I found a nice snug place within my Durango to store my Singer sewing machine. I bought the machine a year ago, at the beginning of the pandemic, and have not yet used it. I have fabric and thread and projects to do. But . . . so far, no sewing has occurred. I had hoped for some creative work, maybe making some unique garments I could wear. I imagined curtains for the trailer, maybe some custom pillow covers. I imagined custom pieces to cover the opening to my awning at night, and maybe something for the sides. I wanted to sew a rain coat for the dog, perhaps repurposed from a kids rain coat at the Goodwill. But . . . so far, no sewing.
And then something happened where I totally needed to “fire up” that sewing machine and lay down some stitches. That’s because my new cool bicycle cover had totally frayed on my 2,000-mile journey cross country in October—from California to New Orleans. And now that it’s time for me to make the 2,000 return trip west, I need that bike cover to be “whole.” I toyed with the idea of using clips and bungee cords to keep it all together. But something inside me wanted to make it right.
So I decided to haul out my sewing machine and I realized it was burrowed underneath and behind so much stuff in my Durango that I would have to disassemble about 1/4 of my organizational structure back there to get it out. Obviously this is not workable. If you’ve ever had a sewing machine, you know that part of its functionality revolves around it being accessible when you need it. In a house, you don’t keep it in attic. You don’t keep it in a storage unit. You keep it handy.
That’s when I realized the truth about this lifestyle of full-time travel in a small rig. Either use the sewing machine, or get rid of it. This is not like my solar panels or generator that I might use in an emergency if the power goes out. This is something I need often to fix things, and to be creative.
When I finally liberated it from the hidey hole in the Durango, I decided I would store it on the seat of my U-shaped dinette for now, behind some pillows. It may fit in my basement storage. I’ll look into that soon.
I hadn’t used a sewing machine in several years. But I know I can sew because when I was young, I was heavy and made all my own clothes. I made some very complex dresses. Unfortunately they were very unattractive and not flattering. but they were complex!
To recall now to load up the bobbin, I watched a very clear and helpful YouTube video from Singer. Is there anything more satisfying than loading up a bobbin?
Once that was done, I threaded the machine, took up my frayed bicycle cover, and began to stitch up the torn seam. Yes I was using green thread on black fabric. But why be normal? Then I realized I had access to all these cool stitches.
I chose no. 11 and look at this cool stitch!
I got my bicycle cover all fixed and installed it on my lovely rose-colored bike. I have a few other projects I want to tackle soon. And when I do, my sewing machine will be right on the seat where I can grab it quickly. A handy sewing machine is the only thing that makes sense!