It's been a busy few months here at Skout Towers, so with previous forum difficulties and whatever I haven't posted much. I have been sewing though, in my little sewing room where I can get into my usual muddle and shut the door on it all when I have to re-enter the real world.
A few weeks ago I'd had a couple of hours sewing, then had to go to make the meal. I switched everything off and left the room. After we'd eaten, DH went upstairs and came down in a hurry demanding to know what I had left on in the sewing room. There was an acrid, hot smell in the hallway. The room itself was thick with stinking black smoke and thick soot had settled on all my bits and pieces. What a fright! What a mess!
We found out that the switch on the floor lamp next to the machine had shorted out. The switch block itself was completely burned away and the cable leading from it had also burned. Luckily the fuse in the plug had blown and so the source of ignition was extinguished. The lamp was standing next to my large piece of corrugated cardboard that I used for tracing patterns. It was scorched, but fortunately hadn't caught light. If it had gone up it would have set fire to the 2 large rolls of tablecover paper, also for pattern tracing. Then the fire would have really taken hold.
My stash of fabric is kept in plastic crates, so was okay. Everything else, including the dress I was working on, the fabric recently arrived and out for 'getting to know', pincushions etc had to be washed. The entire room had to be stripped out, washed down and reassembled. The soot was thick, black, sticky and smelly. It covered everything. All those little bits and pieces that we have lying around, pattern pieces, scissors, snips, you all know the scene.
The light was a 'father and son' type with an uplighter and a spotlight, with an in-line double switch -perfect for sewing I thought. It had been in my son's room and was about 15 years old, bought from Homebase.
We had a very lucky escape, the whole house could have gone up with us in it if this had happened overnight. I now have all electrical equipment in the room set up so that it can be switched off at the mains when I leave the room. I have a new floor lamp and will be extra careful with all old electrical bits and bobs in future.
Take care and be safe!