Antique Store Adventures

I’m sure my family and friends think that its nuts that a 28-year-old likes to go wander around antique shops and thrift shops.

Lately I have been sucked into the antique sewing machine phenomenon, but as antiquing isn’t very popular around here, I had pretty low expectations. Also, I have no room for one of those pretty cabinets, so I had all but given up on the idea.

I randomly decided about a month ago to go wander into our local antique mall. “Mall” is pretty generous actually – it used to house Phar-Mor (remember those?). But I was presently surprised, it was really fun! I went on the search for sewing items, and found a couple of pricey machines in pretty bad shape and lots of old quilts. Then, in a random booth full of books, there was a pretty small black Singer sitting in a small leather/basket weave base. But it was $100 and being new to the vintage machine world, I passed. Then yesterday on a whim I went back to the same store. Along with the usual host of randomness, my little black machine was still there – and marked down to $78. Still too pricey, considering I was afraid of electrocuting myself if I tried to plug it in. So, more wandering commenced. On my 4^th or 5^th round of the store, I noticed someone had just hung up a 25% off sign in its booth. It was meant to be! Here she is after nothing more than a quick wipe-down to get rid of that “attic-fresh” dust and grime. Please ignore the messy kitchen table, courtesy of my 2-year-old.

She’s (pretty machines have to be girls, right?) a Singer 99, electronic, made in 1956 (3 years before my Mom haha). The metal has no rust whatsoever, and all the parts look fine, though she still needs some elbow grease. I’m still scared to plug her in though, leaving that one to the husband! :)

Hello, Blog World!

I have admired sewing, craft, and especially quilting blogs for a few years now, and have used them to teach myself to sew. But, due to the fact that I don’t have a whole lot of free time and don’t always use designer fabrics, I never really wanted to start one. But, I recently went to the first meeting of the Triad Modern Quilt Guild. I was SOO excited to see a local chapter was starting here, and the meeting was not disappointing! We are a lovely eclectic group, with a variety of experience, ages, tastes, and lifestyles, so I think there is going be lots of inspiration and learning. After looking at the Triad MQG website, I saw that several members have blogs, so I decided it was long past time for me to make one.

A quick bio: I live in North Carolina with my husband, toddler son, 2 cats, and a dog. Our dog is a Papillon, and is a complete and utter spaz (as is my son…and husband…). My husband and I have been together 13 years – almost half my life!! – and we describe our life as “chaotic bliss”. We are a happy house but with juggling family, work, friends, and our interests, things are definitely crazy sometimes. I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world but I do wish there were more hours in the day…or that I didn’t need to sleep, how much crafty time would that free up?! Creativity keeps me sane and my family is nice enough to be guinea pigs for my projects on a regular basis. I am so excited to join the blog world!