On Tue, 05 Jan 2010 22:25:00 +0000, Orchid XP v8 wrote:

>>> she still owns a
>>> sewing machine that's fully capable of sewing through leather - or
>>> human, flesh, for that matter.
>> 
>> My mom's got at least 3 that she uses for different purposes.  She does
>> a fair amount of quilt making, but also does an awful lot of custom
>> work - from upholstery to wedding dresses.  She's also started teaching
>> others her craft, through her part-time job (working - where else - in
>> a fabric store).
>> 
>>> That's happened once or twice before
>>> now...
>> 
>> I think anyone who's sewed for any length of time has managed that.  I
>> even managed it back in middle school (when it was a required course at
>> the school I went to).
> 
> Well, my mum has a normal domestic sewing machine. (I say "normal" - it
> was a wedding present, so it's now about 35 years old...) Anything
> thicker that cordroy and it just can't handle it. The mechanics just
> aren't man enough for the job.

Yeah, some of the lower end models don't do a very good job with thicker 
fabrics.

> My grandmother's machine is an industrial sewing machine. It's even
> older, as evidenced by the leather drive belt, but it will sew through
> leather. It's specifically designed to cope with leather. (What? How did
> you *think* they make car interiors?)

Vinyl, or cloth. ;-)  Actually, though, most modern cars don't have the 
interiors made by hand - it's mostly automated now, AFAIK.

> She and my grandad ran their own business doing custom interior work -
> mostly curtains, but also bed-heads, cushions, etc. Even worked in
> several other countries. Back then, they were loaded. Went on several
> world cruises, could afford the best and most expensive clothes, cars,
> and so forth.

My dad also did a lot of woodworking, and the two of them did a lot of 
the interior work in the house I grew up in as a result - dad redid the 
woodwork, and mom redid the clothwork.  They were quite the team (dad 
passed away a few years ago).

> Of course, that was before some dodgy pension scheme ate their money.
> Now they're poor broke pensioners...

That stinks; my dad had something similar happen, but they were able to 
recover some of it (it was an investment scheme and the person managing 
the investments turned out to be clueless IIRC).

Jim

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