A Blast from the Past

The other day my Viking Designer I had to go to the shop for a small repair. Therefore, I was without a sewing machine which puts a real cramp in my ability to quilt. I decided to cut out two table runners and enjoy what they looked like on the design wall.  That took all of one hour..............what to do next?

My mother-in-law came to the rescue with an offer to have my daughter for a sleepover of two nights and to loan me her Singer Featherweight, similar to the one seen below!  WOW!

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This little machine from a bygone era has a fascinating history which can be found here: Featherweight Info.   It was introduced at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair as a "for family use" machine which makes a "lock stitch." Although it looks like an antique that you would experience in a museum, I actually made use of it to fill the void from my missing machine.  (It's amazing how dependent we get on our "stuff"!)  After a brief lesson on how to thread this machine, I was off and running.

My table runner looked like this initially. Three simple 12 1/2" blocks made from fabric I inherited at my small group this month. It's winter blue poinsettias with silver accents.

Then I decided it was too square, so I did a little ripping and it became this.

Finally, it was complete by adding the silver to the corners and therefore, finishing the secondary pattern.

So, with an antique machine and my own "Rip, Reorganize and Resew" design method (not ideal), I made a lovely little table runner. FUN!

Much thanks to my mother-in-law for keeping me sewing with this lovely loaned machine!

P.S. The second table runner never made it off the design wall. Maybe it will today!

*Photo from Google Images