Blue Rock-and-Roll lady and creations.

front number 1

I've made a whole bunch of new zip-bags , all made from re-purposed vintage linens, zips, thread and beads. I'll show you some of my favourites, they turned out sweet!

back number 1

They all have a little embroidered "danglie", just for fun.

front number 2

I loved this 70's embroidered linen.

back number 2

I backed it with a folklore motif tea towel. Blue polkadots on the inside. And a zappy lime-green zip.

number 3

This serviette had a great colour combination with blue-green. It is backed with red linen.

number 4

This one is a nice pencil case size. Also backed with red.

Chrome and dials.

Here a sewing machine of mine, a Toyota automatic zig-zag. I have seen the same machine on the internet also named as Morse Fotomatic IV.
About 2 years ago I found this lovely fifties machine in an opshop (ofcourse). I think she cost me NZ$45-. She came with a manual of a slightly newer machine, but it all works the same. And also a linen-covered wooden case, a blue foot pedal and a blue tin box with some extra parts.
I tried her out in the shop, on my knees on the ground in the shop.
This sewing machine is made of cast-iron. Neither the shopkeeper nor I could lift her... But I fell in love at first sight anyway, all that shiny chrome, she looks like an american car from the fifties.
We managed to get a nice bloke to put it in the back of my car, and at home I managed to get it into the house on a lifting trolley, then I had to wait for my man to come home to lift it up the table.

Toyota automatic zig-zag.

As you can see she sits on an old fashioned wood block: you can store things in it, by tilting the machine sideways. It has a wooden side-board on it which folds upwards to fit it into the case.

She would have been made between 1953 and 1961. The electrics have been checked over by the shops' electrician, and she sews fine, sometimes she skips some stitches though. So maybe I should have her checked over by a repair man.

 I adore all those chunky buttons, it makes big loud clanks and clicks when you turn the dials to the right stitches. Very re-assuring mechanically operated, no motherboards or micro-chips to break down, no tiny soldered connections to rattle loose. 

She was built to last!