Bonjour from France

I don't really have anything of substance to add to my blog right now, since I'm 4500 miles away from my sewing machines for a few months.   My "sewing room" is now reduced to a little sewing kit I brought along and my "sewing" has been limited to the occasional mending of my clothing or sewing on a button. 

My "Sewing Room" for the next few months!

But I still can't resist taking pictures of old sewing machines even in France.  I was surprised to see a couple of Singer stores like the one above - there is actually one in Paris as well this one here in Amiens.  But sadly they are both closed.  "à louer" = "for rent".  

 

 No vintage machines here, but I still thought it was an interesting photo of a sewing machine dealer.

 

This one I saw in the window of an alterations shop in Metz.  

 

Best of all was the YARD SALE!  Or as the French call it, "vide grenier" which means "empty attic."  There, among some military relics, including what looks like some helmets from the First World War (this town is near the border of France and Germany), was a vintage Singer.    

January 2020 UPDATE:

After another trip to Europe, I have to add one more sewing machine photo.  This one from Italy.  You can see why I couldn't resist!

A Personal Note...

So a double post today, and this one is nothing to do with sewing.

IF everything goes as planned - and this is still in the works but is looking good at this point - I will be spending four months in France later this year.  When I decided to go back to college well into middle age, I figured why not go for the whole experience just like any other coed (wait, do they still say "coed"?  I didn't think so!)  So I am going to do Study Abroad to complete my minor in French.

I will likely spend the summer raising money for the trip by selling everything I possibly can.  One connection I can make to sewing, I guess, is the fact that I sold my beautiful Centennial Featherweight.

Yes, this gorgeous machine has gone to a new home and raised just enough money for my application fee for Study Abroad (!)  

So I'm not sure how much time I will have for sewing and/or playing with sewing machines for a while after I finish the Easter dresses.  Final exams are coming up in about three weeks, then I have a visitor from France coming in June who will hopefully spend the summer getting me up to speed with my French.  

I am no longer on Facebook so I am toying with the idea of another blog which will chronicle my adventures as a middle-aged student attending a French university... we'll see...

Link to my blog Second Chance in France

Vintage Sewing Machines from The Outer Banks

Well this is my blog and I guess I am allowed to go off topic once in a while, so I'll start with a vacation photo.  This is a gorgeous beach near Nag's Head on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.   Having grown up in Coastal Georgia - and still living within a four hour drive of Savannah - it never occurred to me to drive 600 miles to the the Outer Banks.  But WOW, this was worth 10 hours in the car.  

Being the total nerd that I am, I had to visit every museum and historical site I could find which included Kitty Hawk, where the Wright Bros launched aviation history, and the some of the lighthouses along the coast.  Yes, you have to see the Lighthouse at Cape Hatteras before I show you the sewing machines.

Tallest Lighthouse in North America - about 200 ft.  No, I did not climb to the top (but my DH did.)

I wasn't looking for vintage sewing machines on this trip, but surprisingly, I came across a couple of them in the museums I visited so of course I took photos (yes, photos were allowed).  This Singer was in the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum at Cape Hatteras in an exhibit showing "Life on the Outer Banks at the Turn of the Century." 

This was really interesting - at Kitty Hawk, was this machine which was an example of the one Wilbur Wright used to sew the fabric for his wings.  Yes, he sewed his wings on an old treadle sewing machine!

                              And at another museum was which was the actual one he used.