Sew Sew
I don't own a lot of things that could not be replaced, but my old 1960 Singer is one of those things.
Grandma put me on phone books so I could reach the table -- when I was about 7 years old, at this very machine.
Aside from replacing one belt and some of the small rubber rings that help me load the bobbin, nothing has ever broken on this machine.
I've taken it apart a million times, cleaned it, oiled it, and it just keeps going.
I think about buying a new one, but I wonder -- would I ever really use it?
This machine was given to my mother as a wedding gift when she got married. She gave me a hard time about taking it with me -- but in all reality, she didn't know how to sew much anyway, so I bought her a replacement, and then gave her Grandma's old Singer when Gram died this year. Finally, I don't hear any more grief about taking Mom's machine.
Heck it hasn't been hers for more than 30 years. I stole it. But I use it, and I use it well. It's hard to think of it as anything but irreplaceable. I've even thought if there was a fire, what would I take with me? That machine would probably go out the window with me before much else did.
What a treasure.
3 comments:
What a beautiful story, Jules! The things our grandmothers taught us are priceless. For instance, ever time I pick up a crochet hook, I remember the summer trip to Georgia where my grandmother taught me how to chain stitch and then triple crochet on the long (at least it seemed long to me at age 6) journey to Atlanta.
It's a gift I still use today and that I have shared with so many friends and family members over the years.
Thanks for sharing that story... although it's made me wistful for the times spent with my own grandmother -- who would have been 89 years old this Friday.
DON'T EVER REPLACE IT....
I learned to sew on a Featherlite Singer that my mom and I bought together at a junk store. It was very old, and just about brand new -- you know the old shiney black ones.... so beautiful. It must have spent a lifetime in someone's closet, completely unused.
My mom doesn't sew, so I used it off and on for years -- not a big sewer here, but I get along with that machine well...
Anyway, DH bought me a BRAND SPANKIN new fancy dancy machine for Christmas one year (seems like yesterday, but I actually think it was 10 years ago - showing my age!!) and I HATE that thing!!!!
Give me that good old, simple Singer any day! It has never sewn a bad stitch in its life. Worth its weight in gold!
What a treasure, Jules! You have certainly honored your Grandma, and a marvelous machine! Now why can't things be built like that anymore?!
XOXOX
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