September Boathouse Sewing on a Singer Treadle at My Friend Marilyn's Cape Breton Family Home

In September my friend Marilyn, who I have previously posted about Skype sewing with, invited me to her Cape Breton family home to sew in her recently re-acquired boathouse.  The boathouse had been built by her Grand Uncle but was sold out of the family.  This summer Marilyn got it back from people who had been using it as a craft shop.  Marilyn did not have electricity hooked up to the boathouse yet, so we decided we would have a few days of treadle sewing.  Here is my Singer Treadle Sewing machine and the tail portion of some fish blocks I was working on:

Here is a picture of both our machines near a back window for light.  We could hear the ocean which was right behind the boathouse.  Marilyn's husband also rigged up some lights on a battery so we could sew longer.  My treadle is younger and the machine will fold down in and the leaf closes over it.  Marilyn's treadle is nearly one hundred years older if memory serves my correctly and her machine does not fold down, but has a wooden cover which you can see on the floor to the right of her machine:

I was working on a School of Fishes Quilt which I designed myself and which I thought was quite appropriate (smile):

Marilyn was working on a charity comfort quilt but in all the excitement I didn't take a picture of it.

Here is a picture of the outside of the boathouse and you can see that the ocean is right behind it.  Actually the strip of land has ocean on both sides of it, so if I were to turn around 180 degrees, you would see ocean there too.  The double screen doors and the deck were installed by the people who were using it as a craft shop:

I managed to get all of the tail sections of the fish blocks sewn together as well as cutting out the large fish triangles.  The bubble blocks are also completely pieced.  I laid the pieces out on my design wall once I got home so they are ready to continue being put together on the treadle machine:

I have decided I will piece this whole quilt on the treadle machine.  I have recently purchased a new belt for the treadle and had it serviced so it is as good as new.  The stitch length lever was seized up and is now operating so I can choose a smaller stitch length when putting the remainder of the quilt together.  My father bought this treadle for $5 from someone in Ottawa who was getting rid of it and who was using it only as a plant stand!!!  It has some water damage on the veneer of the top but that doesn't stop it from being used as intended as a sewing machine.  Who knows, maybe I will even decide to try quilting this quilt on the treadle!  We shall see...

It would not do to go without mentioning that one night for supper we had a delicious deer and rabbit stew made by Marilyn's husband and I made beans and biscuits for another supper.  We went out for lobster dinner another night - although Marilyn had steak because she can have lobster anytime!