As Mr Singer Intended

   It has been a fairly eventful couple of weeks and very different to Christmas of the past few years. Orders and inquiries have been coming in steadily. I managed to get over to the leather suppliers and have the makings for a couple of commissions. I start back On Monday 30th to get a couple of items in the post.

  The 29 has some more attention and oil. I had to resort to the hammer to persuade a part of the mechanism to join the reminder of the machine in working. The mechanism that moves the foot up and down just needed a few friendly raps to free it. More oil and working it up and down freed it up and had running as smooth as silk. The tensioner, stitch length and foot lift all now work as Mr Singer intended. I found the parts I need from the Internet so I expect I will be sewing by this time next week - postal service permitting. 

Papplewick Christmas Fair

   I was one of a select few craftsmen to be invited to attend the Christmas Fair at Papplewick Pumping Station. Click HERE for their website. There was David Gill the Blacksmith, Bob Newman the wood turner and me doing my leather work. Well, I would have done some leather work but it was perishing cold. The sun was so low in the sky, it being the day after the winter solstice, and the courtyard being surrounded by two story buildings and beyond that a big stand of trees which all led to a lack of direct sunshine. The wind was biting cold. I set up my gazebo but only put one side of it. Anymore and I would have a parachute loosely tethered to the ground. The one side gave a degree of shelter from the wind. I set up my new folding table and set out the goodies. Extra care was needed to make sure nothing would blow away in the gusts.

   11 0'clock came and gates were opened. Folks came in and went straight past me with hardly a glance. I discovered this was the choir that were performing at midday. Visitors came in but did not linger. Most were dressed in their finery for the concert. The volunteers of the Pumping Station came by to say hello which was very nice. Bob the wood turner was set up next to me. He was very organised. He had a trailer which was set up with a lathe, lights and a heater. It took him minutes to set up and pack up. Bob likes a chat so we kept each other company through the day.

Old and new knobs

I was recently given a seized up Singer 29 leather sewing machine. The wooden knob on the flywheel was broken. I knew a wood turner would be at the event so I took along the broken knob. It had split from end to end from drying out. Bob was only too pleased to make my a replacement. As he rightly said, doing something bring people in and it passes the time. The story of the knob gave Bob something to talk to the customer about and it demonstrated the cross over in skills.

The new knob fitted to the 29

 

   As the day warmed up and the wind dropped more people came to see the various performances. Those folks that had seen the performances then came to look at our stalls as did the performers themselves. Lots of the volunteers came by to say hello. I met some interesting folks. Lots of stories for folks to tell me. I found out that the model boat club was based at the pumping station. That gave me an idea to do up my A class yacht so I could sail it at the station. The A class is impressive in full sail.


   Ashley, the Director of the station, came by to see how we were all doing. I now have an open invitation for all the open days at the station for 2014. I can see Papplewick being a regular venue for me. It is a nice place and nice people. The event close at 4pm. Just as well, the Sun had set and with the sun went whatever heat it provided. Being out doors all day was fine. I was dressed for the day and the gazebo provided shelter from the wind.

   The steam engines were shutdown and were started to be cleaned. I packed up my pitch and wished everyone a Merry Christmas and with that my last event for 2013 was over. Time to take stock over the Christmas break. Having said that I was at The Identity Store in Matlock on Monday. Jackie made me a brew which came with a mince pie. Jackie left me to peruse the stock. I have a couple of commissions for which I need suitable pieces of leather. Jackie came up trumps as usual. Whilst chatting over the brew told that Jackie and Peter, The Identity Store, would like to do some joint events in 2014. We did a joint event at the Midlands Game Fair earlier in the year. Click HERE for the story.

Merry Christmas.