Irons and Doilies and Bernstein, Oh, My!

One of the biggest unexpected benefits of teaching myself to sew has been learning how to iron.  Before June, 2009, I didn't even own an iron!

My mother didn't iron much when we were kids -- those were the days of wash and wear -- and as an adult, the only things I might have ironed myself, like a dress shirt, I usually sent out to the laundry.

Fast forward to now:  I love to iron and I do it almost daily. 

My first "serious" iron -- meaning one I bought with the intention of ironing my sewing projects, is a Black & Decker Digital Advantage D2030.



The only reason I chose it was because, among all the irons for sale on Amazon, this one had the most positive feedback -- more than a thousand happy ironers!  For some reason this iron is no longer available, and the subsequent B&D models are not very popular.

I love this iron.  It's easy to use and not temperamental in the least.

But with my interest in vintage sewing machines has come a curiosity about vintage irons.  As I've researched my upcoming suit project, I've been reading more about pressing techniques, and it sounds like the heavier the iron, the better the results.  My Black & Decker is a bit of a lightweight.

So yesterday on eBay I purchased this:





It's a six-pound vintage General Electric -- working, apparently, with the cord in good condition -- and I can't wait to give it a try.  It is not a steam iron, so I'll have to keep a spray bottle of water handy.  This looks like a serious iron to me.  If nothing else, it will give me a good upper body workout.  It cost about $15, shipping included. 

This is how I envision myself.  Don't I look serious?

On a somewhat related note, look what I picked up yesterday at the flea market to dress up my treadle when she's not in use -- two for $1!







I've never been much of a fan of vintage linens, but now that I have this 1920 treadle in the living room, I may be changing my mind.  Does anything look prettier than that?  To think people used to make these by hand!  Now all I need is a dish of peppermint candies and I will be an actual grandmother.



So, my friends, on this Labor Day (oh, the irony --  Eek!  Bad pun!!) I ask you:

What do you iron with? How did you make you choice?  What are your must-haves with regard to irons?

Have you ever made your own ironing board cover?  (Sunni (The Cupcake Goddess) has a great tutorial and do you think I ever used it?)

Always so much to learn...

Hey,  check out the lovely sewing machines in this number!



Have a great day, everybody!

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"Let Them Eat Cake" + Treadle Update

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.

A snack before we part...?  My treat!

Happy Sunday, everybody, and enjoy the holiday!

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The Cathy Outtakes: never-before-seen photos you won't believe!

Even the most glamorous celebrity can get caught in an unflattering moment.  And really, doesn't that only make us love them more?
It's easy to think that a model like Cathy Lane looks perfect all time.  We might think we can never be as beautiful, as chic, or as smartly accessorized.  Well, that may be the case.

I've asked Cathy to let me show her to you when the camera isn't catching her at her loveliest.  Of course, the worst of the worst of these photos have long since been destroyed, the unlabeled hard drives dumped at sea.  But after careful vetting, Cathy has agreed to let me show you a few images that didn't make the final cut -- not by a long shot.

Cathy wants you to know she puts on her Christian Dior pantyhose one leg at a time, just like you.

And even Cathy has to deal with saggy nylons.



Sometimes poses don't quite work.







A model can lose focus...



or blink...



or exhale awkwardly.



Fabrics cling...



or fail to cling...



Moments of serendipity fall flat.





She might be caught putting comfort before image...





or be forced to model an irredeemable outfit.



It's all in a days work.

Cathy has only one piece of advice to you, wise readers:

Try not to let them catch you with your hair down.



Happy Saturday, everybody!

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Cosmetics for Men: Yea or Nay?

Women, do you ever catch your husband digging through your makeup bag to borrow your concealer?  How about your eye shadow and mascara?  Pay attention!

I stumbled upon this article yesterday in the New York Times:

Men's Cosmetics Becoming a Bull Market

Whether they admit it or not, more men are using cosmetics, judging from sales figures and the number of new products arriving on store shelves. But please don’t call it “makeup” — cosmetics marketers pointedly steer clear of the term, which men tend to find emasculating. 

Got that?

For some reason, articles about the growing popularity of makeup for men turn up every few years, primarily during the slow news season: I remember the last one I read being about some fancy men's concealer Yves Saint Laurent had launched, Touche Eclat.

Ever since the New York Times started its Style section and "T" fashion magazine, there have been more and more articles about men's fashion fads, no doubt to please Times advertisers.  Remember the obsession with the term "metrosexual?"  How about those men's girdles disguised as sports briefs?

But this makeup for men meme-spreading effort is particularly annoying.

Just to be clear: if guys choose to wear makeup, that's fine with me from an aesthetic point of view.  It can be sexy on the right kind of guy -- or even the wrong kind.

What offends me is the old chestnut about men being too ashamed to shop at the Clinique counter at Bloomingdales, amid all the mascara and lipsticks, to buy a product like concealer.

Do we men really need our own product lines?  Is masculinity that fragile that men can't be caught buying Physician's Formula mineral foundation?

This "bull market" in men's cosmetics is, pardon the pun, bull -- sales figures notwithstanding.  It's all marketing and its all-too-predictable effects.  The New York Times is willing to help spread the word: men want (and need) to look younger and prettier -- just like their female counterparts.

Now I'm no towering model of masculinity, but do you know what I use on my skin?

Not one thing.

I don't use soap; I rinse my face with water.  If my skin feels dry during the winter, say, from wind or swimming in a chlorinated pool, I rub my face with -- remember, you heard it here first -- almond oil, and rinse off the excess.  Oil is a great dirt remover, too, and it protects the skin.  That really is it.  A great way to exfoliate is to have a good sweat from some intense aerobic exercise like running; my skin always feels smoother afterwards.

Maybe not the best system for an acne-prone teenager, but it works for me.

But back to makeup.

Author Quentin Crisp generally wore powder and lipstick and it was considered quite shocking at the time.

But he was the type you might expect to wear make up (wink wink.)

The New York Times would have us believe that the time has come when even "a Customs and border-protection officer who is 6-foot-3 and weighs 240 pounds — and whose uniform includes a 9-millimeter handgun" is wearing concealer.

Get it? (NOT a pansy!)

Ho hum.

Readers, what do you think? 

Do the landfills of the world need more empty plastic bottles of men's grooming products?  Do guys need to slather our skin with more toxins to make ourselves more appealing?  Do you prefer men with nicely groomed eyebrows and a clear complexion?

Ever caught hubby with his hands in the foundation jar?

Why can't you just love us as we are?

Your thoughts, please!

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MPB SHOCKER: the nude treadle centerfold + POLL!

Friends, it's been all about the treadle so far this week.  My technique is improving and I love learning to sew on it.

I want to make another treadle video and perhaps in the near future I will.  But today I thought I'd go for something a little different.

So in the glorious American tradition of shameless self-exploitation I bring you...

 (Click on pic to supersize)

OK, I'm no Burt Reynolds -- but at least I'm not selling "eau de treadle!"  (Yet.)

Jeepers, have I gone too far?

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Peter Speaks! The Singer 66 Treadle VIDEO!

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?

Cheers!

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