Power is Out - Time to Sew
Power was out city-wide first thing this morning, and we were one of very few shops that were open and doing business. I rolled my Singer 29K70 treadle over to the display window where the best sunlight was coming in, and sewed an embroidered patch onto a motorcycle vest, while nearby my wife pinned some T-shirts for alterations. Once I was done, I rolled my machine out of the way, and set my Singer 201K4 handcrank machine up on a small table up in front of the window for my wife’s job. She sewed additional pockets onto T-shirts with the HC. Her customer likes adding additional pockets to his T-shirts, by sacrificing the sleeves.
Two of our out-of-town customers dropped in to buy fabric, and other than having to carry a bolt to the window to make sure we had navy blue instead of black, fabric cutting went on as usual since they were both cash sales. The barber next door was in his shop, but he had told us years ago that he doesn’t even keep a pair of scissors around anymore since the vacuum clippers became popular, so I don’t think he ever turned his open sign around. He went home after an hour or so. The 24-hour fitness center on the other side of us had a few clients stop by, but they couldn’t get in through the electronic key system, so they quickly jumped back into their cars and left. (The cold north wind was sharp, and they were dressed to sweat.)
Everyone’s power came back on around 10:30, so things returned to normal at that point. We don’t get to test our “preparedness” for power outages much, so we are pleased with how things went this morning. We found out that we can still operate our little shop without electricity for a short time, thanks to our vintage people-powered sewing machines! And my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed the event. It was a nice little break from the normal.
CD in Oklahoma