Monday, March 23, 2015

Put the sewin' down, woman, and make me a sammich

I'll admit it, I'm a whiz in the kitchen (thanks Mom) and know my way around general carpentry and a combustion engine (thanks Poppy), but I never learned how to sew.


11 comments:

Anonymous said...

My Grandmother had the old pedal-driven Singer. Everyone knew to leave her alone when he was sewing, she was sort of feisty.

Jesse in DC said...

They forgot changing into clean undies....

Anonymous said...

One of my favorite toys as a young boy was the treadle on Grandmas sewing machine. I guess she disarmed it or didn't mind dealing with the aftermath.
Okrathief

Brig said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Brig said...

I had a Singer featherweight like that when I was a kid. Made most of my own clothes. Ranch raised I can do a lot of things... cooking not so much...sigh

Anonymous said...

I wish I had the patience to learn how to do it. My wife is pretty good at repairs / alterations. She was smart enough to ask her Aunt for tips / pointers, who was a seamstress at a local Haggers plant. She knew a thing or two about sewing.

My wife's machine is a big heavy metal Brother electric, 70's vintage I think. A real boat anchor, heavy cuss!

Anonymous said...

Actually, the first half is great advice for any activity that requires attention to detail. Substitute 'shooting' for 'sewing'.

"Good results are difficult when indifference predominates." So true.

Al_in_Ottawa

skybill said...

Hi Angel,
Interesting! My Paternal Grandmother had one of those Treadle Singer's. I actually learned how to operate it and sew pieces of cloth together, 'think I was 8 or 9 years old at the time. Fast Fwd a few years, I got into "Skydiving' and eventually a Navy Parachute Rigger. You name it I've sewn it! From a patch in 1 oz. canopy fabric to building Parachute Harnesses on a "Class 7" "Ka-Chunker!!" You can always tell a Rigger, all his Levi's have "Parachute repair Patches" where the holes were!!
Blue Skies!!,
Got Gunz??
III%,
skybill-out

Rob said...

I remember these, of course; the sound of the machine in the house was one of the most restful things imaginable. I refurbed one as a gift for my second wife, who sewed beautifully.

As to the advice, it engenders a sigh. My God I do miss ladies.

Anonymous said...

I'm actually figuring out how to clean up and refurbish a treadle. Really though, it'll probably be the nerd crew that gets it done. It's in mostly working order, mainly needs a good oiling and clean out, but all the mechanisms work beautifully. Then on to getting bobbins for it.

Mom and both grandmas taught me to cook and bake. Dad taught me about livestock, riding horses, fixing fences, changing tires, etc. taught myself how to do all the soaping stuff, and sewing.

-CM

Shell said...

I can sew a little - buttons and such, hems, repairs, and darning socks. Learned it from my mother, who had a treadle Singer machine and quilted, too.

At six feet tall and a fighting weight (long ago) of two hundred twenty pounds while working as a bouncer, now and again that information would come out in conversation. Women would look at me like was a three-legged chicken or a square egg. "*You* can *sew*?!"

:)