Please let me I introduce you to my new old treasure, my sewing machine Alice. The model is called “Haushalt-Zick-Zack-Nähmaschine Klasse 53” – a “zig-zag sewing machine for the home, class 53”, and it was produced by VEB Nähmaschinenwerke Altenburg, district of Leipzig.

Alice came to our home at some point in the early Sixties – my Grandpa gave her as a gift to my Grandma a few years after their wedding in 1954. So, Alice has quite a few years under her belt, but she is still in excellent condition and came with her complete set of accessories. And one of the main things that makes her special for today:

Alice is a treadle machine, which means she runs on “foot power”, and does not have an electrical motor. Thus, I could even sew with her during a power outage by candle light (though this particular situation has yet to arise).

I got Alice as an heirloom some time ago, and we have become great friends since then. I even gave her a name (which is not something that many inanimate objects can say of themselves). Her name “Alice” is a slightly far-fetched construction from the words “Altenburg“ (the place where she was manufactured) and “Zick-Zack” (for zigzag sewing machine). It’s also a little allusion to Alice in Wonderland: Learning to sew and getting into this whole sewing universe feels indeed like falling into the rabbit hole and discovering a new world full of wonders. So many opportunities, so much to take in and to try out… I am actually just waiting to meet the Mad Hatter any moment now.

Despite her rather old age, this lady is a true workhorse: several layers of denim, corduroy, or even leather – Alice makes short work of them all. Plus, she looks rather stylish, in my opinion. I don’t think you could find any more elegant curves on a Cadillac:

Since these are the first photos on the blog, let me explain something about the images you are going to see here. I love beautiful pictures (Well, who doesn’t?), and part of the fun of reading blogs is the fantastic eye-candy you get to see. However, the catch is that I am a lot better juggling with words than with fancy photo technology and things like image composition… But luckily for all of us, I know just the right person for the job:

My very own favourite photographer Andy Kocher kindly agreed to support my blog with his photos, which means that, hopefully, you will get to see fantastic images like the ones in this article on a regular basis. For the more spontaneous posts, you will probably have to put up with my less-than-optimal photo skills and my little point-and-click camera now and then as well (and I am sure the difference will be more than obvious). But for now, here’s some more of the pro-level stuff. More of Andy’s works can be found in the very near future at his website andykocherphoto.com.

Of course, all of the pictures on the blog are protected by copyright, so please contact Andy or me, if you would like to use them!

Now that you got to know Alice, how about you? Do you use any vintage sewing equipment, or are you a fan of more modern sewing technology?

See you soon!
Kati