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!

House, Harvest and a Hip old lady.

Our house went on the market 1 week ago. Look at that lovely red door! I've always wanted a red front door.

2 More weeks and we will have to say goodbye to it.

Little old Dana walking up to me wanting a cuddle, she is 14: we hope our 3 cats will cope with the move. They are not young anymore and have never lived anywhere else, except for black De-ja-vu. He was a stray.

Lots of people have already come through our house, either with a real estate agent, or at the open home. We have worked very hard to make our house as presentable as possible, tidied and scrubbed everything, got rid of clutter ( a big job!), even put a new special coating on the kitchen benches.

But I feel very restless at night, I am not starting any sewing or art projects, those empty surfaces have to stay empty. It is so tidy, I feel I ought to be sitting at the edge of the chairs.

Last Saturday we all got up early and had a garage-sale, combined with friends. It was very successful, we made enough to pay for a bill and extra money for all members of the household. The rest of the things that didn't sell, we gave to a charity shop: a carboot full !

This week some people want to come back to see our house again for the second time!

My tomatoes this year did very well indeed. As a matter of fact, even though they were all staked up, the weight of the fruit made them all fall on top of each other into a big jungle. These messy plants have all been removed of course, but not before I managed to harvest 5 kg of tomatoes. I still have another kilo ripening up on the cut-off vines .
This year I also tried an aubergine or egg-plant. I managed to get 2 fruits from one plant, but an awful lot of flowers that didn't develop. Next time I might have to do some pruning. I put the egg-plants into a lasagna, yum!
Very pretty flowers though. But aubergines would have been better...

From this harvest I made pasta sauce. A big bunch of basil, 5 kg tomatoes, green bell peppers, zucchini, loads of chives and perpetual spinach, all homegrown!

I added onion and garlic and a few spices.

And ended up with 9 big jars of pasta sauce, which I will use in the winter time when I like to make macaroni with mince and cheese added. Very pleasing results for a small-time domestic goddess like myself!!
This is, or was, my Hip old lady. She is a Husqvarna ( or Viking)2000, model 6030 from 1973. She is mechanical and is self lubricating. She has an ingenious "colourmatic system" for embroidery stitches. Little cogs can be installed into the back and then by putting the dials onto the correct colour codes, you get different stitches.

I usually only use the zigzag and straight stitches, mind you. But the possibilities were there. The length and width of the stitches are fully adjustable and there is a reverse and the feed dogs can be dropped for free embroidery.

I got her from my sister-in-law years ago, when my simple little toyota sewing machine broke down. That was my first machine which I got from my parents at the age of 21, because I hadn't started smoking!! (I still pat myself on the back for not doing that, it helps when you get bronchitis at least once a year. Or like to smell flowers. Or hug your children without them turning away their faces.)

The husqvarna was not in a going condition when I got her. Her main shaft was seized up and she had to see the doctor, he managed to get her going again, although he admitted that he nearly gave up on her. I am glad he didn't though, for she has rattled along happily ever since with me through many hours in the studio.

And now I have sold her to a friend of mine , who wants to teach her young girls the funky art of sewing! You see, I have gone and updated my scandinavian lady for a much newer machine. A Janome probably from the late 70's!

Yes, still mechanical.

No, not a microchip in sight.

While sorting through my linen cupboard, I came across this old wall hanging my Mum made for my brothers. I remember it hanging on their wall when they were wee boys. It is made with a combination of felt applique and embroidery. She enjoyed making things for us when we were little.

My brothers will laugh now and at the same time roll their eyes; for here is proof yet again of their sister's hoarding abilities/ syndrome. I will of course simply smile and blame 2 generations of ancestors who have downloaded these genes into me without asking.

A sweet little front door with a golden lantern. Those flowers would have been fun to make.

A tiny fantasy bird. Teeny stitches with shiny mercerized cotton.
And 2 little baby toadstools, very fairytale like. When did she find time with 3 small children and a puppy spaniel?

Did it stir any memories, boys?

It's a Wrap! and another Old Lady.

This is my other Old Lady in the hallway. She's in better condition and works very smoothly and silently. It has a hand crank on the side, so cute. According to her serial number, she has also been made in Scotland and is from 1945.

Beautifully decorated with golden swirls, very stylish. Again the machine comes away from the wooden base to store things underneath, but it also has a little compartment under the wheel with a lid. I have never sewn with it, so I don't know if it does other stitches than straight stitch. I doubt it. I think it used to have a little motor attached(in a very ugly way) but that has been taken off.

Another shank-plate from a third singer , in extremely bad shape. I don't have that one anymore, it was dumped years and years ago. This was the only bit that was still nice. I have used it as a pendant around my neck a few times in the past. It has a handy hole in it.

I am part of a group of felters that come together so now and then. So far we are an informal group ( I hate committee meetings etc.) that just pay a few dollars for the use of the hall, the coffee and tea, have a great productive day together, share gossip and ideas, and go home again. Lately we have been meeting in a new place, and they want to meet twice a month. 2 Weeks ago I 've managed to be productive and made this lovely wrap.

The wool has been "nuno"-felted onto a forest-green organza fabric. Because the fabric is sheer and has an open weave , the wool fibres have travelled through the organza, shrunk and "grabbed" the fabric. The fabric doesn't shrink along with the wool, so it starts to wrinkle up, giving it a very tactile texture. It feels quite elastic.
It is still featherlight, but warmer with the folds and bubbles and merino wool.

I made it in 1 day, and though I explained it in a few sentences, it was serious hard work.

It took much rolling in blinds with hot soapy water, and rubbing, and bending over and in the end picking up and slapping down again.

For a while I didn't think it was going to "take"; the wool was lifting off the organza and felting to itself. A bit of a panicky moment, since I had already worked on it for a good number of hours. But with patience and gentle coaching it came right.

Yes I was sore the next day, especially my arms. But I was very pleased. This is how a well felted nuno piece should look. In my eyes....

You can see how thin the fabric is. The wool was laid on in one continuous long winding squiggle . The colours change from greens to rusty orange and a little silk is included.

Our eldest, home for mid-term break , is modeling the wrap. Thanks honey!

Check out the daffodils in the background. And the apricot blossoms came out yesterday. The doors could be left open today. Spring is getting very near!!!

My old machine and my new wool.

So I have had a go at making fancy yarns. I made one little skein with blues and silver, and the other with blues, silver and sea-greens. The blue skein has little nubs or cocoons added to it with white silk and silver fibres and is plied with a thin handspun blue merino.

The sea-green one has mint coloured silk nubs added, and was plied with a commercially spun blue-green wool thread.

Making the little nubs was tricky at first, I had to stop and break off the unspun wool, then wind on the silk from a different angle, then put on the blue sliver again, and half a metre or so later do it all over again. But fun!! And I love the results. Each ball of wool is only about 50 grams or so, you could use it for a decorative touch.

Last weekend I had my first Napier Craft Market stall, hopefully the first of many. I offered them for sale, however I sold 2 balls of 100gr plain yarn in maroon and purply-blue.

I have recently read 2 other blogs in which the lovely writers wrote about their sewing machines. So I thought I'd introduce one of mine. This old lady sits in my hallway, and is just for looking at. I don't know the model name, but I do know the serial number. And I have found out that she was made in 1933, and came all the way from Scotland.
All her decorations are quite Egyptian looking, in a stylized art deco way, which was very popular in the thirties. There are even winged scarab beetles in the middle , with a dung ball!

This highly decorative (and slightly rusty) metal plate unscrews to reveal a hole in the shank, so you can get to the inner workings of the machine.

Not a single bit of this machine has been left un-decorated! I'm sorry, but todays machines just look cheap and nasty compared to this. Although somewhat easier to carry....
Yes you can open the box by lifting the machine sideways like a lid. You can store attachments underneath. It moves quite smoothly still, and apparantly today's needles fit on.

Considering my daughter's laptop is now so ancient ( 5 years...!) that they have stopped making power supplies for it( it blew up, so no more power for the machine), there is something to be said for machines that can still be made to work after 80 years of service.

I can attach this machine to my singer treadle table and use footpower to make it go.

Brilliant...