The Gift of Giving

Well...I was finally able to gift the little girl I bought the sewing machine for with it. I was so excited and she was too. She made a bag tonight and if I had been more organized I would have taken my camera so I could have gotten a picture of it. Next time though. She's getting really good and she's so cute because she is very meticulous about sewing very straight and gets annoyed with herself if it's a bit crooked, which it hardly ever is. She told me again how her friends couldn't believe that she had made her purse and skirt, oh and that she wore the skirt to a school dance. It makes me so happy to be able to share my love of sewing with her and help her develop her own. She proudly toted off her Singer tonight and I told her I would see her again next time. She has decided she wants to make herself another skirt. I'm going to have to look for some more suitable fabric. and perhaps see if she's ready for a zipper.

I missed the Monday meal...but I was working on something really cool!

I'll be sure to add a great meal tomorrow. I had a busy day yesterday. It was O's 3rd Birthday. And I also begun a fun and worthwhile rehab project on a sewing machine for the girls I volunteer with.
I'm in the Junior League (I know...who would have guessed it) and I've been teaching a group of girls in my placement how to sew. It's been such a blast and the interest has grown and we no longer have enough machines for everyone to sew on so it's taking us ages to finish stuff. Well, I've decided to donate my extra 401 to them and also posted on freecycle for some machines. I got a wonderful response from a lady that had her grandmothers machine. DH went and picked it up last week. It's an Alden Deluxe ZZ machine. She said her gm loved it and once sold it, bought something else, hated the new machine and then bought the Alden back from the lady she had sold it to . Alden is an American company that distributed Japanese Class 15 clones, it's all metal and in the cabinet I swear it weighs about 70lbs!
Anyways...it was filthy...on the outside...the inside was a bit dirty, but certainly not the worst I've seen (that distinction belongs to my pfaff 260...ugh that was awful). I got out my GoJo, alcohol and dawn soap and cleaned off the outside. It's a wonderful turquoise color. I vacuumed, cleaned and oiled the inside. Replaced the belt and the bobbin tire. I thought I was set...not so fast! It wouldn't go. I had to rewire the kneepedal! Ugh. Anyways, I've run it for a bit and tested out the stitch. Very nice! I'm so excited for these girls to have this machine. They are so excited to learn to sew and so proud of their projects.
I feel so fortunate to be able to be able to make the slightest difference to these girls. They've had very difficult lives. Last week one of them told me about when she lived in the mission (a homeless shelter) and how they never had enough food. I was so sad that I couldn't really think how to respond to that. It's really just a crap shoot really. I'm not any different from them. I just happened to be born in to a middle class family, had the importance of education emphasized to me, encouraged to go to college and just had the advantages of that upbringing...but for the grace of God go I.
Anyway, just want to share my vintage machine adventure. And for any of you out there looking for a great workhorse machine don't overlook that forlorn looking machine in the corner of a thrift store, garage sale or your grandmother's attic. You just might find a wonderful machine that will give you years of pleasure.