Two for One

Time is short but my blog posts never are so...I'm going to try to hit two messages in one post.

The fine folks at Sew, Mama, Sew! are celebrating Sewing Machine Month. They're giving away a beautiful new Viking. I actually don't want the machine because I have Flossie. Flossie and I have an understanding. She doesn't tell anyone my secrets and I keep her as top queen bee.

Don't tell Flossie but I'll let you in on one secret: I taught myself to sew...on Flossie. I had one semester of home ec in junior high, memorable only because I backstitched an entire seam as well as my thumbnail. Yes, really. But, later in life, I wanted to learn to sew, I wanted a machine and Head Honcho ever so sweetly agreed to get me one. After nervously looking around one sewing machine shop, we went with a moderately priced model. Little did I know what a little beauty she really was.

Flossie is an Elna 2004. She has about 18 stitches, bobbin winder, a couple of different feet. I think the stitch dimensions are something like 4 mm and 5 mm. I've had her for about 10 years, maybe a bit more. She was about $100 when I got her brand new.

Enough tech stuff: bottom line is she is great. I read the instruction manual, threaded the machine, got her going and we've never stopped. Mostly, I use a straight stitch. I mess with stitch length a bit. Otherwise, I don't change much. I have used zigzag and some of the decorative stitches. I've never tried a button hole. She and I hang together about six hours per week--sometimes a lot more than that--and she has never once complained. She just gets on with the job.

There's not one single thing I dislike about Flossie other than that they no longer make her so if she ever breaks...don't think about it. I don't want an embroidery machine. I don't quilt. I don't need anything computerized or fancy. I just need a hard-working, plain kind of gal like my Flossie.

Second, I'm going to take my first shot at My Creative Space: the part of the show when I show you the mess that is my work area and admit to only a small fraction of the projects I'm currently completing. (Check out the link to see more creative spaces plus Kootoyoo's awesome blog.)

Here you see my sewing table. There's my work "basket" which is a clear plastic tub full of floss and embroidery projects. There's my lightboard (homemade by my father) underneath two new projects. I'm participating in the first ever Bunny Stitch Along. And I'm making a bunting for our breezeway using this great fabric and patterns from WildOlive's Bar-b-cute pattern. There's probably a bunch of other junk in the pictures. What you won't see is a heart cause I forgot to add one. Cringe. It's my first time opening up to the truth about the chaotic way I work; sorry about that.

There you have it: deep dark secrets from the softie maker on Mulberry Lane.