Oh my goodness! You will not believe where I went this weekend.

A very sweet lady near Guntersville, Alabama has a little building behind her house FILLED with antique sewing machines – seriously, over 200 old sewing machines. It was such an incredible trip!

After talking with the Guntersville Museum, they put me in touch with the lady and we chatted on the phone. I could tell immediately we were kindred spirits. I’m much more a phone person than a texter, as is she (I want to hear inflections, not read emojis). Obviously we both love quilts and quilting. When my husband and I pulled up to her house, there was a sign indicating her driveway was not a turn around. I was already in love with her and hadn’t even met her. We were of one mind.

First we signed the guest book and then attempted to take in all the sewing machines. It was overwhelming. I believe most still worked, but many of them required finesse to start. The earlier machines dated to the late 1800s, and were true representations of craftmanship. There were treadles, cranks, pedals, and wheels. I soon realized this was a museum, not a back building.

Slowly I felt as if I was in a sacred place, where iconoclastic metals of the past gleamed once more. There were machines, tools, notions, sewing cabinets, spool cabinets, and much more. Had I not traveled to see her, I might not have ever come across this many antique machines, and so well preserved.

Out of all the machines she demonstrated for us, this is the machine I LOVED! It is a National Two Spool, meaning it holds two spools. Get this – the other spool was the BOBBIN! Yes, the bobbin case was the same size as a spool of thread. Note the large bobbin case in the image below. Why can’t they make them like this anymore?

One machine cabinet was ingenious! The cabinet top folded out to also be a workspace. In the bottom, there was a little door to allow air circulation. I mentioned that kids would probably play in that space, but there is also a little lock from inside to keep out kids and animals while working.

Inside her home there were quilts on top of quilts on a guest bed. While peeling back one quilt after another, as if there was no mattress but a foundation of quilts, I spotted a special one and want to give you a peek – it’s one of my favorites. It really didn’t matter which quilt I picked for the book, every quilt she made was a study in precision.

Last, we visited her sewing room. I’m always curious about where other quilters sew. She had a great space and room for a sewing machine, cutting area, and longarm machine. One entire wall was covered in blue ribbons. I may have been awestruck with the number of ribbons, but she deserved each one.

I think my husband is wonderful, but he is exceptionally so to go along with me to these trips around Alabama and hear me prattle on about seam allowances, thread cutters, and bobbins. He deserves a ribbon too.