Vintage Sewing Machine: My Little Singer 'Spartan'

My Little Spartan

Have you ever dreamed of a owning a vintage sewing machine? Since I have been a vendor at shows, selling my hand painted and stitched fabrics, I've been thinking of having a hand crank sewing machine in my booth for doing demonstrations.  Last Friday I saw this machine at our local second hand store http://www.crestonvalleygleaners.com/ . This wonderful organization is run by volunteers and supports community programs. I thank the gentleman working that day who gave me additional information about this machine. After going online I find that yes it can be converted to a hand crank machine.





'Spartan 192' - Singer Sewing Machine

Yesterday, I cleaned and then oiled where I could see moving parts and the oil holes. The motor was working but the machine was very stiff to move. It wasn't until I cleaned and oiled around the bobbin area that the machine started moving smoothly. The spool spindle was missing but I tried sewing anyway.

 

It's first sewing in ??? years. I was able to hear another Spartan on a Utube video and my machine sounds the very same. It just purrs along. In one video they showed it sewing through multiple layers and then through 3 layers of garment leather. That's my little Spartan!



The Spartan is a specific model of the Singer Sewing Machine Company. It is 3/4 size and research suggests built in the 1950s or early 1960s. It is similar to the Model 99K but with much less decoration. Named the 'Spartan' as it was built as an economy model. But Spartans were also ancient Greeks from the City of Sparta so I already think of my little sewing machine as strong as Greek Warrior

Spartan 192 Model. This model features a forward and backward stitch.

Click here to go to an introductory video that I found helpful. And click here for an online manual. A couple of things I did learn online was that the silver area is NOT where the spool spindle threads in. It is an place to put oil. I read online that it is quite deep and should be cleaned first before oiling. I need to do that yet.

Another thing I learned was that red piece of fluff is an oil felt. DO NOT try and remove it. Thank goodness it didn't come out when I tugged on it. I left the tape on the machine bed for the photo. It delights me to think of the projects that must have been sewn by the previous owner.

The surprise this morning when I opened this somewhat hidden draw and emptied out the contents, I found the spool pin!!! Thank goodness I didn't find it before I did the research and try and put it in that wrong hole on the top.


A drawer that turns out from under the cabinet.

Odds and sods from the plastic bag inside the drawer. Well we know she/he sewed something light green, turquoise and burgundy.

Can you tell I am excited about my new sewing machine. I love it so much, the question is, "Will I really go ahead and convert it to hand crank?" Any feedback for others with vintage sewing machines?

Also this Week

The other fun thing this week was a Painting with Dyes workshop I gave to the local Quilt group. I didn't get as many photos as I should have but I'll post what I have soon. There were some great images painted and I can hardly imagine what the quilters are going to be sewing them into.

Sample piece of painting with dyes. We did a dry brush technique on the candle and greenery with a lighter dye glaze overtop. The two white stripes were created with a pinstripe masking tape resist for a design element that the quilter's are going to have fun embellishing with thread.

Creating with Strips of Fabric

When we all put our blocks together, we almost have a small quilt. As borders are mostly what I use, I am wondering how might I use this block in a border?

 

Keen quilters in their seats waiting to get started on the workshop using scrap strips.

 

We ended up with pairs from these two sets of sewn strips. Wow, how fun are these together. Pinwheels and alternating diamonds where the ideas we came up with, should you decide to put a solid colour with this block.

 

 

Another block put together involving an accent strip. How clever those these instructors are! Doesn't this look like a kaleidoscope image. I am sure I could use these as a border which should show the accent strip as a zigzag.

 

At times, the room was so noisy with machines running you couldn't have a conversation. Also one time, we all fell silent for a minute or so. It sounded eerie.

 

Next we are going to be experimenting with the scraps we have left over from cutting our blocks from the sets of sewn strips. I am sure I will be making some borders with those. Hopefully for my textile piece, 'Carol and Sue' from the previous post. Have you ever experimented with strips. What did you come up with?

A Week in the Life of a Textile Artist

Textile cards for sale, a textile card received, an art meeting, and textile art photos in an email are all art related things that happened this week.

New winter related art cards created for sale at Creston Card and Stationery

 

Someone purchased one of my own cards to give to me this week! How very delightful and thoughtful that was.

Click here for more information about my 'Clotheline Series'. Are you a clothesline user? If you would like me to paint a watercolour painting of your clothesline, email me at egidman@kootenay.com.

An art meeting at our new place. Of course as you can see it involves a lot of tea drinking and eating of treats. Fuel for the brain.

How terrifically excited I was to receive an email from Joan this week showing me what she did with two of her fabric pieces she painted at the 'Painting With Dyes Workshop'  at the Sunshine Coast this spring. Click here for a post about the workshop. 



Textile Art: 'Forest Scene'
Painted and embellished with hand stitching by Joan Baker of Sechelt, BC 

 This textile painting is so representational of the area where Joan lives. I love it.

Textile Art: 'Waterlilies'
Painted and detailed with stitching by Joan Baker of Sechelt, BC 

Do you see how Joan included the title of the piece and her signature in dyes right on the art work. This really lets you know how original this piece of fabric is. Thanks for the idea Joan.

Gelli Plate Play On Fabric

I took a workshop 'Gelli It Up' at the College of the Rockies College of the Rockies, Creston, BC, Summer Series with Win Dinn http://windinnart.blogspot.ca/ this past weekend. It was an excellent, fun, well organized course which I would highly recommend.

 

The idea of mono-printing so appealed to me, that I put aside my beloved thickened dyes to work with fabric paint on textiles. I did have a lot of fun and below are few of my creations.  

Texture making tools and foam stamps by www.artfoamies.com

 I had the pleasure of trialing  several of these stamps from this excellent, Canadian company. The stamps were well used all weekend by participants of the workshop who were using acrylic paints and they stood up perfectly to frequent washing. I was printing on fabric (mostly) and the other participants were printing on paper  (mostly) and the stamps worked equally well on both.

 

The foam stamps are sturdy, and thick enough that marks are cut into the foam for additional detail. As I like birds, those are the ones I am trialing but this family run company has many more designs so be sure to check out their website. http://www.artfoamies.com/ Also, you can have them create a specific stamp for you. Love that idea! 

 



Texture was created on the gelli plate. Then I removed some paint by pressing a bird stamp into the paint. Next the fabric was laid over top and pressed into the plate thus transferring the design. Neat huh! I am definitely going to try more of this technique.

Using a similar technique as above, creating texture and stamping the egg stamp into the paint. Then I pressed a magazine page onto the gelli plate

After creating the background fabric piece, I over stamped it using the heron stamp. Wouldn't herons look great pink! Note I changed the angle of one of the bird's heads purposely for a little variety. This piece is ready for some free motion stitching don't you think.

Here, I am experimenting with placing Pebeo Setacolor fabric paint on to the Gelli plate using a bayer to create a thin layer, stamping to remove paint and then laying fabric on top to print the image. Also I stamped directly onto the fabric with the stamp. Notice the second ghost print of the dragonfly. I did this by stamping a second time before reloading with paint. Wouldn't these techniques make terrific one of a kind quilt blocks?

Stamping fabric paint onto printed material. Oh I can see some wonderful applications for this technique. We all have printed fabric we maybe aren't in love with anymore. Why not overprint with textile paint using foam stamps to create something we would sew with?

For this print I rolled acrylic black paint and Golden's GAC 900 textile medium onto the Gelli plate. Stamping onto the plate, I removed some of the paint. When I laid the fabric onto the plate, the negative space around the image was transferred. Fun!

My friend gave me this piece of eyelet, leftover from curtain making. Isn't there always a story to these stray pieces of fabric we have in our stashes. I created texture on the fabric by using a stencil on the gelli plate. When the piece was dry I over stamped it using a cadmium red acrylic paint mixed with textile medium. I don't know yet what I am going to do with this piece but it will be something, because I ADORE it. Let me know if you have some suggestions.








Painting with Dyes Workshop, Gibson's, BC on Day 1

The 'Painting with Dyes' workshop in Gibson's, BC was a lot of fun. This group of participants seemed dedicated to getting a lot of painting done and that was also my goal for them so they would have lots of fabulous pieces of fabric to sew with after the class. Even though there were a dozen of us, at times the room could get silent from everyone concentrating. Who said painting is easy? Fun yes, but not always easy.

Below are some photos from Day 1. There were several comments of being tired after that first day and I could see why as the amount of fabric that got painted was staggering. Watching what the participants created was joyous for me as I love to think of the true originality of fabric being created by each person. This is one of the main reasons I teach, to facilitate people in creating their own personal art work. It was an impressive first day! (Watch for day 2 in the the next post.)



Getting started on Day 1 of the workshop. We had a lovely setting to work in at Carola's Quilt Shop in Gibsons, BC. http://www.carola.ca/



Those that had previous painting skills dove right in. What a rich red!

We can use anything for inspiration. Even the table cloth. Some people had a knack for pleasing compositions such as with these grapes.



Look at the rich variety of greens. This makes all the difference in creating an interesting and lively piece.



A photo of hostas was the inspiration for this piece. All greens should not be the same shade and this piece demonstrates just what a variety of greens can be achieved when mixing dye colours. The primary colours of fuchsia, turquoise, lemon yellow and the neutral black were the only colours provided. All colours were mixed. Great job!

Sunflowers had been painted by H before and she was able to draw on that knowledge from memory. This is a skill to treasure.

Learning here how to make a graduated background. Painting with dyes is not like watercolour with it's gently blending with water. Which thickened dyes, each value needs to be mixed separately. Leaving those whites is a winner.

Love, love, love G's abilities to create wildly exciting backgrounds. She has a style already. Artists can work years to develop their own style.

How nice is that. This will be a perfect piece of fabric for working into quilting later. Rich blues in the flowers and a loose style for the foliage create this endearing bouquet.

Chartreuse! Excellent colour mixing. Those petals have such variety. Try to remember that when painting flowers. Gorgeous!

Leaving those whites between the leaves allows the viewer's eye to move around the piece. Such rich complementary colours make this a strong piece. It is perfect for a quilted project.

Ah, nice to see some buildings. C successfully used a dry brush technique to create the weathered look of the grain elevators. This will show perfectly when washed. The addition of some greenery and foreground later completed this piece

Chinese Painting and Plein Air Painting

What a great few days it has been of painting. On Friday, our painting club had lesson two from Linda Lashbrook, on Oriental Painting. It might not be something I pursue full time, but to stay fresh in my own work I find it important to challenge myself with different painting styles and techniques. That is just how I work but you may tackle your own art work differently. I guess that is what makes art work so personal.

 

In the workshop we practiced our fish and bamboo from lesson one. Let me tell you it was definitely necessary to refresh ourselves with the specific strokes. Later in the morning we learnt some techniques for flowers and we focused on the chrysanthemum. I am looking forward to practicing  flowers more.

 

Who doesn't like panda's and someday I hope to have the pleasure of painting them plein air but for this workshop we relied on photos our instructor provided. Too much fun!!! I only wish I had a photo of the cardinal birds Joyce painted to show you. She captured them in a few strokes so they had so much movement.

San Diego Zoo Pandas

I also had an afternoon to plein air sketch and paint. The drawing was done in ink without pencil drawing first, so it was a challenge. Sometimes if leaves or blossoms were missed, you just had to keep going and make it up a little.

Plein air Journal Sketching
'Pot of Petunias'

Oriental Painting Lesson by Linda Lashbrook

What fun to attend a workshop on Oriental Painting on Friday. Below are a few of the samples our instructor, Linda Lashbrook brought for us. The samples definitely inspired us.  

In the morning we worked on perfecting painting fish. Notice I said worked on. It takes years to master the complexities within the simple brush strokes. Loading the brush with several strengths of pigment at once results in brush markets that flow from light to dark. For us beginners we loaded our brushes with a medium strength of colour and tipped it with a thicker strength. Even this gave us a little variation within the brush stroke!

After painting schools and schools of fish, we felt more confident to attempt the bamboo, of course only after we had had  step by step instructions from Linda.

Oriental Painting Lesson
Instructor: Linda Lashbrook

 

Linda Lashbrook giving us a demonstration of the various brush strokes.

At the end of the day Linda demonstrated a blossoming tree. Something for us to aspire to painting.

My attempt at bamboo on rice paper.

Although Oriental Painting is traditionally done on rice paper or silk fabric, I thought as I mostly paint with dyes on cotton fabric, I would try that at home the next day. Below are two samples one in black and one in dark blue. I love painting the fish tails! The following were painted on soda soaked fabric and are now curing in plastic sheeting. After rinsing, I am imagining them quilted with some echo stitching of the same motifs.

At home I practiced the Oriental Painting on Cotton Fabric.

 


Six small blocks with fish and bamboo motifs on Cotton Fabric. Note the brushes with the thickened dye on the plate palette.

Watercolour Teaching for Community Projects

What fun we had with this worthy project. Brenda Silkie of the Creston Rotary group, conceived the idea for this fund raiser which will in part benefit the Therapeutic Activation Program for Seniors in Creston, BC. She approached me (Eileen Gidman), to oversee creating artwork with a group of seniors and special needs high school students for the purpose of printing Christmas cards for sale. As you can see from the poster the cards are printed and ready to be purchased.

 

If you are teaching a group of people not all that familiar with watercolour painting, I found it was best to meet and work on some basic painting skills. Then once you know the participants' abilities and especially their strengths, it is easier to prepare sessions that set them up for success.

 

Look at all the wonderful watercolour paintings, now made into cards that the participants created. The four tree and snow paintings, sold together in a set, have a cohesive look yet are individually different. In preparation for the session, I sketched out the images, each slightly different and masked out the white of the birch trees with tape. That way the group could make the most of the time we had together by focussing on painting. We worked through the process as a group but as you can see there was much opportunity for individuality.

 

The poinsettia was also sketched prior to the class but with no additional instruction, this participant used her own colour sense. The lime pot, added at the end, made this painting jump to life.

 

The highly creative Christmas tree ornament was painted by J. from the local high school. To prepared ahead of class, I masked out the circle with low stick shelf paper. The participant applied colour in an outward motion, then removed the masking and designed and painted the tree ornament. Many participants expressed their joy at painting and I observed several heart warming interactions between the two groups. Don't you love community projects!

Watercolour lessons with the TAPS Seniors and High School Students

Community Projects can be the best! Creston's Rotary are sponsoring a collaborative project between the Creston TAP (Therapeutic Activation Program) Seniors and some high school students. Although there is no snow on the ground we are getting into the holiday spirit! The group is painting Christmas Holiday images in watercolour, several of which will be reproduced onto Greeting Cards for sale. I was honored to be asked to oversee this worthy and fun project.

Here are a few pictures from the first two painting sessions. We are concentrating on the painting in this first picture but there is lots of joking between the two age groups which makes the intergenerational project particularly fun.

Watercolour Painting Session

Painting Holly

 

Such detail in this Wreath

Lusciously Red Poinsettia

People's involvement is what makes these projects successful. Thank you Laura Leeder for giving us the holly, for inspiration and for donating some artist quality paper for the program. You can check out Laura's own lovely watercolour paintings here:  website .  Thank you so much to Claudette and Brenda for volunteering at the painting sessions. Stay tuned for an update on the progress of this project.