It is all about who you know...aka it is good to know people
A little background, I grew up with a mom who sewed for a living; not clothes, but boat upholstery and interiors. My obsession with vintage machines might stem from that, the shop my grandfather owned mostly had machines from the 60s and 70s.
Fast forward until I am in my late 20s; my husband and I saw a pretty vintage belt driven electric White in a used building supply shop. They wanted $75 for it, I gave puppy dog eyes to my husband, but he said lets wait. We went back the next weekend and they still had it, so he agreed to buy it. About 4 months later I found a treadle cabinet that would work with it, and somewhere along the way I discovered the group TreadleOn, our grand leader at the time (the wonderful man who ran the website and email list) had been running the group since the 90s. He has since become a dear friend and valued mentor. Over the past few years I have acquired a few machines from him, most recently my first singer from the 60s. She’d been sitting unused for years in the back of a closet, so I cleaned her up and got her running real well. I emailed him about a month ago to let him know that she was doing great and enjoying her new home, and that she was getting used regularly. He responds back with a thanks for letting him know, and would I happen to want a Koala cutting table too? I answered with a resounding YES! I have a feeling he could hear me over the 20 miles distance. Previously I had been using my sister’s drafting table with a cutting mat on it. The Captain (our group’s nickname for this gentleman) tells me it would take 2 strong men to move it. Took me about three weeks to arrange a day when I could borrow my dad and his vehicle, but we picked it up on Tuesday, and boy am I a happy girl.
As payment for his lifting and hauling services, my father asked me to spend a few hours with him going through the storage spaces under what used to be our family business (my mother took over the business when me grandfather finally could not do it anymore, though he still showed up daily just to sit around and talk and feel useful. They finally retired 3 years ago, sold much of their leftover stock to a gentleman who was moving into their old location, doing the exact same thing. My mother still owns the building.) to help clear stuff out so they could turn one of the spaces into another office space. In the process I came across this lovely half hide of black leather. My dad said I could have it. THEN he unearthed a full hide of white leather and said if I had a use for it, I could have that as well!
That is nearly $700 in leather and a $200 cutting table just given to me!
Needless to say I am one happy sewist. I already have a project for the black leather, and am perkolating the idea for the white leather.
Fast forward until I am in my late 20s; my husband and I saw a pretty vintage belt driven electric White in a used building supply shop. They wanted $75 for it, I gave puppy dog eyes to my husband, but he said lets wait. We went back the next weekend and they still had it, so he agreed to buy it. About 4 months later I found a treadle cabinet that would work with it, and somewhere along the way I discovered the group TreadleOn, our grand leader at the time (the wonderful man who ran the website and email list) had been running the group since the 90s. He has since become a dear friend and valued mentor. Over the past few years I have acquired a few machines from him, most recently my first singer from the 60s. She’d been sitting unused for years in the back of a closet, so I cleaned her up and got her running real well. I emailed him about a month ago to let him know that she was doing great and enjoying her new home, and that she was getting used regularly. He responds back with a thanks for letting him know, and would I happen to want a Koala cutting table too? I answered with a resounding YES! I have a feeling he could hear me over the 20 miles distance. Previously I had been using my sister’s drafting table with a cutting mat on it. The Captain (our group’s nickname for this gentleman) tells me it would take 2 strong men to move it. Took me about three weeks to arrange a day when I could borrow my dad and his vehicle, but we picked it up on Tuesday, and boy am I a happy girl.
As payment for his lifting and hauling services, my father asked me to spend a few hours with him going through the storage spaces under what used to be our family business (my mother took over the business when me grandfather finally could not do it anymore, though he still showed up daily just to sit around and talk and feel useful. They finally retired 3 years ago, sold much of their leftover stock to a gentleman who was moving into their old location, doing the exact same thing. My mother still owns the building.) to help clear stuff out so they could turn one of the spaces into another office space. In the process I came across this lovely half hide of black leather. My dad said I could have it. THEN he unearthed a full hide of white leather and said if I had a use for it, I could have that as well!
That is nearly $700 in leather and a $200 cutting table just given to me!
Needless to say I am one happy sewist. I already have a project for the black leather, and am perkolating the idea for the white leather.