Sew Happy

Peace Y’all,


One of my co-workers fro some reason thinks she can do everything I do. When I’m sewing, she is sewing. When I am crocheting, she is crocheting. I would find it flattering but she doesn’t ever have any real success at it probably because she doesn’t know what she is doing or has a clear picture in her mind drawn up of what her aims are. She asked me what was going on in my sewing room for spring. We had a long conversation about patterns and my plans and I casually mentioned that I had cleaned my own machine. She said with a straight face, “Does it still work?” Really? I must have looked insulted because she came back quick with her response. “Oh! I didn’t know you knew how to do that!” I suppose she wanted to preserve her ride home.

On Monday evening, I used my extra hour energy to clean and oil my machine. Did I know what I was doing? Not really. (You have to start somewhere) But I was armed with internet instructions supplemented by human instructions from a bunch of people at Hancocks. I took apart 1 panel at a time and vacuumed all the dust, cleaned all the grime off and oiled the oily looking parts. Then I replaced the panel and moved on to the next one. The screws were on super tight since I have never had the machine serviced. I sew way more now than I ever did. And I have had the machine since I was 13. The God had to remove and replace screws. For the most part, it was clean inside. The only areas of dust and grime where around the bobbin case and under the feed plate. There was some serious nastiness in there. I got it all out and re-oiled.

I waited a day for everything to sink in and settle and then I sewed something small. I haven’t heard my machine purr like that in years. I almost fell asleep from the easy stitches. Nothing grinding, scratching, shaking or getting stuck. She feels like new! KiKi is now under her hood protected in my sewing room. Mama takes care of her babies!

I am thinking of picking up one of the vintage (or maybe just old) machines I see in the thrift stores and service it. Just to get my servicing chops up to speed. Earths be asking (excuse the Ebonics) to borrow my machine. But I don't lend KiKi out or allow anyone else to sew on her.


Peace