I saw this display in a shop window and it brought back all kinds of memories. My mother was a fantastic seamstress who made lots a beautiful clothes for me and my sisters. When I was quite little, I remember seeing a sewing machine very similar to this around the house however, my clearer memories were of a much more modern sewing machine. I learned words like "bobbin", "throat plate" and "spool pin" watching her sew.
Mother made it look so easy. Cutting out a pattern and sewing the pieces together to form a classy looking dress or blouse. Sometime around the age of 25, I thought I could do that too. I bought a sewing machine and gave it a try. I quickly learned that I did not have the patience or the talent of my wonderful mother. I wonder what I did with that sewing machine.
I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today. Explore the variety of Italian grocery stores.
A real blast from the past!
ReplyDeleteMy wife still has her mother's Singer. It is collector's item that is full of sweet memoties
ReplyDeleteMy mother too was quite a seamstress when I was a little girl but her talents seem to wane as she became busier with other things, although she was always dragging her newer machine out for mending. Just a couple of weeks ago I cleaned out Mother's sewing basket and found several zippers still in their original packaging. None of them even had bar codes on them and the prices ranged from 45 to 70 cents! She also had dozens of spools of thread, many of which had come from one of her sisters who worked as a seamstress in a dress factory for many years. My grandmother of course who had the old Singer made all the children's clothes, most of them from feed sacks! It's not a talent that many share anymore. Are there any schools who still have home ec classes for girls? I doubt it!
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother had one of these too and it actually had a foot treadle to run it. My mum sewed a lot when I was a kid and I did as a teenager but not for years now.
ReplyDeleteBoth Nana and Mom had the knack to run these almost without looking at the machine. They could both make it 'sing'.
ReplyDeleteThis brings back lots of memories for me, too, as my mother was also a seamstress and there was a time in her life when she made clothes for some of the "Hollywood" folks. Thanks for the memories!
ReplyDeleteYou just described my experience of sewing exactly Sharon, I had a Bernina for many years that never saw the light of day :) My mum also was a fantastic seamstress, which as you can imagine living in a small town in Central Africa came in handy. . but moi, no patience at all, happy memories of your mum, and mine here.
ReplyDeleteI gave tubs of material scraps of mom's to Toni and she uses them to make beautiful quilts for people. I am happy to see that someone is getting to use them in such a lovely way.
ReplyDeleteI clearly remember my mom and my aunt drawing on cloth with soap, cutting, and using a sewing machine. Yes, it was more modern than this, but the memories are about the same...
ReplyDeleteVery old fashioned, Sharon! My mother had a more updated sewing machine.
ReplyDeleteMemories like this make us appreciate our parents, don't they? They had to do a lot of things themselves that we just spend money on.
ReplyDeleteMy memories are similar to yours, Sharon. I "failed" seamstress activities and really didn't care since both my mother and one of my sisters were talented and creative. Their creations included wedding dresses and veils in addition to the more mundane styles. That machine in your photo looks pretty darned familiar.
ReplyDeleteThere was a shop in our old neighbourhood where the interior walls were literally MADE of these old machines -- hundreds of them. It made me wonder how many of them are still hanging around!
ReplyDeleteOh, the good old days..., nice picture, Sharon !
ReplyDeleteI remember one of these in my parents house, the logo was beautifully painted.
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