As though more evidence of my amateur status were necessary, I present the charming vintage sewing machine I use to make my bags. Manufactured about 40 years ago by

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Singer, back when they used heavy, all-metal construction, it goes by the adorably hokey name of Style-O-Matic. Still in great condition after all these years, it has clearly been a well cared for family treasure.

However, it wasn't my family's treasure. It just fell into my lap one day, right out of the blue. In fact, it's kind of an interesting tale...

See, I lived in one of those nice old apartment buildings from the Twenties--hardwood floors, tall ceilings, large bathtub. Since it was such a great place to live, everybody there stayed for a long time, and eventually we all knew each other well. One of my friends there found out that I like crafts and sewing, and he offered me this big box full of supplies that a former girlfriend abandoned.

I remembered her actually. She was such a wholesome, all-American, looks-great-with-no-makeup kind of girly girl. She was from Iowa too, which you'd totally expect. But evidently she was not satisfied with her life, because one day, without any warning to my friend, she decided to enlist in the Army.

Just like that, she disappeared. Left behind all of her stuff in storage at my friend's place and took off. Though she said she'd keep in touch, she was never heard from again. Dropped off the face of the Earth.

After a a few years, my friend tried to track her down, if only to get rid of her stuff. But in the end, he was stuck with it all, and so he offered me her box of supplies, plus this heavy thing in a plastic case that said "Singer" on the outside.

You guessed it. The heavy thing was the Style-O-Matic. But inside the big box were all kinds of other goodies, like bamboo knitting needles, embroidery threads, about a million zippers. The best thing, though, was the original box of extra parts that came with the sewing machine, including the manual. Paydirt! So just like that, I ended up with a solid old sewing machine in perfect condition and all the extra fancy parts. Bounty from the cosmos.

(P.S. The Style-O-Matic has been in rehab as of late. I've got another sewing machine now, which I scored at a garage sale around the corner for $15. I think of its brand name, Brother, as a good omen, plus it has a lot of fancy stitches.)