Twins at the Treadle Machine

When my twin granddaughters came to visit at Christmas I offered them a chance to stitch on a Singer V-2 treadle machine that I am preparing to give to a younger quilting buddy.  (I have run out of space in my sewing room and this machine is moving to a new home where it will be cherished.)

Anyhow, these girls (who will be ten years old in April) did not need much instruction to make the treadle work and they had a great time just stitching straight lines for about fifteen minutes.  Then I took them downstairs and showed them my longarm machine.  I let them write their names on some scrap fabric, just to show them how sewing machines had changed in the last 125 years, from a foot powered treadle to a longarm with a small computer "brain" that regulates the stitches and gives you needle up and needle down, etc.

They came back upstairs and continued to work with the treadle machine.  They were giggling a lot so I went to the laundry room to see what was so funny.  They were doing free motion work with the treadle ... very slowly working at writing "Merry Christmas" with treadle power. I was flabbergasted.  The words were not neat but I could read what they were doing.

What amazing girls my son has given me.  Too bad they live so far away or I would make quilters out of them.  :-)