Singer

I started, at the end of 2009, an exploration in hand stitched designs. I loved how my Wedding Invitations turned out, but the amount of hours put into stitching each stitch isn't practical for mass production. (Can you imagine a bride ordering 500 of those?! I would curl up and cry.) This year I wanted to continue my exploration into this facet of design, but needed to research alternatives to the embroidery needle and thread (at the very least, for the sake of my poor bruised fingers). I considered creating one piece then scanning the design and producing multiples that way or using a quality varnish or embossing job, but both of those ideas strayed away from the whole point of the piece: that it was Hand Stitched! and had actual threads of colorful embroidery floss worked in! So I went on the hunt for a sewing machine. My mother's machine is dated which does not rule a machine out... but it has 'tension' issues, and those of you who have tension issues of your own understand the machine needs a break. Thankfully my dad came across a 1951 Singer Featherweight in his explorations and graciously allowed me to use it on this project! It still runs like a dream 59 (yes I am shocked too!) years later. (I wonder what wonderful things have been crafted on this sewing table... if needles could talk!) I am thankful beyond words to him for his generosity and cannot wait to experiment and share my findings with you all here.