veg-girl Posted July 24, 2008 Report Share Posted July 24, 2008 I was given a 1954 Singer sewing manual by a friend whose mother died recently. I thought you might like to read some of the advice which I'm sure you all follow already! TO SEW SUCCESSFULLY Singer sewing book 1954 Mentally Prepare yourself mentally for sewing. Think about what you are going to do. Choose a fabric and pattern right for your purpose. Practise sewing on scraps of the material until your stitch is just right and you have confidence in your ability to stitch straight. Approach the job with enthusiasm. you must want to make something lovely ,to handle the fabric with appreciation, to watch the beauty of the article grow as a result of your planning and effort. Never approach sewing with a sigh or lackadaisically. Good results are difficult when indifference predominates. Never try to sew when the sink is full of dishes or beds unmade. When there are urgent housekeeping chores, do these first so that your mind is free to enjoy your sewing. Physically When you sew , make yourself as attractive as possible. Go through a beauty ritual of orderliness. Have on a clean dress. Be sure your hands are clean, finger nails smooth- a nail file and pumice will help. Always avoid hangnails. Have your hair in order, powder and lipstick put on with care. Looking attractive is a very important part of sewing, because if you are making something for yourself, you will try it on at intervals in front of your mirror, and you can hope for better results when you look your best. Again sewing must be approached with the idea that you are going to enjoy it, and if you are constantly fearful that a visitor will drop in or your husband come home and you will not look neatly put together, you will not enjoy your sewing as you should. Therefore, “spruce up” at the beginning so that you are free to enjoy every part of any sewing you do. I look forward to your photos of you in your "posh frocks" and make up, with all your housework done and not sighing or being lackadaisical! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeoldeforest Posted July 24, 2008 Report Share Posted July 24, 2008 ...and doesn't this give the "Gone Quilting" logo so much more significance!! So glad I live in a time when piecing takes precedence over cooking, cleaning, make-up, etc.... Hhmmm...maybe that is why quilting is so popular these days...lol:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sewsoft Posted July 24, 2008 Report Share Posted July 24, 2008 Oh mY!!! I love it... I have to admit... my housework is the last thing I do when I have a project on the go.... and I am rarely dressed and looking my best! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted July 24, 2008 Report Share Posted July 24, 2008 I'm not even sure I still own a lipstick.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susanramey Posted July 24, 2008 Report Share Posted July 24, 2008 I make sure I look good when I deliver a quilt at the LQS, but at home who cares. I'm usually quilting in my PJ's and bed hair. Susan:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted July 24, 2008 Report Share Posted July 24, 2008 If you could only see me right at this very moment as I sit here typing this in my quilting studio. Let me just give a small clue: It aint pretty... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hollyrw Posted July 24, 2008 Report Share Posted July 24, 2008 I don't even put on lipstick to go to work! We've come a long way baby! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countrystitcher Posted July 24, 2008 Report Share Posted July 24, 2008 I've actually seen this printout and there is more to it. I posted the entire thing on our refrig and thought my DH would find it interesting. Well, it ended up in a very heated discussion about the role of the women, yada, yada, yada. Needlesstosay it came off the refrig immediately and never mentioned again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramona-quilter Posted July 24, 2008 Report Share Posted July 24, 2008 Go through a beauty ritual of orderliness. Have on a clean dress. Be sure your hands are clean, finger nails smooth- a nail file and pumice will help. Always avoid hangnails. Have your hair in order, powder and lipstick put on with care. ROFLMAO..... now of course, these were guidelines for ladies who were sewing garments that would be tried on during the sewing process. ................ So since I'm sewing quilts for beds, I guess that I am still on the right track by wearing my jammies and slippers. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizziesgirl Posted July 24, 2008 Report Share Posted July 24, 2008 Maybe we ought to start a white elephant round robin of the things we use to use before quilting came along, ex: curling irons, makeup, nail polish, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltlinda Posted July 24, 2008 Report Share Posted July 24, 2008 I loved this advice from the 50's. It's so unreal today. I quilt in my jammies many times and my DH does the cooking and the laundry! I have a book on quilting from 1975 about quilting equipment. "Fortunately no one has been able to invent a lot of expensive electric equipment for quilting. There aren't even many tempting but useless gadgets on the market to lure the quilter and make her spend money. The largest item on her list is a quilting frame and that can be built at home quite simply. Long before you need the frame, you need a few other simple tools In planning a design of your own, you should have a good ruler, triangle and a French curve. Firm paper, stencil paper, or thin plastic should be used for making the pattern pieces so that they won't wear out if you have to draw around them over and over. You will also need a medium hard pencil and a chalk pencil. You will need very sharp scissors to cut the many pieces of fabric required for most quilts." My quilt studio wouldn't be full or busy:D if we had to go back just 30 years! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennan100 Posted July 24, 2008 Report Share Posted July 24, 2008 uummmm, I was born in 1954.....my Mom sewed my whole life.....I think this might be a clue regaarding my intense dislike of sewing.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted July 24, 2008 Report Share Posted July 24, 2008 you mean...you guys don't do this every day I thought we were suppose to. Why, I get up every morning at 4:30 am on the dot. I shower, do my hair, then my toe nails...then my finger nails (don't want to mess them up in my hair). Then I make sure my shoes are very clean and no scuffs. I then find the dress I ironed on Monday when I took the clothes off the line, and put it on. Of course I have a favorite apron just for the kitchen. I prepare DH's lunch for the day (that part isn't a lie), then make his mug of coffee and out the door he goes. Usually by 5:00 am (all of that part wasn't a lie). Then I am free to do as I please. So....I please to go to the quilting studio, where I put on my favorite "quilting apron", you know, the one that I stuff all the clipped threads into the pocket - apron. Then I begin to quilt...only...I get bored and feel the need to read the message boards. When that is done...I go back to quilting....then I get bored and feel the need to read the message boards...you get the picture..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollyc Posted July 25, 2008 Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 LOL Well, let's see.... I am dressed, so that takes care of the dress part. I have a bed , a sink, and dishes, however in a state of disarray I chose to consider "wild abandon" I fondle fabric with the best of them and have never considered a fabric purchase to be superfalous. When I look at this, I think of my mom, who's only emotions are hot cold and hungry because she has never really said what she thinks but rather what she thinks others think she should think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted July 25, 2008 Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 When I read stuff like the 1954 description I think of the TV show "Leave it to Beaver" and the mom, Barbara Billingsly and the scene when husband Ward walks in the door from work... and there she is: a vision of perfection, happily vacuuming the front foyer of her spotless home in her perfectly pressed dress with the cute little apron, matching shoes, coifed hairdo all nice and tidy, and lip stick and and nails are all just as they should be, and she smiles and gives him a smooch hello. Of course, dinner is ready and waiting on the table...but before they can eat, he has to yell at the Beaver for the naughty mischevious thing he did that day. Oh yes, this is stereotypical Americana in the 50's! Times have changed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted July 25, 2008 Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 Originally posted by Mary Beth Why, I get up every morning at 4:30 am on the dot. I shower, do my hair, then my toe nails...then my finger nails (don't want to mess them up in my hair). Then I make sure my shoes are very clean and no scuffs. I then find the dress I ironed on Monday when I took the clothes off the line, and put it on. Of course I have a favorite apron just for the kitchen. I prepare DH's lunch for the day (that part isn't a lie), then make his mug of coffee and out the door he goes. Yeah, right...uh huh...sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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