Lets share happy memories today. When did you get your first sewing machine? Many, many years ago my Mother took me to buy me my first sewing machine..an Elna Lotus TSP. In the store she took out a length of ribbon, tied it around the machine in a beautiful bow, pinned a R10 note to the ribbon {at the time I was earning R83/month) and said "Happy 21st my Darling, this is your key, use it and love it and you will always have an income.

my first swing machine was a singer hand machine so heavy you needed both hands to lift it, i got it from a scrap man who had it on his cart and gave him £1.00 for it back in 1966.
i learnt how to take it apart and clean it and re oil it to get it working like a dream, I taught myself to make clothes for myself and my children on it from old clothes from jumble sales. the first dress i made for myslef i couldn't understand why there was so much fabric left over at the top of the sleeve when i fitted it into the armhole so i cut it off and trimmed it to fit..
my daughter had a new warm coat made from one sheepskin lined coat and one astracan coat. my son had small baby suits made up overnight so he had something new to wear to his Grandmas the next day.
a few years later when my then husband had gambbled allthe christmas money away i set up a small home business with a friend. we had off cuts of jersy material form a local sweat shop and cut the bits into setions to make little girls dresses we then sold for 2 shillings each. I would do one section and my friend the next then swop pieces to do another part so all fronts were done by me as it was done in two parts my friend did the back and put inthe zips i would put in the sleeves and then my friend sewed up the sides and the sleeves all in one go.
I moved up in the world when another scrap man came by with a singer streadle machine on it and i gave him £2.00 for that. after that he would callby ifhe ever had one on the cart and i would buy them from him and strip them down and clean them up and sell on for £5.00.
My daughter was three when she started to learn how to use the original hand machine, following lines drawn on paper.
I still have that old hand machine and if i ever need something thick to sew then out it comes and is put to good use once more.
over the years i hae allways tried to give back one way or another and to help others who need a hand up. the treadle machine was given away to a young mother who had no money but like myself learnt how to do things and make ends meet and put food on the table.
she still has that machine and we often laugh about the times that we re-cycled other folks off casts to make something to sell.
But you know what? we are still doing it with the quilts, so not a lot has changed, just newer machines and different fabrics to play with.
annie in the uk

3 comments

by michemb 09 Apr 2012

love your story Annie, sometimes a liitle something goes a long way.
hugs
Michelle

by michemb 09 Apr 2012

love your story Annie, sometimes a liitle something goes a long way.
hugs
Michelle

by kryztyna 09 Apr 2012

Lovely story and so many got pleasure from them, not to forget the scrap man. Thanks for sharing. Hugs and blessings xx

I was 14 and working as a car hop (remember those days?) There was a door to door salesman and it was a Universal and I made payments on it to pay it off, It still sews like a dream but by son claimed it so he has it now Oh by the way the 27th of this month I will be 64 that was a good investment!

1 comment

by kryztyna 09 Apr 2012

Good grief, I think a car hop now means to trade in the old car for the new :) I wish your son many years of enjoyment. Thanks for sharing xx

My first machine was a pink and purple cast iron Brother for $20 from a yard sale. I was about 17 and kept it for about 12 years. It sewed forward and back stiched. It had one foot and I got way more than my $20 out of it in curtains alone LOL I loved that machine and wish I had kept it. When DH got me a new Singer, I gave it to his aunt and I don't know what she did with it.

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by kryztyna 09 Apr 2012

Oh yes curtains! Made mine for every house I have lived in and bedding too. Ask his aunt..may have a story there too. xx

This has been a great question and I have enjoyed reading answers , I have travelled the world and lived in some amazing places sewing has always been the thread that has made melots of friends sewers are such caring giving folks .Cathy

1 comment

by kryztyna 09 Apr 2012

I think it's because the real creativity of sewing IS the art of giving and sharing. There in lies satisfaction. Thanks for sharing xx

I also received my own machine when I was 21. It was a Brother and it was the most wonderful machine - had it for many years. Sarah.

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by kryztyna 08 Apr 2012

Thanks for sharing xx

My mom had a Singer 1949 model (in cabinet) got 1pound discount as the cabinet had a scratch on the side. We three sisters all learnt to sew, me taught by my father who had put an electric motor on the treadle machine. However, I learnt how to use the treadle which was useful as my first home we had no electricity, my wedding present()ct 1971) from my parents was a Bernina 740 in a cabinet including treadle! I sewed that way for more than two years and still have my machine which I still used primarily for straight stitching so my 580 is almost permanently set up to embroider. By the way I bought the 580b to replace my 440 which was stolen! Cost a bomb! but I am getting used to it.
Hugs and flowers for all
Ellizabeth PS, am I ever sorry I didn't buy a Lotus in the 70's, it would've been ideal to take to quilting class/sewing bees.

2 comments

by kryztyna 08 Apr 2012

I loved my Lotus

by kryztyna 09 Apr 2012

You pinned the era spot on. Got mine 1972.
Carried it around with ease...bit like a laptop:)

I learnt to sew on my mom's Singer treadle.
When I finished school and had worked for three mnths I bought the best Bernina 830-E in 1974.
I was a little short for the money and my brother lent me the diff,Which I paid back the fol mth.
I still have this machine and in dressmaking I will always sew the darts and zips. ( It sews on the exact spot) The new up/down electronics will always give one st extra at the crucial point or the backstitch over runs the mark.
In later yrs I got the Bernina Overlocker.
I only own three ready made dresses in my cupboard and two were bought recently for my DS's weddings.
I too have Happy Memories with my 1st machine.
Hugs Bev

1 comment

by kryztyna 08 Apr 2012

Thanks for sharing, enjoy taking out your memories and revisiting them XX

My husband bought my first one when we got married. Used it for 48 years before I got a new one. It worked great before the cord got brittle. It was a Kenmore.

1 comment

by kryztyna 08 Apr 2012

Thanks for sharing. I feel great when I see how long we hold on to our machines...they are family too

I bought my first machine for my 21st birthday and sewed my party dress on it. It was a cabinet Wertheim machine with cams that had to be inserted to stitch different fancy stitches. It also had a brilliant gathering foot which, as the years went by, made gathering the skirts on my little girls' dresses a breeze and I used that to stitch smocking across the bodices, too.
I'd been using my mother's old treadle for about 15 years and the electric Wertheim was at the cutting edge of sewing at that time.
AlmaG.

1 comment

by kryztyna 08 Apr 2012

Did you ever imagine the things that can be done on our machines today??

Great question! Learned to sew at home on my mother's old Singer. Soon after marriage bought 1st machine, a Kenmore, at the old Sears store in B'Ham, AL. It was $149 and included a wood cabinet. Sears financed it which gave us our first charge card. I sewed every day back then and loved the machine. About 7 years later traded for a Singer Golden Touch n Sew with Cams. That was a workhorse. Had it until about 6 years ago when it became too expensive to repair. Gone are the days of low priced machines. Love the new embroidery machines though.

Marcelle

5 comments

by kryztyna 07 Apr 2012

My lovely embroidery machine is a singer and I love it. I learned to sew on an old singer with a handle as we had no electricity.

by marcellelewis 07 Apr 2012

So glad you asked this question. I am really enjoying reading all these posts. At age 18 I thought my new Kenmore was the grandest machine in the world. Marcelle

by kryztyna 08 Apr 2012

Thanks, isn't great to find out how loved these machines are and what they have meant to us.Such stories! It is also interesting to note the makes.

by marcellelewis 08 Apr 2012

You are so right. I had never heard of some of these brands. Your question has been a real education for me. The stories just get better and better. Marcelle

by kryztyna 09 Apr 2012

Imagine if the machines could talk???

I learnt to sew on my mums horrible Singer. Just after my 21st I was complaining about her machine and she suggestd I got my own. So I bought myself a Frister & Rossman Cub 3. I realy wanted a Bernina minimatic but could not afford one. A year later I was no longer a student so I was able to afford the Bernina. I had to sell the Cub 3 and tried to get my mum to buy it. Years later she said she should have done. My younger daughter has my late mums Elna and my dear friend has the Cub 3 she bought for me. My dear friend bought me my Brother Galaxie 3000 as a token of our long friendship. A cheque arrived as her late parents estate was being wound up with a note telling me to go and buy that embroidery machine that you keep going on about. My Bernina is still in use nearly 40 years later and the Cub 3 is used sometimes, its still a great machine. Thanks for asking the question

3 comments

by asterixsew 07 Apr 2012

I did not say I did not like Mums Singer as it was very, very heavy and we had to wait for my father to heave it off the floor onto a table before we could sew

by asterixsew 07 Apr 2012

there is supposed to be a 'why' in the comment. Oh where is our edit button when you need it?

by kryztyna 07 Apr 2012

It amazes me how we all have memories of our first machine, Thanks for sharing xx

When I first started sewing I just used mom's old Kenmore. Then dad came home with a treadle from the auction mart, but it had something wrong with it as it couldn't keep the tension - had the singer guy out a few times and the tension just wouldn't work right. So then my mother bought me my first singer machine - but when I got married, dad asked mom how come she let me take the sewing machine to which she told him "because it's hers. I bought it for her." I had that for a long time and then I bought a singer and had that for several years when I spotted the Janome Memory 7 and fell in love with it - 30 years later I bought my embroidery/sewing machine. I've only had it a couple years, but am really enjoying it.

1 comment

by kryztyna 07 Apr 2012

I am so enjoying the answers I am getting. Such stories these machines could tell..

Well as a child my Grammy sat beside me all the time and we/i sewed and she would point out and tell me what to do that was on a Singer tread Mill .When i got married 40 years ago i bought my first used machine .It to was a Singer,and now my last name is LOBSINGER(GERMAN)IT MEANS SINGER OF HIS PRAISES :):) CAROLYN

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by kryztyna 07 Apr 2012

Nice! and very fitting.

The first sewing machine I had I was just married a quilt shop was trying to sell machines he put a add in the paper saying he had a singer for 15.00 OK i called and he come out and showed me this machine and it sewed really good but it was old looked like it came over on the mayflower.then he got out a new one and said you don'want that machine you need this one yes it was a nice machine but I said I want the old one he just turned white sure did not want to sell it.BUT that was my first
than several years later I won a brothers in a store, don't remember what it was .then in 2000 I got a babylock embroidery machine at a embroidery show.
wore it out now I have a brothere.
HUgs Lenamae

1 comment

by kryztyna 07 Apr 2012

Oh I love it!! hehehe

My first machine was one that I found for sale in a newspaper ad. I was second hand...more like 10th hand! It was old old old....I bought it with my babysitting money for I think $10.. It sewed very well, but only straight stitch.....but I made many things for myself and my little sisters..I have 5 sisters younger than myself..so that was a lot of sewing for a 14 year old!

1 comment

by kryztyna 07 Apr 2012

That is a story of sister love, I have 3 younger sisters and all have taken up sewing, and always call on me or, and this is my great joy, my daughter, for help.

I was young in love and my very new husband of three weeks was off to serve in Vietnam , I cried I so didnt want him to go , when it came time he gave me a gift of a new sewing machine ....that was 44 years ago and to this day I sew very dasy if I can ............sewing is my Passion . Cathy

1 comment

by kryztyna 07 Apr 2012

Lovely memories and how awful that, parting just 3 weeks after getting married.

After the birth of my first child, I realized that going to my mom's to make minor repairs was not productive so I asked for a sewing mahine for mothers day, nothing fancy or complicated I told my DH because I hate sewing. Well that was 26 years ago and now a big part of my world resolves around sewing and embroidery. Go figure.

1 comment

by kryztyna 07 Apr 2012

It is amazing how we map our paths, unknowingly..

Oh yes I remember. I used my very first wages to buy my very first sewing machine. Paid it off in instalments. My mother never used to sew only knit and I never knit only sew and embroider lol.
sold it many years later to a good friend as my next machine was a free toyota we got with buying a Toyota car. So that was an extra bonus for me lol.
that machine is now still being used by a dear friend of ours.

1 comment

by kryztyna 07 Apr 2012

Now the question is - was the sewing machine the hook for buying the new car? It would certainly hold great appeal for me

I had been working for a few weeks and arrived home to find my mother and the local Singer Shop owner sitting at the dining table with a sewing machine on the table. My mother then proceeded to show me all the things it could do, told me I should buy it now, while I was working, because if I got married other things would be necessary and a machine would not be a priority. She then handed over to the salesman to sign me up. He told me it was the easiest sale he had ever made! I have never regretted that purchase.

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by kryztyna 07 Apr 2012

Wise Mom, and never a truer word spoken

My husband got it for me for a birthday. We had been married several years.

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by kryztyna 07 Apr 2012

Thanks for sharing, lovely gift!

My Mum gave me her prized Husqvarna Viking (with the cams) and got herself a second-hand Jones, 40 years ago. I have used it as your mother said, to earn money and have still got it, although I can't get hold of a drive belt but I wouldn't part with it. Jan

1 comment

by kryztyna 07 Apr 2012

Thanks for sharing xxx, some things you cant part with

I always used mums until Hubby got me my first machine for my first mother's day - 22 years ago. Gosh... I used that machine for 20 years with no problems at all. (still have it along with 3 embroidery machines. xx

1 comment

by kryztyna 07 Apr 2012

Thanks for sharing xxx

My Dad's Mother passed away when I was 6 yrs old.
She had promised me her new Necchi. She was 58 yrs old. I'm 58 now and still have her machine. When I went away to nursing school, my parents bought me a new lighter weight machine. I still have that one too plus many more. Now I would love to have a multi-needle embroidery machine.(and a large sewing room to myself instead of using the guest bedroom which is always a mess)

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by kryztyna 07 Apr 2012

I was in nursing college at the time. 19,but Mom said she wanted to buy it then. She did not know if she would be able to 2 years later. A lot changed in 2 years..

What a beautiful memory.
I used my mothers old singer up until the age of 18 then I bought my own machine... an empisal, it came in it's own sewing table. It was my most prized possession.

2 comments

by kryztyna 07 Apr 2012

I would love to say I still had it, but I sent it in for servicing and cleaning, tied a ribbon on it for my daughter for her 16th birthday,but we had a break in the night before and all my machines, including that one was stolen. 18 years later, in January of this year, I bought her a new Bernina with the help of her friends and family as a Bachelorette gift..

by kryztyna 07 Apr 2012

ohhhhh, in Jan this year I bought her a Bernina for her Hen party, with contributions from family and friends..she loves it!!!