December Newsletter

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Featured Quilter: The Treadle Lady - Donna Kohler

Whenever Donna showed her quilts to her quilt guild, she always explained that they had been stitched on treadle sewing machines. After a while, it became natural to introduce herself as the Treadle Lady, which aptly describes what she does and how she feels about treadles.

Donna’s sewing expertise began at the age of 5 when her mother taught her to embroider, after which she always seemed to have a needle in her hand. She was about nine when her family moved back to her Grandmother Mamanie’s little adobe house in El Paso, Texas, and she saw her first treadle sewing machine.  It was an old Singer, decorated with mysterious-looking Egyptian style decals. That summer Mamanie (pictured here at about 18 to 20 years of age) taught her to sew with that very machine and Donna filled a shoe box with clothes for her chubby baby doll. She remembers sewing, by hand, a tight red skirt to play in just after turning 9, earning her Seamstress and Dressmaker badges in Girl Scouts by 12, buying 3 yards of fabric for $1 at Woolworth’s Five and Dime store to make a dress at 15, and making lined wool skirts and jackets at 16.

When Donna was pregnant with her first son and her husband was overseas in the military, she went to stay with her sweet, gentle Grandmother (pictured below) for several months. By then, Mamanie owned two treadles. The two spent that hot, Texas summer treadling together with Mamanie speaking to her in Spanish and Donna replying in English.  

It was a few years after Mamanie died, while she and her husband were stationed in Hawaii , that Donna saw a treadle at a swap meet and felt she must have it because it reminded her of her precious Grandmother. In 1976, when she pieced her first quilt, she chose to sew it on that treadle. From 1990 to 1993, her sewing machines – including the treadle – were placed in storage while she lived in Holland . She purchased a portable, electric, zig-zag machine to use during that time, but by 1993 her heart ached for her adult sons, for California sunshine, and for treadling again.

Upon her return, when her feet hit that treadle, all of her wonderful memories of treadling with her Grandmother flooded back and she decided that she never need use an electric sewing machine again.

In 1999, Donna decided that she wanted two treadles like Mamanie’s. Two led to three and three led to more. She has stopped counting but thinks she has about 14 in the house and several more in the garage. She finds them fascinating and very difficult to turn down. They span the years from 1875 to 1960. Two of them do a zig-zag stitch, one is an industrial machine, several allow their feed dogs to be dropped for free motion embroidery or quilting, and one is a chain stitch machine. Some have beautiful decals and unusual cabinets or fancy metal legs, while others are plain, but unique in other ways. Donna uses her treadles. They are not simply a collection.

Each machine has its own personality and after acquiring several, Donna began to give them nicknames: the sturdy Bertha; the dark and handsome Scotty; the elegant Gibson Girl; Grizelda the Black Widow who sounds like a Mercedes diesel; Miss Twiggy; Hot Legs; Scarlet; Freddy with the thick Russian accent.  

Donna enjoys her treadles and finds them fun to use. With no electrical cords needing to be plugged in, she is free to sew wherever she pleases, even wheeling them out onto the patio to sew among her flowers. Some treadles are so quiet, Donna explains, that they do not interfere with radio or television, while others have soothing “click-click” sounds. She also enjoys the sense of nostalgia and history, which is a part of these old machines.  “They are dependable workhorses, which will do jobs that cannot be expected of a delicate, intricate machine that needs regular professional servicing.”

In this photo, Donna is piecing the back of a charity quilt using a three quarter size machine in a treadle, Jones model, made in England in 1920. The emblem states, "As supplied to her majesty, Queen Alexandra," so she has nicknamed it  Her Majesty. The Jones company added the statement to the emblem till the time of the Queen's death.

One of the many comments Donna hears is that she must have strong legs from treadling. Actually, if treadles are cleaned and oiled, they run effortlessly. Sometimes a machine will have thread and hair tangled in the large wheel below which happened when women left spools of thread on the side of the machine and the ends were drawn down by the leather belt. It amazes her that women left the tangled mess and probably complained that they needed a new machine when the treadle became difficult to operate. Since the machines are so dependable, their care was often neglected. The only time she gets a workout from treadling is when doing free motion embroidery or quilting for an extended amount of time. One thing she never needs to worry about is a motor overheating.

Donna also has some hand operated machines which are good for paper piecing projects since they are so precise. Using both these machines and treadles has created some funny moments for her when she tries using her feet to treadle when she should be hand cranking, or tries to hand crank when she should be treadling! She finds that children especially like using hand machines because there is no fear of a motor going too quickly for them.

Donna explains that the average old treadle just needs a good cleaning to sew beautifully. Slide plates, bobbins and shuttles are the most common missing parts and can usually be found at old sewing machine shops and via the Internet. The old machines are simple enough to learn to clean and get into proper working order yourself. However, she warns treadle owners never to  use cleansing products or alcohol on the machine heads because they can easily remove the old, dry finish that is protecting the gold decals. Also, too much cleaning can remove the gold from the decals and leave them with a silvered look.  These original gold decals are irreplaceable.

Most treadles from 1900 to the 1960s will sew very nicely. There are still treadles being made, however Donna explains that the quality is not the same as that of the old ones. Today's cabinets are made of particle board, which does not hold up well, and the machines do not operate smoothly.

By now, like me, you likely want to find your own treadle! For a first machine, Donna recommends the old Singers and White Rotary models as they are very dependable and do not need more than a general cleaning to remove lint, and regular oiling. One major difference between them is that the hand wheel on a Singer turns forward and the one on the White Rotary turns backward. They will sew through many layers of denim or canvas quite easily and never be thrown out of time or adjustment. They also perform well on delicate fabrics. Parts for these machines are easier to find and can even be taken from an old, orphaned machine. Look for them at garage and tag sales, antique shops, estate sales, thrift stores, consignment shops, and even sewing machine stores.

Donna recommends that first time buyers find a machine with no missing parts. Check that slide plates, bobbin, shuttle, and tensions parts are included as these are the most common items missing. Many old machines do not have the  reverse stitch feature, but if she finds it necessary she can lock seams in place by making the last several stitches very small in size.

The picture to the left of Donna and friends was taken in May and appeared with an article in the current, winter 2003, issue of Quilt Magazine. On the second Monday of each month the ladies gather for show and tell and quilting. Since Donna's house only has treadles and not all of these ladies normally use them, she has nicknamed them "The Captive Treadlers."

Donna gives workshops and presentations . When she can drive to workshops, she takes a couple of her machines along with her so that people can try them. This gives participants a good idea of how easily a machine operates when free of packed lint, dried oil, and dirt. 

Left to right: Rauna Sarno, Sheryl Fogal, Connie McBride holding teapot,
Donna Kohler, Beverly Daniels and her grandson Kyler Varin, LouVina Graves

Workshops are 6 hours in length. Students are  encouraged to bring their machines along in order to start the cleaning process and to get acquainted with their treadles if they are new to them. Donna makes leather machine belts, some machine supplies, and a few parts available for purchase. Among the many other things they are taught, students learn the basics about these dependable old beauties and are given a demonstration on cleaning and oiling the treadles as well as replacing the leather belt.

"Treadles are Like Classic Cars - Take them out for a Sunday drive," is the name of Donna's presentation. It includes a slide show during which she talks about the entertaining bits of her 50 year treadle history and why she gave up electric sewing machines in 1993. Model types and the differences between them  are also included and explained. Quilts made only on treadles or hand cranks are displayed along with slides of some of her machines. 

Donna is shown here with Alex Anderson during the taping of  HGTV's Simply Quilts. Watch for Donna on the upcoming show #923.

For more information about Donna and to inquire about her workshops, presentations, and fees, visit her Treadle Lady web site. While there, be sure to look at her Easy Load Quilter's Tote pattern and her Gothic Window Ghost Quilt pattern which young children, and the children in all of us, are sure to love.

 

Book Reviews 

Sunshine and Shadow - by Earlene Fowler

This book is the latest in the Benni Harper Mystery Series - a series in which quilts play an important part. The title of each is the name of a traditional quilt pattern. 

I just finished reading it and am eagerly awaiting the next in the series. If you have not read any of these great mysteries, I heartily recommend starting with the first one and reading your way through all of the books. Although you can start anywhere because each book is complete in itself, it is helpful to know the backgrounds of each. In order, they  are:

                   1. Fool's Puzzle                           6. Mariner's Compass
                   2. Irish Chain                              7.  Seven Sisters
                   3. Kansas Troubles                     8. Arkansas Traveller
                                                               4. Goose in the Pond                  9.  Steps to the Altar
                                                               5. Dove in the Window             10.  Sunshine and Shadow

Read more about each book at Earlene's web site where you can also read about her upcoming quilt book as well as her mysteries. You can also find out what quilts and Buffalo Bill Cody have in common, sign up for her mailing list, view her gallery of quilts, and choose from among 6 free quilt patterns - those for which her first six books are named.

Quilting Curves - by Vikki Pignatelli

This book offers an innovative technique for machine-piecing curves with ease through the use of topstitch piecing. With this method, perfect accuracy can be obtained and instead of building a quilt block by block, the quilt top is built gradually.

There are dozens of photographs of lovely quilts and nine, complete, step-by-step patterns to get you started. It is beautifully and well illustrated. This new method is very interesting and I am looking forward to trying it.

Visit Vikki's site to read more about her methods and to view some of her quilt samples  

 Quilting Tools
 

The Bias Square Ruler

The Bias Square Ruler comes in several sizes - 4 inch, 6, inch, 8 inch, and  20 centimeter. Half square triangles can be made more quickly and easily with it.

First, two fabrics are cut into bias strips of the desired width. The fabrics are stitched together and the seams are pressed - being very careful not to stretch the seams during both processes. The Bias Square ruler is then placed on the fabric with the diagonal line of the ruler over the seam line, and the desired square size is cut - as illustrated in the diagram. 

The circles which can be seen on the ruler are not a part of it. They are the clear, plastic grippers I placed on the back to keep the ruler from sliding on the fabric when cutting. - Look for these rulers at your local quilt shop.  

A:  Thank you. I am glad that you do. - Quilts with Canadian themes are surpisingly hard to find. I was only able to find a few. If any of our readers know of others, please email them to me and I pass them on to Sherry and add them to next month's newsletter.

(Remember to close each link before opening another one.)

Sally Richard has a pattern of Canada's Provincial flowers. It is pattern #959 on her Pattern Central site.

Ruth Powers' Third Weekend in October quilt pattern is a popular one. You can see it on her Innovations site. There are several Maple Leaf patterns to see.

Cottonwood Quilts also has two Maple Leaf patterns.

The PiecePatcher site has a pattern with a maple leaf design.

Chickadee Charms has a pattern of a trophy bull moose and a sampler which includes a Canadian Goose block.

Terry Thompson has a Canadian Goose pattern and a migrating ducks pattern. 

QuiltersWarehouse has a Canadian designer with several Canadian landscape quilt patterns. Look for Rocky Mountain Designs. 

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