Wednesday, June 3, 2015

All About Anne's Sewing Machine - Kenmore from 1979

This week's "About Us" post is about Anne's sewing machine and some of the things she's sewn in the past. Although I (Laura) usually do most of the blogging for Best Bet Design, Anne (my mom!) wrote this and so you'll read it below from her first person perspective.

So here we go!



About my Machine


The machine I use in our shop is a Sears Kenmore Convertible Sewing Machine Model 1780. It was a spontaneous gift from my older brother in September, 1979, which is a remarkable event in my life!



At the time I wasn’t sewing much at all, so my mom used my machine for a couple years….she broke it in for me. After my daughter was born, I started sewing again.

Learning to Sew


I learned to sew from my mom, making most of my clothes in high school. (I’m not saying when I graduated from high school!) After wearing uniforms for years in grammar school I loved being able to expand my wardrobe quickly and economically!


For some reason my dad filled in the serial number and purchase date in the owner’s manual, so whenever I need to check the manual, memories of both my parents fill the room.

What I've Sewn


I’ve used this machine every place I have lived, to make things for my home from curtains to pillow shams, to dresser scarves.


I’ll sometimes buy curtains at a store, but only to tailor them to a special project – and it’s a cheaper way to get the job done!

Here are some of the other things I've made, ranging from unusual to popular:

  • Made a blue gingham Dorothy outfit for Halloween without a pattern.  Gingham is a very important word in our family! (It helped Laura win a spelling bee in the fifth grade.)
  • Fixed a canvas top on a pop-up camper.
  • Made quilted tote bags for Laura's wedding party, and a pocket hankie for the groom, that matched Laura's dress.


I simply love this machine.  It’s durable and reliable (better be quiet about too much praise...I want it to keep running great! It’s capable of doing a lot more than I’ve been doing with it…..I need to take time to explore its options!

I publish 5 new blog posts each week! Check out the schedule. You can also click on the link below for blog updates.

Best Bet Design Blog

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