Choosing a sewing machine

Well thats a bit of a joke in my house, as there is so many to chose between.

The youngest of my family of machines is like all the rest is a hand me down.   In this case from my quilting mother , who moved into the electronic sewing machine age with a really sophisticated machine.  Its a Bernina!

My own well used far less auspicious make, an Alfa, which I used many years ago to make my wedding dress, is handed down to my youngest daughter.   I don't think it will be making many more wedding dresses - but maybe some curtains. 

I am the proud owner of many other rather older sewing machines. 

It all started with Frister Rossmann treadle- no Singers for this European citzen only German engineering is good enough. A beautiful piece of machinery and a present from my husband. Always reminding me of the one the stood in my Grandmother house. 

It was closely followed by some hand machines.  The engineer in me loves the mechanisms ,and the artist the lacquer work.

The collection got a little out of hand when a friend, who claimed to have 60 machines, moved to live abroad and had a clear out. That's when the babies arrived, wonderfully pieces of simple basic design .

 I find it so amazing that these were once so common, time saving devices, what every women wanted, and today all are virtually worthless. 

A hard choice for today's task ,but it has to be the handed down modern Bernina. 

It's a little neglected and needs some new needles, bobbins, and probably oiling.   

The purpose of all this frenetic sewing and machine revival ,sewing on my felting and fabric samples. 

But for now I am just remembering how to to thread the machine and sew
a trial sample,,,,!!!!

Sheep to Sheep

This week I have been flying around too much to think.

I saw this wonderful sheep in Belgium enjoying the sunshine like me on the banks of the river       Leie, after a walking tour of the city. 

Nearby was a shop ,found out on Ravelry , that wonderful knitting site , that sold fabrics and knitting yarn . The mother and daughter were very friendly and helpful and I chose some wool to make a shrug. I also managed to buy some more fibre in my three hues.

I few hours later, after a quick drive through the Netherlands and a plane trip,  I was back at the site of if my return to knitting after a 20year layoff, the heart of student territory in Liverpool's Smithdown road. The knitting cafe is long gone. But returning to knitting started me on a fantastic journey of discovery and has made me many friends.

I was in Liverpool as my daughters house needed a clean and clear out prior to selling and I had the short straw. 

After a few hours of frantic work, I returned tired but happy to my bolt hole. Glorious cold but sunny weather and a saw this other wonderful sheep enjoying some frosty morning grass.

Back to reality now and time to get back to normal.