Oh I Do Like To Be...

I should have guessed Saltburn would be busy today being the sunny end of a school half term holiday. The added attraction of the model railway running and donkeys on the beach must have been a great pull.

The sea made room for more to explore the beach and I had a productive 20 minutes collecting sea glass, pottery and stones for future arty projects.

We went to Saltburn with our daughter who was hoping to find an old sewing machine in the charity shop. They weren't old enough so we moved onto the vintage shop. They had one but it was also an early electric with bits missing. Best avoided. 

After a pub lunch next to the beach we drove back to Marske-by-the-Sea where a small vintage shop had just what she was looking for. I spotted it tucked away under a table, a c.1907 Jones Family CS (Queen Alexandra) with many extras and wooden cover box. It is listed as a travelling sewing machine, fine if you have man servants to lift it!

Jones manufactured sewing machines from 1860 and was bought out by Brother in 1968. My daughter has been using a Brother for over a decade but it has become worn-out. She tells me her 118 year old Jones machine is creating neater, straighter stitches than the modern.