Friends, I'd like to introduce your formally to my new Kenmore zigzagger, with a short video I made. I haven't used this machine on a project yet -- there hasn't been time -- but I will and soon. I love this Kenmore's power and the beautiful stitches it makes. And it's great having the sewing table, too, though it's the third one in our living room to date and things are getting rather cramped.
But that's my headache. Please sit back and relax and enjoy the soothing sound of a 1.2 amp sewing machine motor as played by an electronic foot pedal -- there's nothing like it!
Friends, we all have skeletons in the closet. Today I'd like to share one of mine. It was a student film and I was young...well, younger than I am today. Let's turn our clocks back to the mid-Nineteen nineties. A dear friend has asked me to play a leading role in her final film school project. What would you do, kind readers? Loyal to a fault, I agreed.
Many find the resulting film, The Great Manipulator, to be dark. This is in part due to inadequate lighting. I won't give away the film's shocking ending but rest assured things don't end well for our heroine, Esme. The Sound of Music this is not (though I do break into song).
Sluggish pacing, stilted dialogue, and flat-footed foreshadowing don't help matters. But don't let me influence your opinions. Despite it all, around our house The Great Manipulator is a cult film up there with Pink Flamingos and Plan 9 From Outer Space. Lines like "I'm sorry you didn't sleep well," "Do you really think I'm talented?" and "Everything today is so market-driven" have become part of our secret language.
With no further delay, may I present The Great Manipulator.
My conscience is clear.
If you care to unburden yourself of a skeleton or two, please feel free.
Readers, you spoke, I listened -- or was it the other way around? Regardless, in our continued celebration of MPB Guy Week, today I debut my first-ever men's grooming videos! If you've ever wondered about my regular (weekly) grooming routine -- and who hasn't? -- I have the answers for you here. In Video 1, you'll see me clip my hair and beard with Oster clippers (which I refer to as a razor in my video but nobody's perfect). In Video 2, you can watch me shave my beard with real shaving cream and badger brush and discuss my simple skincare routine. In Video 3, showered and freshly shaven, I instruct you how to tie a men's bowtie!
Rest assured, if you can handle the sight of me with no shirt on (only Cary Grant shaves in a satin bathrobe), you won't be shocked by anything revealed on these videos. My clipper technique might raise a few eyebrows, but thankfully not shave them off.
In other news, you're probably wondering about my internet service and friends, so am I. The good folks at Verizon assure me that service will be restored by March 17. That's right, March 17. So it looks like I have a lot of bagels in my future. The good news however, is that my local bagel shop/Wi-Fi hotspot has a lightning-fast Internet connection that allows me to upload videos in 10 minutes instead of 10 hours -- a big plus and so what if I have to sit through endless oldies like The Beat Goes On (currently playing), Mellow Yellow,I'm a Girl Watcher, and every hit by The Mamas & the Papas?
With no further delay, here are my videos, made exclusively for you As always, your questions and comments are welcome but please be kind -- grooming isn't exactly my strong point but with your encouragement, I'm working on it!
Enjoy!
P.S. - Check out my latest article on BurdaStyle -- and don't forget to say hi!
I'd like to spend the first day of 2011 sharing my new vintage Pfaff 30 with you. On this short video you'll hear the Pfaff -- and me -- in action, and see how she stitches. I love this powerful German beauty and can't wait to sew my next project on her. I have more detailed photos of the machine here.
Friends, it was time. I have received so many comments and questions about topstitching, specifically with regard to my Kwik Sew men's jeans and Western jacket, that I decided it was time to do something about it. The result is this movie.
There's no reason why anyone can't topstitch accurately with a little guidance and the proper tools. Please follow me as I teach you how to topstitch using both straight-stitch and zigzag sewing machines. It's like two movies in one!
Please leave questions or comments below. Enjoy the movie and happy topstitching!
Readers, are we sheeple? I thought I'd seen everything in SewBloggingLand until I read this. I mean, maybe I flash a little too much skin from time to time to keep your interest, but I have never stooped to dessert porn. Sure, it'd be tempting to blow off sewing entirely this Labor Day weekend and just post gorgeous photographs of luscious fruit pies...
..scrumptious buttery confections...
..and wholesome holiday treats.
But I'm too busy performing sewing-related activities!
I have my Singer treadle to clean...
Every time I take a soft rag to it, usually with a little plain old spit, I get this -- eww!
But the results are stunning.
I've been practicing my treadle technique. One foot on the back, one foot on the front seems to work much better than both feet dead center. Thanks for the tips, treadlers.
Here's a brief video update:
BTW, according to the Singer website, my machine was manufactured on April 28, 1920. Ninety years young!
Meanwhile, I've found the perfect thread for my Burda dress project:
I've laundered the Liberty fabric and ironed it:
I bought cord yesterday and started practicing making button loops. Not pretty.
Things are happening!
I get so many questions about where I store all my sewing machines in a New York apartment that, while larger than a studio, isn't exactly the set from Family Affair either.
In brief:
Here, in one corner of my living room, sit my 15-91, my Brother 1034D serger (under plastic), and my ailing Huskylock serger that now serves solely as a thread stand:
Diagonally opposite you'll find my Singer 66 treadle:
In the foyer, to the uneducated eye a contemporary art installation, sits my White Fair Lady:
As we round the corner and enter the kitchen, against one wall we find my Kenmore (in blue denim) and my Pfaff 139. As you can see, I'm quite the housekeeper!
Turn 180 degrees, look down, and -- ta da! -- my Elna Grasshopper and Singer Genie. Don't trip!
Now look up: my Viking, my Brother (found in the trash), my Necchi, and my Singer Spartan. And a pile of other stuff.
Now on to the bedroom...
My lovely Necchi Lydia. You'd never know to look at her that she has a cracked camshaft, would you?
And there you have it: twelve sewing machines and two sergers, each in its respective place. It's all about efficient use of space, people.
In conclusion, friends, I'm keeping busy and I hope you are too.
Guys, my Singer treadle is up and working and it's lovely. I found a leather treadle belt at a sewing machine supply place near me and I was able to fit it on the machine without too many problems. Definitely not something you want to have to do by yourself unless you have four arms, but not too difficult. You would not believe the amount of fuzzy gunk I've removed from this machine. The more I treadled, the more old stuff she spat out -- including a piece of an old needle!
Doesn't this look straight out of King Tut's bellybutton?
But now that she's cleaned and oiled, she's making lovely stitches:
I've made a little movie -- very little -- but it will give you an idea of what it's like to sew with this machine. I am actually already sewing more smoothly than what you'll see in the video; it's just a question of getting the rhythm of it -- kind of like a hula hoop but with less hip action.
It's indeed very meditative to sew with a treadle, as some have mentioned. You know the feeling you get after you've been at the beach and played in the surf, when hours later you still feel your body bobbing upon the waves? Well it's the same with the treadle. After only a few minutes of treadling, I can still feel my feet pumping half an hour later. Weird but not unpleasant.
So here it is. Enjoy it!
Hey, I'm a newbie...
So, what do you think -- have I convinced you yet? When are YOU going to get a treadle?
This is Peter's partner, Michael, writing to you today. Peter had to travel unexpectedly to the Bronx yesterday to help out his mother and has no access to a computer up there. He asked me to let you know that he will be back to blogging tomorrow.
In the meantime, I thought this video might satisfy your Peter cravings. It'll give you some insight into what my DDP (dear domestic partner) gets up to when he's not behind his Necchi. Enjoy!
I wanted to share this special moment with you, dear readers. So I now present my first-ever Male Pattern Boldness video!
Sit back, relax, and join me for an exciting adventure you won't forget, as I unpack and examine for the first time ever my new Singer 15-91 sewing machine!
