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| The divided box inside..... |
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| Penny saw me with the box in my hand and she said "Oh, you found a treasure! Are the shells still inside?" I said that they were and asked how much she wanted for it.......she said, "Oh, you can just have it." It helps to get to know your local proprieters! Penny is one of the best and always bends over backwards to give me a great deal. I have no idea if this box has any monetary value and I don't really care because I'll own it forever! It's a shabby thing of beauty that I'm always attracted to....I've since glued down the loose shells and gotten rid of a ton of dust and dirt in between the little shells. I'll probably use it as a business card holder in my studio so that I can look at it each and every day! Thank you Penny!!!!!! What treasures have you found lately? |
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| So my previous post about wanting to own one of these beauties has been occupying a large amount of my time! I called my Dad and he said "Why don't you call Aunt Judy?" Now my Aunt Judy has been a quilter for as long as I can remember and she and I get along famously. She's actually quite a wonderful woman in many ways. So as I was watching an auction on ebay today (and hoping that the machine I wanted wouldn't go for more than $150, yea right) I decided to shoot my Aunt an email and ask her if she knows of any of her quilting friends who have a featherweight that they may want to sell................. And this is the first line of her email back to me...."Why don't you take mine?" ????????????????????????????????????? Dd and I were walking back home from lunch when I checked my iphone and saw that message and proceeded to do the "happy dance" right there on the road for the world to see! She said that she doesn't use hers that much and would love to see it go to someone in the family....she'll pack it up and send it UPS to me. It's a 30's egyptian scroll pattern (pretty pretty) that "runs like a top".The picture above isn't the actual machine that I'll be getting of course, but that's the style. Now granted, I thought that I would buy one of the cream/celery colored ones but since I don't seem to have an extra.....oh, $500 in my budget right now I'm pretty sure I can learn to love this classic black machine with no problems whatsoever.......:). It's supposed to be super easy to use, last forever, and do a beautiful straight stitch. I'm over the moon and back! I've been reading all these stories online about people finding their featherweight at Goodwill for $30 and thinking how lucky they are....and they ARE! But to use my Aunt's machine? Think I'm excited? Think I feel lucky? Yes and yes. |
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| Are you like me? Do you get an idea in your head for something you want and can't let go? Do you dream about it at night? Do you look at photos of it on your ipad into the wee hours when you should be sleeping? If so, welcome! I'm talking here about the incredible machine that is the Singer Featherweight.....I MUST have one! Why you ask? Well, every once in awhile I long to put some stitches into something I'm making.....and I want something that's dependable and portable. And this machine is both. Of course they come with a hefty price tag which I'm not willing to pay so I will search and search and search for my pearl.....wish me luck. And if any of you lucky women have one of these machines please let me know what you love about it......! And just for the record I would take it in any color......must.have.one! |
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| So my dh gave me the most wonderful birthday gift (hint, it's not this cool cabinet!) He gave me his BAD cold so I've been down with it all week....just itching to get out of the house I ventured out this a.m. with dd in tow to do a wee bit of shopping and have a girls lunch, just she and I (her and me?)....whatever. |
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| And I spied this super cool cabinet! It has soooo many little cubbies inside it's drawers...it was for manicure type tools like scissors, clippers, and my personal fave....the mustache scissors! I grabbed it with the intention of covering it with wallpaper (shocking I know) but decided to list it in my shop and see what transpires.....if some lucky soul grabs it then I'll probably cry and always think of it as the one that got away. |
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| However, if it doesn't sell quickly enough I'm going to have my way with her and put her in my studio.....I know she would work really hard for me for many years to come. Have a fabulous weekend friends, and thanks to all of you who wished me such a happy birthday! With the exception of one gift in particular |
