Celebrate the Sewing Machine

I heard a rumor that I missed a big holiday.  Can you guess?  National Sewing Machine Day!  June 13th was the day that the sewing machine was invented. 
(It turns out there is some descrepency as to when the real National Sewing Machine Day occurs.  Hallmark says that it happens on September 10th.  I hear they even have cards for it!)

Growing up, my parents had one of these in their home.



Much more a piece of decor than a necessary machine.  I used to love to play with the pedals and watch the wheel on the side spin.  Now that I'm thinking about it, perhaps this is what began my facination with sewing.

I thought that I'd share with you my "Babies' that I use now.

First up, my trusty Janome.  This simple workhorse was a college graduation gift from my mother.  She couldn't imagine sending me across the midwest to my own apartment in Kansas City without a sewing machine.  It is a wonderful basic model, and has never failed me.  Through pillows, handbags, and now primarily shirring, this is the machine that I will always keep with me.

Next up, my sweet "Baby".

This is the machine that use the most.  It converts from a sewing machine to an embroidery machine, which has been such fun.  It allows be to do all kinds of decorative stitches and appliqued shirts.  It was a big step up for me as far as technology, but simple enough to not be too intimidating.

Finally, my serger.  My Singer Ultralock was purchased for my 4th year in 4-H. 

We were making shorts for my sewing project that year, and needed to have more professionaly finished seams.  My mom and I learned a valuable lesson, stitch first, serge second!  My first pair of shorts was done completely on the serger, and came out way too tight!  Serged seams are hard to rip out, and the serger cuts fabric and finishes the seams as you go, so there was no way to let the shorts out for more room.  Off to the store we went, another round of fabric was purchased, and we learned to stitch on the sewing machine first to make sure the fit was perfect.

I hope that you enjoyed this little glimpse into my sewing world.  If you sew, do you have a favorite machine?  If not, do you have a dream machine? 

My dream machine is this guy.  Oh the possiblities!