Sewing Machine Madness

In our household, an appliance that was in regular use in later years was the sewing machine. This was due to Becca's influence in many ways. When we were first married, my mother's old Singer (1960'ish) was the staple and filled our sewing repair needs. It was pressed into extreme service when the weather turned coolish and Fall approached. Halloween was around the corner and usually last-minute requests for elaborate and fanciful costumes came flying in. I have this picture in my mind of Katie at the machine late in the evening before the school costume parade the next day. This would be the time that the thread would invariably break or the needle would bend and snap. Then there was the bobbin that would empty itself at a crucial moment. ARRGGHH! Some of the requested costumes, such as the "medieval princess on horse", or the wizard's pointed hat, would require special angles and pre-constructions and I think the old machine was taxed to the limit. The seamstress put in heroic efforts, though, and with some torn hair and gnashed teeth, the costumed Parrish child would caper proudly around he next day, wanting to wear out the costume before the show. Certainly they made a splash on Halloween.

For whatever reason, probably the result of a 4H class, sometime in the mid-1990's, we purchased a new sewing machine in Yakima at the Bernina Sewing Center. It had all the bells and whistles and Becca was instrumental in deciding which one was purchased. I rember that the instruction book looked like the pre-flight manual for a 747 jet. I know that I was and I think that Kate was bit overpowered by it. Not so Becca ! She looked at the drawings inside the door covering the needle assembly, glanced at the book and took off, threading the thing with dispatch as we stood by in awe. Soon the new machine was being broken in on various Becca projects.

One such project was a tablecloth and napkins created in the space of less than an hour. Previously, Pop and Becca had gone to the fabic store and purchased some reddish, fall-colored, fabric, adorned with white and yellow sunflowers. I believe that Kate had been at her class at Heritage College. Dinner was almost ready and Mom was expected momentarily, when the brainstorm of making it fancy and nice hit Becca. Running to the sewing machine, arms and thread flying, soon she was feeding material through that poor mechanical slave at a FURIOUS pace. It was just ROARING! Mom came home and the table cloth had ben completed with four insanely fast ,machine gun sounding zips through. By the time Kate sat down to eat, two napkins were done with miniature versions of sound like Nellie running cold on three cylinders. After grace was completed, a triumphant and beaming Becca came in with the last two napkins, the entire ensemble of which we have and use to this day.

Becca still has that machine and I am not sure how much use it gets these days. No matter, it has earned an honorable rest if not retirement.

9-6-2010