Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Origins of Ol' Singer

Why is my machine named "Ol' Singer"?

Because just like the dog, she's always this close to being put down!

No really, I love O.S.. My grandmother bought her for me to take to FIT in NYC (during my quick stint there) so that I could do my homework. She's a solid, steady 10-year old workhorse of a machine that I keep all prettied up with stickers & pictures & stuff. No frills, no fancy perks to her at all. Recently, one of the more big-time quilters in my guild asked me if I could do a musical note or something else like that on my quilt w/my machine. I almost fell out of my chair I was laughing so hard. O.S. has exactly 2 stitches. Count 'em: Two! Straight and zigzag. That's it, that's all. Everything's such an experimental crapshoot with her to the point I keep a long piece of sandwiched fabric with notations just so that I know how to set the dials, LOL!

It's not stopping me though. I bought her a free-motion foot and I haven't looked back. Hey, maybe someday I'll get myself an "OOO!"-factor machine, but as long as O.S. keeps churning out cool stuff, I'm happy.

2 comments:

Deb Lacativa said...

I have an old faithful Kenmore that has saved the day when my new pricey machine pitched a fit because I put the wrong bobbin in it.

Cheryl said...

Elle,
I'm still using the White that I bought with my first ever paycheck in 1970 while in high school. It is STIL a better machine than the $$ Pfaff I bought last year. It has been with me thru thick and thin. Stick with your old machine and don't ever feel embarrassed by it.