Grandma Parker's Treadle Sewing Machine

The Treadle Sewing Machine
(from Grandma Parker's journal)

I have in my possession the sewing machine Ma spent so many long hours sitting at.  In a drawer is her well used thimble.

This machine was old when I was a child and no one could ever sew on it as well as Ma.  I attempted several times to finish a home ec. project on it when I was in high school and that old treadle just never would work efficiently for me.

Ma sewed everything from underwear to quilts.  Her underclothing was heavy muslin from the chicken feed sacks.  She even made her own bras.  Many of her slips would have a picture of a chicken or the brand of feed which would never bleach out.

So many of the clothes we wore were made on that machine.  I remember dresses and skirts, coats, hoods and snow pants, flannel baby diapers, doll clothing, endless mending, and makeovers.  She made Don a red and black quilt and rug to match from two old coats when Don was four.  We took those to Montana and enjoyed her labors.

She made Gerri a wool suit from some fabric I sent her from Michigan.

The coat I wore all through college was a makeover from a hand-me-down from someone.  It was dark green and had grey curly cue pockets and collar which I hated and refused to wear it looking like that; so she took the grey stuff off and made the collar over.

After Ma died, the machine was left in her house and the family was deciding to maybe put it in a flea market but I asked that it be saved for me.  Going through the drawers was like opening a box of memories.  She had save buttons, snaps, buckles, hooks, elastic, etc. through all the years.

The most memorable articles she left behind in a drawer was a scrap of paper. (Ma frequently wrote things including letters on scraps of paper rather than use a whole sheet.)  On this scrap was a monthly budget.  Her income was meager, $75 a month.  Out of this, she paid a boy $5 to mow her lawn.  She liked cleanliness, neatness and order inside and out.  She never forgot a grandchild's birthday, and each stamp and card for the month was included in her budget.  She had planned for and counted every penny.

Don, Brent, and Erik said each year as little boys, "Grandma won't forget my birthday, will she Mom?"  And she never did.

--end of journal entry--

Here are a few pictures of this treasure before we had it restored.

Let's take a look at this beautiful detail after the restoration.  The man who did the restoration is in the Spokane Valley, and he said that he loved working on this piece because it has such a great story.

And now for a closer look at those items from the drawers.  A shout out to Joanna for making this shadow box for a Christmas gift a few years ago.  Ready, let's open those drawers and peek inside . . .

Check out the price of those snaps!