Singer Table Runner

Last week I showed you an old Singer I bought, along with a peek at the table runner it was sitting on.

This is a Singer Red Eye, produced between 1900 and 1930.  The earliest version was run with a hand crank; that evolved into a treadle, and I have the remnants of the latest version, which was electric.  Mine doesn't work (somebody cut off the cords) but since I only cared about its looks, I don't mind. 

The table runner it's sitting on has a sewing motif, my favorite part being the sewing machine.  The fabric is Alexander Henry's "sew now! sew wow!".  I made the runner last year, and almost gave it away to a resale shop this year, but I'm glad I didn't.  It works good in my new warm color scheme and it ties together several other Singer artifacts I have.

 I don't remember what pattern I used.

The back has a central green panel, with lemon fabric on either side.

On the large white blocks, I free motioned spools of thread that looped from one to the next.  On the log cabin triangles, I did straight stitching.

I keep this ad in a plastic cover pinned to a corner of my design board.  It's an original page from a 1903 Ladies Home Journal.  It shows a variety of treadle machines, including a Singer, sold by Sears.   Sears and Singer were the two most important suppliers of sewing machines in North America from the 1890s through 1950s.

The Singer cost $26.50, which in today's dollars is $713.  The median income in 1903 was $703, so this machine cost more than a year's wages.

As expensive as that seems, Sears was able to keep the prices relatively low because they were a mail order business and had low overhead.  Equivalent sewing machines in retail stores sold for three times as much.

A magnet I put on a white bucket.

I do have a family heirloom Singer treadle machine, but haven't managed to lug the heavy thing into a photo-worthy spot.  So this mini one will have to do.  It's sitting on the back of the table runner.

Not Just Another Pretty Face

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
                                                                           -----  Thomas Edison

Warming Up

We went on an eight-hour field trip the other day and it was really cold.  I was cold for thirteen hours straight that day (yes, I counted).  When I got home, I took a look around my sewing room and decided the reason I hadn't been in there sewing lately was because of the colors.  During the summer, I bought some white furniture so it would look clean and fresh.  And I had tons of 1950s items in the traditional pink / pale aqua colors.  Brr.  I've been on a mission to warm up ever since.

I thought I was Done with My Rocking Chair after I worked so hard on it.  But the first thing I did in my mission to warm up, was pull off those cold white/pink/aqua cushion covers.  Even though I had sewn the top cover on, I couldn't get those stitches out fast enough.  Now that I'm no longer allergic to brown, I decided the chair looked fine once I added a new throw and dug out an old pillow that was in the closet.  Now I want to snuggle in here and do some embroidery.

 

Then I brought my mango-colored bookshelf up from the basement, to warm up the white furniture.  I got tired of this color last year and almost repainted it this year.  I'm glad I didn't.  My Retro Lamp looks perfect on it. 

 
I swapped out my aluminum for warm pottery.

When I was on a decluttering binge this summer, I wanted to give all my yarn away.  Are you sure?, my husband asked.  So I kept my favorites.  I pulled them out of the bag in the basement, removed the fabric that was in these cubbyholes, and now the yarn has a place of honor. 

Mmm.  My prettiest flannels.  I should make something out of them before spring comes around again.

These were also in the basement and they came upstairs to add a warm splash of color.  

Glass eyes and collar make this cat right at home amongst the bottles, and I don't have to worry about any breakage.

I bought this sewing machine at an antique mall earlier this fall.  It doesn't work but it's pretty, particularly the engraved metal on the head.  My husband made a nice stand for it, and I gave it a prominent place in the redone sewing room.  

Later this week, I'll have to show you that table runner that's peeking out; you'll see why I paired it with this machine.

And here are the strips for My Next Project.  Looks like I'm finally all warmed up and on my way.

Sewing Photographs

"I'm going to sew today." 
"I should go sew today."
"For sure, today I'm going to sew."
And still, no sewing, even though I picked out my next project nearly two weeks ago. 

At this time of year, it's fun to be outside admiring nature, and that's what I've been doing a lot of.   My husband helped me rationalize this by saying I've been sewing photographs.  And so I have.  These are from a recent trip to the UW Arboretum.
  

Walk this way...

 

Could this tree BE any redder?  (said with a Chandler Bing intonation)

The warm side of the color wheel, all on one branch.

 

 Magic trick.

These almost look like itty bitty oranges for itty bitty people.  

 

People carved doodles into this soft Birch bark, so I had to get a shot way down low.  I guess they thought it wasn't attractive enough on its own.

I'm getting more and more fond of brown as I find variations I like, such as this rich chestnut color.

This might be my favorite bench of all time, even if it is metal.

Thursday is Purse Day - Pearl Purse

I made Pearl Purse in March, 2007.  The body is 2.5" x 2".  With the beaded fringe and handle, it's 7" tall.  

I sort of cheated when I made this purse.  It looks like it was really hard to make, but the body is a piece of trim that already had the beads and sequins on it.  I folded it in thirds in such a way that the back looks exactly like the front flap, as does the front under the flap.

I made the beaded handle and fringe, though.  I did a little different handle on this purse.  Instead of just having a string of beads that begins and ends at the purse top, I added two swinging side extensions.  I like the little metal leaves that punctuate the ends.  Metal beads are the neutral that gives a beaded item a nice counterpoint.