Monday, September 30, 2013

Nice Rhythms, Leftovers, Drawings in the Dark, and a Small Quiz



























This afternoon I went to get my hair cut.  While I was waiting,

 I noticed one of the salon workers doing something to a client's eyebrows.  I really enjoyed drawing the shapes and rhythms of the chair and basin, the two women's hair and gestures.  A few feet away were a broom and dustpan, both really lovely shapes to draw.

A Trader Joe's has opened in Asheville, right next to our beloved Greenlife/Whole Foods and also right next to a new and very large Harris Teeter.  We now have traffic that can't be believed in the block before our little downtown.  Suddenly there are enormous parking lots there and large crowds checking out the two new stores.  I decided to check out the Trader Joe's this afternoon.  Walking inside I was transported to the Trader Joe's in Maplewood, NJ, as well as to the one in Medford Lakes, NJ.  It felt like being dropped into a different place altogether.  My loyalties lie with Greenlife, but I'll probably saunter on over to TJ for a savings on yogurt, paper goods, olive oil, and some of their prepared frozen dinners.  I brought home some farfalle with spinach and a southwest style salad, both good and really inexpensive.  Drawing 607 shows how much was leftover from two single-serving packages of the farfalle.

The other side of the page I drew while watching Breaking Bad (not the most recent, because we're still in season 3) -- drawn in the almost dark.


























Can you figure out what drawing 609 is?  No, it's not a round worm like you drew in high school biology class.  Not a snake skin either.  It's the ancient leather belt that snapped in two while I was sewing on my treadle sewing machine this afternoon.  Yesterday it was so loose the needle kept moving after I would try to park it in the up position, so I tightened it by an inch or so.  It ran great after that.  But suddenly today it broke, and when I examined it to see if the end had slipped out of the staple, I discovered that was still firmly in place, and the break was in the middle of the belt.  I tried to fix it with an extra staple from another old belt, but the leather is so old (over 100 years possibly) and full of dust and grime that it fell apart when I punched it with the awl.  So I had to order a new 72" leather antique machine belt on eBay for a big $6.00.  Meanwhile I'm sewing on Maya's machine and getting some of the kinks out of its tension regulator while I'm at it.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Gwen,
    Loved the story about your old treadle ! I grew up using one but then Mother came into the possession of an electric Singer in the '60's ;). Now I have an old treadle (gift) but have never used it ... mainly because of the belt (dry & brittle) and feared that I would never find a replacement ... good to know they are still out there !
    Loving your drawings !

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  2. Google antique treadle sewing machines and you will find a wealth of information, help with reconditioning them, parts, even a list serv. so much to discover! and those machines will sew through everything. I have a 1907 White and a 1912 singer. love them!

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