What an exciting adventure the Splendid Sampler is! Each and every day I'm so excited to see your excitement for it, your joy (and not) of trying and learning new things... and your support and love that you are giving Jane and I over this project! As I write this I'm on my way to the trade show and it will be one year since Jane and I saw each other and came up with this plan... we can't wait for our reunion!
Block 27 is the sewing machine, because for me, and most of us, our machine is an extension of ourselves. We usually have more than one, and some of you ... well... some of you seem to collect them like badges of honor, one for this.. one for that... and several backups... it's an awesome thing!
Here i am with my current love, my Babylock Crescendo.. but i want to talk to you about my machines over the year... let's take a walk shall we?
The First I ever worked was in my home ec class in 9th grade. i sure wish i had a photo of me at one! I really don't remember what it looked like. But what i do remember is that when our teacher told us to turn on the machine, I think my entire life changed.
This began a life long love of pushing fabric under a needle. Of patterns and threads and all things sewing. Be hand or machine.. but really... machines are so nice and fast!
i have to ask my mom, but we did have a black machine in a cabinet that you ran with a knee lever. I don't know where that came from or why we had it as my mom doesn't like to sew.. she will sew.. but it's not her thing.
When it became obvious I wanted to sew a lot, mom and dad bought me a Genie! This is not mine, but it looked just like it. My favorite color was yellow so the splashy front was perfect!
Now for the interesting part.. We lived in Europe. So the machine they bought ran on European currency instead of having to be plugged into one of the many transformers we used to convert all our US appliances.
When I got ready to leave for college, I was going back to the US where the machine would not work.
So my parents got me the machine above because "You couldn't go to college without a Sewing Machine".
I am so thankful to have my parents totally understand that i needed to sew... really really needed to
I also went to college with a typewriter and a bathrobe... the 3 essentials for life in college.. ha!
Since my mom doesn't really sew much, I'm glad I got a great machine and not one that you find in the drug store.. although i really wanted to buy it to see if it sewed!
At some point i upgraded machines after college and Mom took the college machine and kept it forever... until she shipped it to me for my birthday a few years back!
This is a recent addition to my studio.
I don't have space to keep another machine, but I decided I'd love a vintage piece that has personality.. something colorful!
And I didn't want to spend much since it would be for display.
Ellie came to live with me and was missing the bobbin case unit ... which i figure i can replace. After she arrived i did order some parts which don't seem to fit... at some point i'll get the right ones, maybe a project for this summer!
Because now I want a vintage machine that actually works.. is that normal?
My workshop machines are my Babylocks .... i love them all so much!
I'm a Babylock Ambassador and can't say enough great things about the company and the machines.
My team includes
- the Crescendo which is my main machine
- Tiara which is a sit down longarm for machine quilting my larger items
- and the uber cool Sashiko machine!
This is my studio and my working area. I love to sit at my machine and look at the window, I almost feel like i'm sewing outside!
You see this view alot as i'm taking that photo from my desk, my work table is to the left, and that's pretty much the size of my space!
My block ...
download from The Splendid Sampler website
and just one more thing.....
Maybe you'd like to make your own 'Dream Machine' for your space, use just the machine for your sewing machine cover, make as a gift for a special sewing buddy, i designed this pattern for all of us that love our machines!
BUY a Digital Copy here, click, pay, download!
To celebrate our machines, I'd love to send someone a surprise bundle of my fabric.
Leave me a comment by May 31
**Tell me a Story about YOUR Machine **
The Winner is Barb who said "I learned to sew on my mom's old singer that could only straight stitch. I bought my first machine when I first moved away from home, a used singer that could zigzag. Years later my mom decided to buy a Benina (a mechanical, before electronics) and boy was I envious! Later she gave it to me because her arthritic fingers couldn't work the bobbin. Talk about excited! I've used that machine for over 20 years until a few months ago when I bought my first brand new machine, a Bernina 560 with embroidery (also my first electronic machine). And I'm having a ball learning how to use it!
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