My Fair Lady Monday + NO GOALS

Whoops, wrong pic.  Sorry, Julie!



Dear readers, I was at the 39th Street flea market yesterday with my friend Jamie, and look what she bought me!  It's an early Sixties straight stitcher -- my very first White sewing machine -- model 763, also known as the "Fair Lady."  (Still searching for the "Man of La Mancha.")







I'll be honest with you: nothing charms me more than gendered appliances.  I mean sure, this little (well, 25 lbs, easy) machine has fluid lines and cute curves, but I have inspected it top to bottom and while I didn't find a penis, neither did I find anything that screamed "Fair Lady," if you know what I mean.  Be that as it may, I love my new straight stitcher; I don't really zigzag -- the talk of the online sewing community.

This machine is so pristine I doubt she was ever used; the accessory box still has the needles she came with as well as an unopened tube of sewing machine oil.  No dust, no lint.

And speaking of dust and lint, she totally reminds me of the vintage Electrolux vacuum cleaner we had growing up. 



I have a whole album full of my "Fair Lady" pics here including some shots that are strictly gynecological so beware.

Do you call most of your home appliances "she" or "he?"  I tried to refer to my Singer 15-91 as "he" for the longest time but it soon became obvious that I was working against nature and I have resigned myself to my Singer's strong female identification and stopped making her wear boys clothes.  Sigh.

But that's not all I picked up at the flea market yesterday -- look!

Five more pounds of patternmaking porn!  The price was so right on this used textbook ($15)  I couldn't resist.  I've read that the Third Edition of this Helen Joseph-Armstrong classic is not the best (the Fifth Edition is the current one), but whatever; how bad could it be?  Are you familiar with it?  Does it prop up any windows or doors at your house?

Friends, in my new summer, post-vacation orientation, I'm not up to nagging you -- or me -- today.  I'm going to try to keep it loose this week as I settle back into the swing of things.

I'm still only on page 430 out of 826 in my Etsy dress pattern treasure hunt, so there's much work to be done.  I also want to get better acquainted with my White 763.  Maybe I'll make a movie!

I know how much you crave structure in your lives and where else are you going to get it if not here, but what can I say?  It's July.

I still want to hear what you've been sewing, and there's that appliance question...

So who's Canadian out there?

I'm all ears!