In one of my previous J&O Fabric Store blogs I shared with you how my mothers black and grey metal Singer was both intimidating and yet compelling as well; drawing me to it as my mother showed me how to become not only more self-sufficient, but a good caretaker for the family I would one day create. With a thick rubber belt that now reminds me of the timing belt on my car, an adjustment knob that was about the size of a saucer, and weighing in at what seemed to be comparative to the weight of a small child, that old Singer was one sturdy machine. And though time would erase the exact date of her departure, my memories would create a blueprint for succeeding sewing machines to measure up to. They had to be dependable, strong, and low maintenance. But just like many other oldie but goodies that modern technology has replaced, the machines of my day would fall short of my expectations. Don’t get me wrong, I sure can appreciate the portability and extra tricks my plastic Kenmore can perform, but nothing beats my mama’s black and grey Singer. Even after all these years, I still keep an industrial Singer on hand just in case my 58-stitch-built-in-needle-threader-machine fails me. Funny thing though, is that it seems I’m not the only one. After my co-worker posed her own inquiry to our fabulous facebook fans asking the question, “What do you miss most about the older sewing machines?”, the overall response seemed to speak for itself. So in ode to the Old, take a moment to check out some of our people pole views.