NE Texas TOGA

Lone Oak, Texas -- here we come.  Mister and I are off bright and early this morning for a fun day in an area of Texas that is new to me.  Our destination is the Matthews Retreat Center and the TOGA -- Treadle On Gathering Academy.  I am so hoping to walk away with a new (to me) hand crank.  Fingers are crossed and here we go.

Upon our arrival, we are greeted at the door by Valerie, and she makes us feel right at home.  Name tags are on and we are ready to check things out.  There is someone at the registration desk, another manning a sale booth, and a room full of machines.  Some are being sewn on, some are being repaired, some are just to show off, and still others are hoping to find new homes.  Oh, the eye candy is everywhere.  Mister and I start moving around the room, checking each machine out and learning a bit along the way.  As he stops to check out a purple Featherweight, I can hear him say, "I have one at home that I need to paint."  Oh yeah --- he hasn't forgotten.



There are even some wonderful Wilcox and Gibbs sitting around for others to ogle.  Oh my -- yes, I am guilty.

So, now, sit back and enjoy the beauty of these wonderful vintage ladies.

So delicate and exquisite.

Mister is still dreaming of owning one of these.  He passed one up a year ago and has regretted it since.

Valerie's

An electric Wilcox and Gibbs

I love the table for this one.

In the other room, demos are going on every half hour.  What fun.  This is like a mini retreat all by itself.  This particular one is for these phone/tablet holders to place near your machine.  What a great little idea.  I may have to give it a whirl.

Mister gives a helping hand to Riley while he works on a machine.

One of the members has a nifty little booth near the back door where I spot these towels.  Nice.

Ana is having a machine looked at and guess what?  Yep, she leaves with it running beautifully.

Treadle talk.

An announcement is made that Mike Anderson has arrived with a trailer full of machines.  I am one of the first out the door and check things out.  As I open the front passenger door of his vehicle, I notice a closed case on the seat and am sure it is a hand crank.  I tell Mister that I want to see what is inside.  Then I spot another machine on the trailer that I want to see and by the time I barely look at it, Mister comes over to tell me that I missed out.  The machine is already sold.  What?  Dang -- lesson learned.  Guard, guard, guard.  What was it?  Oh -- well only a pristine Jones hand crank.  Okay, I'm gonna stop talking about it now and no -- I will not post a picture of it.

Finally, one of the closed cases is opened to my wondering eyes.  Oh, now they are misty.  How lovely is this?  (I know I've been hanging with Valerie when I start using the term "lovely".  Goodness but I am coveting this machine.

Mister takes a peek at it as well.  Yep, he's coveting too.

Valerie and Deb are doing a class on attachments and that is up now, so off I go to check it out.  I have no idea what Mister is doing.

Valerie teaches us about the ruffler foot and the blind hem attachment.  Both are incredible feats of ingenuity.  Think about it -- designed FOREVER ago.  Her lesson comes complete with a Power Point presentation.  Yep, I can certainly tell that she used to be a teacher.

The next attachment is for pinking and doesn't involve the needle at all.  I am in awe as I have not seen this before.  I will definitely be on the hunt now -- perhaps I need to make another trip up to Norman where we found all those delightful attachments before.

Look close at this sweetheart.  What fun is this.  No more crooked pinked edges.  I want one.  Why?  Oh who knows since I rarely pink anything, but still --- gotta get me one of these.

After the class, we say goodbye and begin our journey back towards Dallas --- with some planned stops along the way.  See you next year TOGA.