I am beginning to think I have a bit of a problem. I'm addicted to vintage sewing machines. It's hard to explain my fascination. One thing I love about them is that they are well made and perform much better than modern machines. They are beautiful, well crafted workhorses that were made to last generations, unlike the machines of today which seem to be disposable.
Another thing I love about them is that they have a history. I imagine that sometime in the past, a mother much like myself sat at that machine and made heirloom clothing for her children as they happily played in the back yard(not like me, I make playclothes). I imagine what other things this particular mother does for her family, her 50s style kitchen and her retro furniture. I wonder how she is dressed, if she looks like the mothers in the classic tv shows like I Love Lucy or Father Knows Best.
So, when I see a vintage machine that appears to be well loved, I can't help but fall in love a little myself. I have to take it home and try it, oil it, get it running again and sew something on it. I just can't stop myself.
Fortunately, these machines are much less expensive than the inferior modern machines, so it's easy to acquire one when I see something special. For less than $20 you can get a machine that will out perform anything bought new in a store today. Sure, there are some people who think that the vintage sewing machine is worth a fortune just because it's antique but that is simply not the case unless you are talking about something like a Singer Featherweight, which can be bought on ebay for around $300.
Currently, my collection includes two of the best sewing machines ever made- a Singer 15-91 and a Singer 319w, and a 301, which is the big sister to the Featherweight, a Singer 99k, and my newest machine, a singer 306w.
If you have an interest in sewing and are in need of a machine, I highly recommend skipping the trip to the sewing machine store and heading straight to the thrift store or craigslist for something really special.
Here is an article that gives some tips for buying a vintage machine :
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2297871/checklist_for_buying_a_vintage_sewing.html?cat=46
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Ha!
My last post to this blog was in April....and I was catching up! Now it's October and I'm catching up again. Actually no one reads this blog anyway...well maybe somebody does but if you are reading you know me anyway and you already know what is going on with my life.
Mike was out of town for a few days and of course when he goes away, something always happens. This time, Madelyn got the flu. Mike is home now and as soon as he got home I fed the family some dinner and went out to run errands and take a breather at the cafe at the local Books A Million.
Speaking of Books A Million....I go there way too much. I only buy coffee, because I always find better deals on books online or at the thrift store, but I just love that I can go there, browse the book selection, sip some coffee and knit in peace. I love to be alone. I just love it. Having 4 children, all homeschooled, doesn't give me much time alone, but I really need it to stay sane. So, about once a week I go sit at the book store, leaving Mike to take care of bedtime.
Does that make me a bad mom? I know most other mothers don't do this weekly. I need it though. Maybe I'm weak, or spoiled, or selfish? Hmm, I often wonder about that. Other mothers seem to get so much more accomplished or they seem to have so much patience and know just the right things to say and do. Other mothers don't need to escape once a week for a few hours. I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing, how I'm going to do whatever it is that I'm doing, and how I'm going to not lose my mind doing it.
I wonder if I have any business even having children sometimes. I mean, who put ME in charge of 4 kids? I have to raise them, educate them and send them on their way. Yikes! Mike has mentioned before that I have no boss in my job...that I am in charge of what I do and there are no consequences if I do my job incorrectly. He doesn't mean anything negative by that, it's just his way of explaining how much pressure he is under at his job and how my job can be low pressure if I want it to be that way. I dont' see it that way. I have 4 bosses who are going to turn around and look at me as adults someday. I will need to answer to them if I do a horrible job as a mother. That terrifies me.
Mike was out of town for a few days and of course when he goes away, something always happens. This time, Madelyn got the flu. Mike is home now and as soon as he got home I fed the family some dinner and went out to run errands and take a breather at the cafe at the local Books A Million.
Speaking of Books A Million....I go there way too much. I only buy coffee, because I always find better deals on books online or at the thrift store, but I just love that I can go there, browse the book selection, sip some coffee and knit in peace. I love to be alone. I just love it. Having 4 children, all homeschooled, doesn't give me much time alone, but I really need it to stay sane. So, about once a week I go sit at the book store, leaving Mike to take care of bedtime.
Does that make me a bad mom? I know most other mothers don't do this weekly. I need it though. Maybe I'm weak, or spoiled, or selfish? Hmm, I often wonder about that. Other mothers seem to get so much more accomplished or they seem to have so much patience and know just the right things to say and do. Other mothers don't need to escape once a week for a few hours. I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing, how I'm going to do whatever it is that I'm doing, and how I'm going to not lose my mind doing it.
I wonder if I have any business even having children sometimes. I mean, who put ME in charge of 4 kids? I have to raise them, educate them and send them on their way. Yikes! Mike has mentioned before that I have no boss in my job...that I am in charge of what I do and there are no consequences if I do my job incorrectly. He doesn't mean anything negative by that, it's just his way of explaining how much pressure he is under at his job and how my job can be low pressure if I want it to be that way. I dont' see it that way. I have 4 bosses who are going to turn around and look at me as adults someday. I will need to answer to them if I do a horrible job as a mother. That terrifies me.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Catchng up
I'm really not very good at keeping up with this blog. I really should update it more often. I love going back in time and reading old posts. To please my future self, I'm going to start posting more often.
We haven't been up to much, but, Maddie turned 6 on March 13
A rare picture of Kayla smiling at the camera-
Benjamin looking cute after he was caught trying to climb the stairs-
We haven't been up to much, but, Maddie turned 6 on March 13
A rare picture of Kayla smiling at the camera-
Benjamin looking cute after he was caught trying to climb the stairs-
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Being Frugal
We are now TV free. Well, okay....tv free is misleading...how about cable free? There is nothing on tv that is worth the amount of money we were paying for our cable service, so we canceled it. Now, we still watch our favorite shows, but we watch them online or we borrow entire season's worth from the library. I've found that nearly every tv show worth watching (and many that aren't) can be found online in some form and in good quality.
I mentioned all of this to a friend the other day and she said "Oh, I could never do that. I really need to watch my favorite shows on Showtime." Then when asked how much she spends on cable, she replied "$190"
My head nearly popped off! So, for some people, a few weekly tv shows are worth $190 a month? There are shows I like, but none that are worth that much!
The internet is another story. I kinda need that and I'm kind of addicted. It is much more useful though. Without the internet I'd spend time doing so many things over the phone or in person- banking, renewing library books, researching restaurants, finding movie times, ordering books, etc. I have no idea how we ever survived without it!
Soon, we will cancel cable internet and switch to At&T dsl for less than $50 a month. We also cancelled our phone service through the cable company in favor of www.magicjack.com and we love it.
So, the bill that we used to get for around $120-140 (it actually changed every month because the cable company is incompetent apparently) for phone, tv, and internet has been reduced to $45 a month and we aren't missing a thing besides commercials and inappropriate tv shows.
I mentioned all of this to a friend the other day and she said "Oh, I could never do that. I really need to watch my favorite shows on Showtime." Then when asked how much she spends on cable, she replied "$190"
My head nearly popped off! So, for some people, a few weekly tv shows are worth $190 a month? There are shows I like, but none that are worth that much!
The internet is another story. I kinda need that and I'm kind of addicted. It is much more useful though. Without the internet I'd spend time doing so many things over the phone or in person- banking, renewing library books, researching restaurants, finding movie times, ordering books, etc. I have no idea how we ever survived without it!
Soon, we will cancel cable internet and switch to At&T dsl for less than $50 a month. We also cancelled our phone service through the cable company in favor of www.magicjack.com and we love it.
So, the bill that we used to get for around $120-140 (it actually changed every month because the cable company is incompetent apparently) for phone, tv, and internet has been reduced to $45 a month and we aren't missing a thing besides commercials and inappropriate tv shows.
Monday, March 02, 2009
Benjamin's First Birthday!
My sweet baby boy turned one on Feb 20th but we were so wrapped up in worrying about him being sick that I completely neglected to post his birthday pictures. This was only hours before he became very ill and the pictures probably show that he was not his happy self. He wouldn't even eat the cupcake we gave him.
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Winter Wonderland
Today was a day unlike any I've seen in a very long time. We awoke this morning the the marvelous sight of freshly fallen snow on our front lawn. By the time the morning light shone through our master bedroom window, at least 2 inches had accumulated. This is only the second time I've seen snow in Alabama. The first time was just over a year ago when I was still pregnant with sweet Benjamin. Last year, it barely stuck. Today the kids got the rare treat of enough snow to form snowballs and snow angels. The snow continued to fall until around noon. Eventually the sun came out and all of the snow had melted by 3pm. It was fun while it lasted.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Happiness!
Today is a happy day! My family has been battling a horrid stomach virus that basically trapped us in the house for the past 2 weeks. Normally, when one of the kids gets sick we keep the family quarantined until 24 hours has passed since the last time something nasty comes out of the last kid to have the illness. Today is a happy day because it has been 24 hours and now we can leave the house!
It's a beautiful day, so I forced the kids to play outside. I don't know why but apparently riding on bikes and swinging on swings is torture.....they'll get over it. Hopefully my neighbors don't call the authorities when they hear the kids yelling "Mom, please let us come in the house!" every 5 minutes from the back yard. At least, I hope they don't do it this week. The house is a wreck. It will take me at least a week to catch up after this illness.
Luckily the weather is nice and I can open some windows, kick the kids outside, strap the baby to my back, put on some music and get to cleaning and disinfecting.
It's a beautiful day, so I forced the kids to play outside. I don't know why but apparently riding on bikes and swinging on swings is torture.....they'll get over it. Hopefully my neighbors don't call the authorities when they hear the kids yelling "Mom, please let us come in the house!" every 5 minutes from the back yard. At least, I hope they don't do it this week. The house is a wreck. It will take me at least a week to catch up after this illness.
Luckily the weather is nice and I can open some windows, kick the kids outside, strap the baby to my back, put on some music and get to cleaning and disinfecting.
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