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Spring Cleaning, Storage and the Meaning of Sewing

  It’s that time of year when we can shake off our winter blues and look forward to a summer full of sunshine and warm weather. Particularly the warmth! It may be April, but my part of the world is still desperately trying to shake off winter’s grip. It’s freezing right now! As I don’t want to spend much time outside in the cold, I decided to spring clean my sewing area. Having spent the winter months working on three different quilt tops … actually, I think it might have been four… the area is looking a little bit lived in.   Not only that, but the local thrift store is closing down. Never one to turn down a bargain, I have spent the last few weeks topping up on sewing supplies. A couple of hem markers, a little bit of fabric, some different fabric, and just to be safe, more fabric. There are sewing machines and piles of fabric everywhere. I’m feeling in need of some re-organization! I already have some filing cabinets but, they are all full to bursting.   Origi
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The Charity Shop Find & the Headache from Hell!

 Hi all I've always been a fan of charity shops. Even before they became a fashionable way to reuse or  repurpose other people's unwanted clutter.  To me, they have always been a gateway for feeding my addiction to vintage and antique sewing machines.  Like this one.  Isn't she a beauty? According to the markings, She is a New Home machine made in West Germany so I'm guessing she's a post war... maybe 1950s... electric sewing machine.    She has a bolt-on motor and the shortest electric cable I have ever seen on a sewing machine! Look at it! It's tiny! That's never going to reach any of my electrical outlets. I'm thinking that this vintage sewing machine was made to be in a cabinet... or a previous owner cut the cable for some reason.  Maybe their outlets were mounted on a desk and they didn't want long cables cluttering the workspace?  Who knows? One thing I do know, is this sewing machine is going to give me a little bit of a headache!    Why? Beca
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2024: A New Year and Time for a Change

 Hi all I've been running this Simply Stitchy blog on Blogger for quite a while now. Along with its sister site, Simply Thimbles, I've been using this platform since 2010, or thereabouts. That's 14 years! Simply Thimbles Image property of Olwen White Although I have been happily tapping away and posting the odd blog post here and there, and trust me, most of them are definitely on the odd side , the Blogger platform isn't exactly... idiot proof.  Not for this idiot anyway.  I'm the first to admit my passion lies with vintage sewing machines not computer coding technologies. Singer 128 Vibrating Shuttle Image Property of Olwen White   You can even give me a top of the range modern sewing machine with bells, whistles, and flashy lights... like the Janome Continental M17 (please Janome, if you're reading... give me one of those... or the M7... I'd be happy with the M7... pretty please?) and I'm in my element.  Make me figure out the intricacies of compos
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Quilt Show Trekking Across the USA

Hi all I've been quilting for a while now but last year, 2022, was the first time I attended a quilt show. Well, it turned out to be three quilt shows. All in the same month pretty much. The first was a relatively new outdoor quilt show in a town about two hours away from me. I wasn't sure what to expect but the talent on show, even in the basic quilts, was simply amazing.  I even managed to find a new friend for my sewing area. A Singer 99 from 1926. In need of a little TLC, she has become a welcome addition to my vintage sewing machine collection.     I thought this quilt was adorable. The little cat reminded me so much of my own two little monsters.    As a fan of the Sunbonnet Sue block, this quilt made me smile too! The next was in the closest metropolis to me. It was a lot bigger and was held in a convention center. I didn't think it was possible to get so many quilts all in one area. I found this humerus is a fitting title for the cat with a bone! I was chuckling a
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Using a Bakelite Sewing Pedal on a Vintage Singer 66

 Hi all I don't come across items made from bakelite very often. Apart from two bakelite sewing machine pedals, the only other bakelite item I own is a bakelite thimble .  At one time, bakelite was everywhere. From door knobs to telephones. As the world's first foray into the world of plastic, it found it's way into all aspects of life. I think it peaked in the late 1950s and then slowly fell out of favour through the 60s and into the 70s as the new and improved plastics came into play. Anyway, I have two sewing machines that came with a bakelite foot pedal. One is the Singer 301 and the other is the latest addition to my sewing machine collection. The Singer 66.  Image by Olwen White This type of pedal can be found on sewing machines from around the 1930s through to the 1950s. My 301 dates to around 1954 and my 66 is from 1949. So they fall neatly into that date range. Although it's most often associated with Singer, some other brands also used this type of pedal. Necc
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Cracking the Code: A Guide to Reading Sewing Machine Needle Packets

Hi all, Sewing machine needles come in a whole host of different styles and sizes. It can be a bit of a challenge to choose the right one for your project. Especially as the information on the packet is written in code... Picture of Schmetz Needles by Olwen White In my latest YouTube Video, I show you how to decode the information on your sewing machine needle packet! Simply and easily! Better still, there's a link in the video description to a handy pocket guide that you can keep in your sewing area! The video isn't sponsored but I did reach out to Schmetz Needles to ask permission to use their images. Thanks Schmetz for allowing me to do so!  Enjoy the video and let me know in the comments if the information helps you choose the right sewing machine needle for your project! Bye for now Olly
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Welcome the Summer With a Sunshine Placemat

 Hi all, Finding an old yellow gingham tablecloth at my local thrift store inspired me to think of summer projects! What better way to brighten up a home after an incredibly long winter... and a chilly spring... than a nice summery yellow?    I decided to use the yellow tablecloth as a background for a Half Dresden Plate applique design. After a quick internet search, I found these cute fat quarters from Singer. They don't just make sewing machines you know! They also have a cute range of fabrics! As soon as I saw the butterfly fabric, I knew it would make the perfect center piece for my Half Dresden.  Find out how I made the placemats in my latest video: Why don't you have a go at making a summery placemat for your home? Let me know how you get on in the comments and leave a picture for me over on instragram using the hashtag #Simplystitchyplacemats. I'd love to see your version! You can use any fabric - new, scraps or anything from your existing stash. It's best to st
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