Waterloo #4: Little Black Boxes

Can you guess what came out of this little black box??

I will give you a hint.  IT IS NOT A TRAIN CASE....

I know this because THIS is a train case...

EllynAnne told me she enjoys traveling with a train case, because it fits under the airplane seat. Also, she can get a lot of stuff into a train case -- billfold, camera, telephone, make-up, candy bars, I-pad, etc. AND, if the TSA people are having a bad day, she hopes they might be charmed by her train case...

I'm pretty sure she doesn't need a vintage train case to charm anybody...

 NOW -- can you see now what came in the black box??

THAT'S RIGHT...Singer Featherweight sewing machines!!

That day, in Waterloo, Iowa, at the Grout Museum, there was a group of quilters who ONLY sew with Singer Featherweight sewing machines. 

And THEY WERE SO INTERESTING.  They knew so much history about their machines.  For example, the design on the chrome end plate tells you the age of your machine.  There was this straight design...

Until 1925, when this  elaborate Art Deco design started to appear...

Their little black boxes were filled with accessories, Schmetz Needles, thread, etc.

I had no idea that these groups exist all over the country. They are devoted fans of their Singer Featherweights. They don't just collect them -- they SEW on them. They let me sit down and actually sew on one -- and it was a totally different experience. Because it only does a straight stitch -- it purrs like a kitten....that stitch is PERFECTION....

This fine little machine is a great example of LESS is MORE....in every way you can imagine...