Copyright © 2007-2015 Foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, All Rights Reserved

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

In The Good Ol' Summertime

What a summer!  I looked to the right...

 And then to the left, and June was gone before I knew it.  O.O

It must have been a blast as all I can tell you is it was full of blooms and warm, lol.

There's a new/old sewing machine in the house.  I'd been on the lookout to find this particular model for quite awhile.  She's a 1953 model 301a Singer, and she will sew lightweight leather and heavy-ish fabrics with no upsets.  I found her on Craigslist in a town nearly an hour away, but it was worth the drive, a good find.  The cabinet is handmade and very solid if not all that pretty. The first drawer held several treasures...

 It contained a buttonhole attachment with extra templates, a zigzagger, all manner of extra feet, bobbins and manuals for everything.  Someone had taken very good care of the machine and it's accessories, and I am thrilled to have it.

Any guesses what this might be?  I had no idea how to use it at first.

 It's a...

You just pull the ring shaped handles up and out to the sides and load a stocking or sock using the spring to hold it,  then place the whole thing under the sewing machine needle and sew up any holes. How it works is you just move it back and forth until the hole is filled with stitches.  I thought it was totally cool after I found out how to use it.

 Our second-year hydrangeas are growing beautifully. Coffee grounds are helping to keep the blooms blue.

 These little bugs were eating the leaves until I sprayed them ...

With a combination of 1/4 cup dish liquid and 16 ozs. water in a spray bottle.

Our Lavender Orpingtons are fully grown and producing chicks.  I've even sold some at a good profit.

This is Stubby; I thinks she's going to be a hen.

Our Buff Brahma hen is setting and very moody.  I'll just back out quietly...shh.

 I found this American Elderberry growing along the fence line and hope to transplant it to a more convenient spot in the fall.

  We had a birthday celebration on the Star of Knoxville Riverboat last month.
source

We lunched and enjoyed the ride up a stretch of the Tennessee River.
source

Hope you're all having a great summer.  :)
The little needle book from the fifties was also in a drawer of the machine cabinet. 
Shared at The Art of Home-Making Mondays, The HomeAcre Hop, Green Thumb Thursday, FarmGirl Friday, The BackYard Farming Connection