the Singer

  

  

 

 

Our weather lately has been more gloomy than usual for this time of year, a mix of rain and snow, though temps have warmed up a bit.  Boots are a must for for my daily walk as we're either slogging through standing water or snow, and the path through the woods is quite flooded.  We saw the first robins last weekend, and the Canadian geese have been flying overhead--a truly encouraging sight as Spring cannot be too far off...

In the kitchen I've been baking this Special banana bread - {excellent!}, zucchini muffins,
dutch oven bread, these Thai chicken wraps, and a birthday pie from cherries frozen last year.

In my workroom, I have a new helper--she's a 1930's era Singer 101-4 sewing machine which I found sitting out in front of an antique barn last summer.  As it was a bit of a gamble--the couple in charge couldn't remember if she was in working order--they offered to discount the price to $10.  Of course she was loaded up with her bag of accessories and brought home, where she has sat until just recently getting thoroughly cleaned up and oiled.  She needs a new light bulb and new rubber for the bobbin winder, but otherwise is running smoothly. She is controlled by a knee lever instead of a pedal, but I am getting used to it.   I have tested her out on a couple bags, {mainly just for the leather work}, one of which is the wool bag pictured, a messenger tote for me, made out of an old wool blazer of mine, a thrifted leather belt, and some leather scraps I had on hand.  It has a recessed zipper closure and lots of useful pockets inside and out.  I will now be looking at thrift store clothing with all sorts of possibilities in mind--my next recycling attempt is a bag from a Goodwill-found leather jacket!