A surprise? For me?

This may sound schmaltzy but If I could give a gift to every person I know it would be that they be allowed feel loved the way my wife loves me.  

Perhaps I should give a little backstory.  My wife and I are very different.  I am very crafty, chaotic and creative, where as she is is pragmatic, scientific, and a bit of a neat freak.  Before we met she did not know anything about sewing.  My background is in costume design and construction, she didn't know that people did that for a living.  When I told her that I spent my days working for a theatrical costume shop, she literally had know idea that it was something people actually did.  

We've been married for two and a half years now and together for almost four years, and she now knows an ever increasing amount about what I do.  I'm not saying she sews (though she did make the the eyeballs for her Mr. Potato head costume), but she knows terminology and she knows what machines and tools I like.  Once in awhile she'll throw out something like, "Hey that's a nice placket" and I am so impressed that she knows what a placket is.  

Yesterday I was spent the day getting some work done and doing some cooking and she went and hung out with some friends.  I was a little lonesome all day and basically I was being a little bit of a brat, though I tried to keep it to myself.  She came home and said that she had a surprise for me.  She had me close my eyes while she got something from the car.  When I opened them I saw this:

Some of you may know what this is, others of you may be wondering what could possibly be in this simple looking black case.  When I opened up my eyes I knew what this seemingly ordinary case contained.  This is the carrying case for a Singer Portable Electric Sewing Machine 221-1, more commonly known as a featherweight.  Our friend Jenny's fiance Todd has a passion for fixing old sewing machines and this is one of his finds,

These machines began being made in 1924.  I'm still trying to date mine but I believe that it was made prior to 1950. They are beautiful and extremely easy to use.  Not only that but the machine is all metal. You may not know this but for the most part metal machines last longer and function better than plastic machines.  I mean there is a reason that these featherweight machines are around as many as 90 years later and still stitching.  

This case has a tray which sits atop the sewing machine when it's in the case.  It has a spot for bobbins, the petal, and all of the feet.  There are so many feet for this machine and I will honestly tell you that I have no idea how most of them work and I am eager to learn. I'm going to be embarking on a mission to learn how all of the feet work and I will be dreaming up a project to go with each foot.

This machine is white hot and I am currently working on my first project on it.   I am working on another Hawthorn from Colette Patterns, but this time I am going to make the blouse version.  The stitches are incredibly even and the machine is so quiet!

Isn't she a beaut! I will put up a post about my new Hawthorn with special attention on how to make and pattern my sleeve.

I love my wife and all the ways she understands me, appreciates me, and indulges me.