This bling-bling sewing machine caught my eye online recently and I wondered about the person who created it.
This Singer has been blinged by its owner, Jean Kake, aka The Quilted Cupcake
Her name is Jean Kake, but she is better known as The Quilted Cupcake. She has a blog, a free podcast and an etsy shop featuring fabric and yarn creations like bags, hats, accessories and baby items. She’s a busy gal.
Jean shared this about her bling-bling machine:
I decorated one of my thrifted sewing machines, covering it with buttons, stickers, paint, charms and even a cupcake-shaped lip gloss. Although it still runs, it serves as an inspiration piece in my studio, and it just makes me smile to look at it.
Jean says she paid just $15 for the machine at Goodwill. “It works, but I don’t plan to use it. I could, but for me, it’s all show and no go.”
Jean of The Quilted Cupcake
Jean sounds like a fun-loving, level-headed quilter gal who is just out to make some quilts and share them with others.
I feel the need to tell you all this because I shared this photo with our followers on Facebook recently and was surprised by the terrific response it generated. I asked our Facebook friends, “Hmm. Would you do this to your sewing machine? Thumbs up or thumbs down?”
Three hundred eighty three (383) people gave it a thumbs up. Two hundred ninety three (293) left comments. Seems you landed squarely on one side or the other, without much middle ground.
You loved it, or you hated it.
The comments kept me entertained for hours! Here are some that caught my attention, first from the “thumbs up” people:
Brilliant idea.
Incredibly creative!
I think it’s awesome!!!! I have stickers all over mine.
I love it.
Great conversation piece.
One of a kind =)
Mine looks very boring now.
Some comments were funny or thought-provoking:
• That cupcake on the front would make me hungry all the time.
• Seems like a waste of good buttons.
• Would be cool to take to retreats.
• I would be better at doing that than sewing!
• You’d never know which button to push.
• (Would you do this to your sewing machine?) Today, yes—as the tension has gone awry!
• Love the look!! (But) Not for my machine, would be too distracting and confusing!! Thumbs up, and down!! Ain’t that like a woman!!!!
And some folks didn’t like it so much.
• UGLY!!!!!
• Gross!
• Totally disgusting!
• Ewwwwww!
• Never!
• Too retro, too old, too busy, too Partridge family.
I’m sure if you had known that Jean’s machine was thrifted and meant only for fun and decoration, you might have been a little less intense about declaring your disdain. I liked the attitude of this person:
Wouldn’t do it to mine, but if you want to, go ahead.
And this one had it figured out:
I think all of the colors make a bold decor statement. I’ll bet this machine is not in use.
So the bottom line is that, from a quilter’s perspective, it might not be the most practical machine on which to work (Jean would agree).
Nevertheless, most of us can recognize that it was incredibly creative, it’s interesting, it’s inspiring and heck, it’s good, clean fun.
And that is just what sewing is supposed to be!
* * * * *
Many thanks to Jean Kake, who was a completely good sport about all of this!
Looking at the Singer logo on the machine, it could be from the same era as my Singer “Genie” (early ’70′s). And I recognize some of those buttons. Would I do it to mine? No, but this one is hers–like a quilt, any way you want to.