Why I love my old hand Singer

Why do I love my old Singer machine?

I realise that I have had this machine for 30 years and it is much older than that, my sister bought it for me when I first moved to London for £20 and I had to pay her back at the princely sum of £5 a month, it is probably the best investment that I ever made.

I learnt to sew with my mother's Singer treadle machine and loved the feeling when you sped down a seam working the treadle, perched on the edge of sofa making A lines skirts and more besides... one of the saddest things we did when my mum died was give the machine away, to this day my sis and I regret it but neither of us had the space for it.

But my lovely hand Singer sits in its wooden box, begging to be released, I love the silver chase work on the side, the way the handle flips over and the spool engages to be filled up.  But best of all it never lets me down, it has made bridal dresses, evening gowns, cushions and curtains, quilts and blouses... please don't tell the Toyota but it really is my favourite.

What's keeping me off the streets at night... and during the day!

Here are a selection of my cushions, ranging from applique, quilting and stencilling with a touch of quilting and for the most part run up on my trusty old Singer!

And here are some of my little booties... I actually had someone say, they are so cute I want them even though I don't have children, I was so chuffed!

Getting started!

In about six weeks I will be taking part in my very first craft fair in Leigh-on-sea... selling hand crafted cushions and baby booties... well I have to start somewhere!


At the moment my mind is racing, thinking about all the things that I will need to do to make my 8' x 5' table the best in the show to say nothing of how much stock I will have to make.  If you see a middle aged woman frenetically knitting bootees with elbows flying on the 7.10 to Fenchurch Street, then that is me.


I have been looking around my house at the carnage my crafting is currently leaving, there is my electric sewing machine in the morning room, my old beloved  hand Singer in the dining room and, baskets of wool, needles, crochet hooks and sewing implements in the living room... then there is the ironing board up in the kitchen and the hoover lying in wait in the hall to pick up all the threads that keep dropping.  The idea of changing my second bedroom into a workroom is becoming so attractive... if only I were brave enough to look under the bed and remember what I had squirrelled away there!


Well first post completed... onwards and upwards!