The DragonPoodle Economic Model. And A Treadle.

Myra, at my house, working on a Singer 27

Myra brought her "new" Singer 27 over and we took a look at it.  Got it oiled and turning freely, talked about what else can be done with the exterior.  But we never got it to make a decent stitch.  Swapped out bobbins, shuttles, and even the tensioner (!!!!!!) with a 27 of mine.  No luck.  My 27 is also new-to-me, and I haven't tried sewing with it yet, so who knows, maybe they both have bad tensioners.  We haven't given up, and I'm ordering new springs for both, so we will try again.

Myra's 1906 Singer 27 with Tiffany decals

But in the meantime, Myra wants a pretty machine for her treadle.  It was a birthday present from her dad, her husband got it put back together and they put new veneer on the top.  She restored the rest of the finish and it looks terrific.
 

Have you ever replaced the veneer on a sewing machine cabinet?  They did a great job.

They have worked on the color match since this photo was taken.

So I sold her one of my personal treasures, a Singer 66 with Lotus decals, brown variant.  I bought it for its good looks because I really don't like sewing on a 66--a fact which I fully disclosed to Myra before closing the deal, which included a certain amount of money and the rest in fresh eggs from her hens.

Singer 66, Lotus decals, before I restored it.  It is even prettier now, as you will see in the photo below.

Now it is Myra's Lotus!

I would have taken just eggs, but it is often hard to explain the DragonPoodle economic model to normal people.  Well, I explain it, but obviously it does not make sense to anyone but me. 
 

1909 Singer 66 Lotus in a 1906 treadle.  They make a lovely couple, don't you think?

When I figured out that I would never make any money

• selling crafts, or
• restoring sewing machines

I had a flash of revelation (no kidding) that went thusly:

 "instead of trying to make money, why not try to avoid making money?"

followed by a vague misty feeling that I had found a Path.  Even I thought I was crazy, though.

But it works.  When I can keep money out of the equation it changes everything. 

I do have to pay money to acquire sewing machines, though, so I don't mind selling them.   Money does have its uses.

However I would MUCH rather have fresh eggs from the hens of someone I know than money.  Much.

Bartering is part of the DragonPoodle economic model, but it goes farther than that.  It also includes not charging money for doing things I really want to do, like spending an afternoon with a friend with our fingers all greasy and dirty cleaning a sewing machine from 1906. 

And because I'm avoiding making money, it's easy to turn down people who want me to fix their sewing machines.  Unless they want to come over here and disassemble it with me.   That's not work, that's entertainment.

Back to the Lotus:
we were initially puzzled by the bobbin winder.  I tried the largest tire I had, and it didn't fit.

Then I realized that the bobbin winder rides on the treadle belt. 

So how do you know if there isn't a belt or bobbin tire in sight?  It's easy once you know how.  Just like everything.

If the groove in the bobbin winder and the groove in the hand wheel line up with one another, then don't bother trying out the bobbin tires!

The angle of this photo makes then look a bit off, but they are straight on.

There are ridges on the edges of the bobbin winder groove, another clue that a treadle belt is meant to be grabbed there.

The bobbin winder is nowhere near the handwheel on the Singer 27.  It is mounted low on the pillar.
Here's Myra's 27 again.

BTW, that's one difference between a 27 and a 127:  on the 127 the bobbin winder is mounted higher, and does come into contact with the handwheel, and takes a bobbin tire.

And here's a closeup from my 1896 Singer 27.  

The groove for the treadle belt on the handwheel and the groove on the bobbin winder align perfectly.

You push the bobbin winder up into contact with the belt (belt not shown here, obviously) to wind the bobbin and push it back down to disengage it.

if two grooves align, no tire needed

Here's a more modern Singer 66.  This machine only missed going to Afghanistan by one day, but that's another story.

There is a motor belt in the handwheel groove, it looks gray in the photo.  To the right of it is the bobbin winder tire,which is riding on a flat place on the handwheel.

So if the groove in your bobbin winder lines up with a flat place on the handwheel, you need a bobbin tire for it to ride on.




if its flat, you need a tire!

Spoonflower. YES,it really IS that awesome

Just got back from a fabric swap at Spoonflower.  If you don't know Spoonflower, you should.  Go and look at their site RIGHT NOW.  Of course if you do, I probably won't see you again for days.....

They print custom fabrics and wallpapers.  You can design your own, or you can buy fabric designed by other Spoonflower customers.  You can keep your designs private, or you can share them with the world and earn money if anyone else buys them.

They have ten different natural fabrics, wallpaper and wall decals, and they gave us a booklet of swatches.

The possibilities are endless. Any image you create can be printed on fabric.  Anything.  I've been thinking about DragonPoodle labels.  Take a look at their site.  Amazing fabrics.  Amazing crafty items, all printed and ready to cut and sew.

The fabric swap was not of Spoonflower leftovers, sad to say.  They don't own any of the designs (the designer/customers do), and they print out on demand so there are no leftovers and nothing for then to sell.  They shred and recycle any misprints, so no "seconds" either.  I really, really wanted to hijack the giant bin of scraps headed to the shredder.

And because they don't own the designs, I can't show you photos of the awesome fabrics being printed or cut in front of our eyes.  A bright floral with a modern vibe.  Star Wars Death Stars arranged in a grid.  A periodic table of the elements.  Some pink Daleks.  Cut-and-sew globes. Cut-and-sew cute animals. 

We were permitted to photograph anything hanging on the walls.

We didn't get to walk around and fondle the giant computerized printers, but we could see them clearly through the glass walls of the printing room.  I just LOVE factories.  Making stuff on the grand scale.

Printers were running by themselves, but I'll bet it is a lot busier in there during the work week.

The woman whose face is not obscured is Becca, who organized the event and gave us the tour.  Thanks, Becca!

There are so many small pieces of interesting fabrics in here that this photo does even begin to convey the full scope of the bounty.  As a "spring cleaning" swap it would have to be counted a dismal failure, since I brought home twice as much fabric as I took.  There were still piles and piles of fabric there when we all left and it will be donated to the Scrap Exchange. 

I had a great time hanging out with Kathy from Alamance Piecemakers Quilt Guild.  We originally met at the guild, but discovered that we both grew up in the same town in Ohio.  And I was sorry to miss meeting Ginger, a local follower of this blog who alerted me to this event but then couldn't make it.

I really don't know how to convey in words how much fun this was.  I thought about going back and putting the word AWESOME after every sentence. That would just about do it.

Now go to their website if you haven't already done so.  Have a hanky ready if you have a tendency to drool.

SPOONFLOWER 

Facebook page too

ahhhhhhh...............fabric................

A Visit To The Metal Scrap Yard

just a quick update

DD Em is down from her mountain town and helped me haul 5 dead cast iron sewing machines to the metal scrap yard today.  I had previously stripped them of everything useful to me.  They were all well and truly dead.  Do I sound defensive?  (Yes)  Am I feeling guilty?  (No, not really)

We had a good time wending our way through Durham's industrial district.  The actual place was on a gravel road off of another gravel road.  Pretty far back in there.

Wish I had pictures, but this was the most security-conscious place I have been outside an airport.  Our license plate number was recorded.  My driver's license was recorded and checked against a database.  THEN they scanned my index fingerprint.  Never had that happen before.

So, no pics, but you can check out their website:  Always Buying Scrap.  There is even a video.

It was very, very cool.  We spotted the corner where they were obviously hoarding things too good to be melted down (cool old metal 1950s chairs, large spoked wheels, and what looked like some kind of giant grinder.  Rick of American Restoration would have loved it).

The three different guys we talked to were all great--friendly and helpful.  They butted each machine up against a tubular magnet about 3 feet tall and 4 inches in diameter.  I could have told them they were iron!   Then they put them on a platform scale all together.  Printed out a ticket.  I took the ticket into a little booth (again very secure) and slid it into a slot.  And my astonishing payout emerged from the ATM.

So what were my ill-gotten gains for wanton sewing machine destruction, you ask?

Twelve dollars.  Not apiece, $12 for all five.

We had spotted a diner on the way in, so we went there and blew the whole thing on brunch.  Actually, it wasn't enough to cover brunch for two at Joe's Diner. 

And if it weren't for looking up the link for YOUR benefit, dear readers, I would never have discovered that Joe's Diner is not just a corner diner in the heart of Durham's industrial district.  It is also a magnet for celebrities.  Here's a partial list of the photos of happy Joe's customers:
Spike Lee
MC Hammer
Katie Couric
Matt Lauer
Earth, Wind, AND Fire.  Yes, all of them
Emeril
Usher
Charles Barkley

for some reason they did not ask to take our pictures while we were there.  perhaps they did not know who we were!

Yet Another Electric Treadle

Walked into my favorite charity shop a couple of weeks ago, and lo and behold, another version of the electric treadle.

Looks like vintage sewing machine Mecca, doesn't it?  Many of the ones back there are crap machines that have been there for YEARS.  Thrift shops don't have to freshen up their stock!  There are some gems here though.

You may remember that the one I bought had both a full treadle set-up (foot pedal, flywheel, pitman) and a motor controller that could be attached to the pitman.  The logical conclusion is that it began life as a treadle and was later converted to use an electric motor.  And then unconverted back to a treadle.


This one is different.  There is no flywheel.  There is no evidence that a flywheel was ever there.  So, yeah, I know I should not be calling it a treadle.  But except for that missing flywheel, it looks just like a straight leg treadle.

So what is this, some rare early transitional form?  Inquiring minds need to know.

The one I bought had frayed and broken wiring, and the pitman was not connected to the controller.  Now I have a nice photo if I ever want to refurbish mine. 

One of the many things that keep me hooked on this hobby:  There are many different things to look at, think about, learn.  Fascinating, relatively meaningless things.  None of it has to be taken seriously.  The fate of the world, the country, the state, the family are NOT AFFECTED in any way.  It's very soothing.  

Just another (potentially) pretty Red Eye.  I don't have one since the family treadle went to live at DD A's.  And I have always been partial to this particular cabinet style.  But I didn't buy it.  Not yet, anyway.

And now a word about blog comments.  Yahoo sometimes tells me when you post comments, and sometimes it does not.  I do like to respond, so I often have to do it here rather than by email.  You have the option to "subscribe by email" to the comments section on each blog post if you want to read my response to you.  And the comments by readers can be the best part of the post!

HMTATM? Davis New Vertical Feed

...continuing to explore the question "How Many Treadles Are Too Many?"  In the last post I justified my latest (and cheapest) purchase, now living in the studio as a student treadle easily converted back and forth from people power to electric power.

I joined treadleon shortly after being bitten by the vintage sewing machine bug.  Started hearing about all kinds of machines I never knew existed.  As soon as I discovered that there was a machine named
Davis, I knew I had to have one.  My maiden name was Davis.  The more I read about them the better they sounded.

Every morning with my coffee I read the digests from various sewing machine bulletin boards, and look at CraigsList sewing machines both near and far in North Carolina.  Ah, retirement.  I spotted a Davis in a town far away.  The listing was up for months, then disappeared.  Six months later the same photos showed up in a CL ad in a town nearby.  The people had moved and brought it into my orbit.  The luck of the Davises, no doubt. 

It had the worst finish of any machine head I have worked on---like sandpaper, and it would have been impossible to sew on.  The wood cabinet was in similar shape.  My usual policy is to do the least I can, but this time I stripped the finish off the cabinet with denatured alcohol, then put a tung oil finish on.  I know NOTHING about wood and woodworking, but ignorance has never stopped me.  Tung oil is super easy and looks age-appropriate in my opinion. The finish on the wood is now smooth as glass.

Now it looks terrific, better than this photo. 

This is now my go-to treadle, and I love it for many reasons.  First, it is just more comfortable than the Singer treadles.  I haven't taken any measurements or tried to figure out why, and it would not matter to any one else if I had.  Certain brands of shoes fit me, other brands the same size just don't.  I think you have to try on machines the same way you try on shoes.

Next, you don't have to haul the machine up and down.  It has a chain system and opening the lid raises the machine automatically.  Closing the lid lowers it.  I really, really love this feature.  Easy peasy, or facile facile if you speak French.  You learn the most interesting things on sewing machine bulletin boards.

It has an amusing drawer lined with a VERY thick felt.  The bottom lifts out, allowing you to hide something beneath it.

I assume this drawer is meant to protect the attachments, and it came with a bunch.  I love having them, fondling them, and reading about them.  But all I do on this machine is piece quilt blocks.  No attachments necessary.

All of these things are terrific, but none of them are unique.  Here's what makes a Davis vertical feed special---why, it's the vertical feed.

Look closely at the photo for the feed dogs.  Look again.  Still don't see them?  That's because there are none.

The needle hole is a slot rather than a hole.  Can you see it right under the presser foot?   The needle plate can be turned around for different weights of thread, so the slot you can easily see on the right hand side of  the needle plate is also a needle slot.  The needle descends at the front of the slot, pierces the fabric, the needle slides to the back of the slot and then rises and goes back to the front.

Better than a walking foot.  WAY better.  Treadling quilters love these machines.  It is just not possible for layers to shift.  You still have to prepare carefully and baste, and basting is not my thing, so I haven't tried it for quilting yet.  Next baby quilt, though.  I do love it for piecing. 

Bobbin winder engaged.  Fold it up to disengage.

I took the many of the photos before this belt was installed:  3/16" clear plastic tubing, connected with a little plastic connector.  The advantage of this is that it won't stretch over time the way that leather will.  It's cheaper and quieter than the coil spring belt.

This tubing is also available in black, which would be great, but it will take me a bit longer use up the 30 feet of the clear that I bought.  McMaster Carr has tubing in several more colors also.  Do you fancy red, green, or yellow?

As always, there is no advertising on this site.  If I tell you about a product, it is only to help you find something that I know from experience will work.  For all I know there are thousands of places to buy this.  I have heard that aquarium tubing works.






The finish on the head of the machine was sandpaper rough.  It looked like the varnish had hundreds of tiny bubbles that had burst, leaving jagged edges.  I had to attack the finish more vigorously than I usually do, at least on the bed.

Cleaning the gunk began to reveal the decals, although going too far begins to strip off the colored layer of the decals, revealing the silver beneath.

I made a radical decision on the back of the machine--I deliberately stripped it down to the silver.  It was even gunkier back here than on the front.  I just wanted to be able to see the letters and the designs.  I don't regret it.

And if you feel the need to tell me how I have sinned, send all comments to
Cheryl Warren
c/o Michael Garibaldi
Babylon 5
Epsilon Eridani

best I could do on the front

The decals on the machine look much worse in person than they do in the photographs.  The remaining gunk obscuring the decals is still dimensional--it has thickness.  It's ugly.  It's horrible.  If you saw it you would NOT blame me for stripping the back!  At least I think you wouldn't.

And although I do dearly love a beautiful machine and would swap this head out for a prettier one in a heartbeat, in the end what REALLY matters is how well it sews.  And, like most of my vintage and antique sewing machines, it sews very sweetly.  It is a pleasure to sit at this machine.

It has an interesting bed decal that reads "Made in US America".  Doug from the Davis board suggested that the number of stars on the flag would be a clue to its age, but they are just too worn away to count.


The luck of the Davises held all the way through, btw.  I did not know this before I bought it, but apparently this model (the NEW vertical feed) is the only one that takes regular sewing machine needles, rather than some obscure and hard to find vintage needle. 




Here's the thing about a nice friendly treadle, one that works well and fits your body:  it's just fun to sew on.  Not really much different from other smoothly working vintage machines, once you find the rhythm of the treadle.

Buy a treadle (or revive your grannie's with some oil and a nice new belt) and you, too, can joke about being ready for the fall of civilization.

(and, in honor of my Baltimore roots)
How 'bout them asteroids, hon?

HMTATM?* The Electric Treadle

*How Many Treadles Are Too Many?

I sold my Singer 7-drawer gingerbread-y treadle with a Singer 237 in it, and the recipient wanted sewing lessons--on a treadle.  So the same day I delivered it, I went out and bought another treadle.  It was on CraigsList in the Big City, but was actually here in my little town, population 5,000, two blocks from my house.  It was filthy, and the veneer was not peeling, it was entirely de-laminating.  But for $25 it was perfect for down in the studio, where "eclectic" is probably the kindest thing that can be said about the decor.

The great thing about items that are in truly horrible condition is that you never have to worry about messing them up.  I took a scraper to the veneer and removed as much as possible, and in largish chunks whenever possible. This got about 75% of it off.  A very damp old linen dish towel and a hot iron allowed even more veneer to be scraped off and then a final steam or two took off much of the old glue.  All of this was really fun.  Destructo.

Sadly, no before or during photos.  One can do, or one can photograph and do at half-speed.  Or less.

Then I spent a couple of days gluing and clamping the remaining layers back together.  Then light sanding, then several coats of tung oil.

The wood underneath the top two layers of veneer looks quite nice on display, don't you think?

I removed the veneer from the front edge, where it was in the worst shape, but left it on the inside of the lid, where the fabric will be sliding across.

Singer 237 in its new home

This machine is going to serve the needs of more than one student:  two students who are treadling Singer 237s at home, and another student who bought an electric Japanese zig-zagger from me.  The 237 has a great reputation as both an electric machine and as a treadle.  I need one that is both.

New student Heidi.  Welcome!

The problem solver here is coil spring steel belting, available from McMaster Carr.  It's more expensive than the other treadle belt alternatives (to be discussed in future posts).  But it's stretchy, so it is perfect for this use, where I will be taking the treadle belt on and off of the hand wheel. If you want to do this yourself, its the 5/16" diameter carbon steel belt.  It comes in 10 foot lengths, which is enough for one Singer treadle but not enough for two.  You have to also buy the connectors which screw inside the two open ends of the belt--it's the smaller coil shown below. 

I cut it with giant bolt cutters because giant bolt cutters are the tool I have.  No idea what you should really use.

The coil spring belt is also good if you are treadling a Singer 306, 316, or 319.  They have to be tilted back in order to change the bobbin.  With a spring belt you do not also have to release the belt. 

Returning student Heather treadles a 237 at home also.

Heather's shoes have toes. Just had to show you!

treadle mode with motor belt removed

I took some of the extra belting and also made a motor belt.  I can switch this machine back and forth from electricity to people power in less than a minute.  Considerably less--a few seconds is all it takes.  And an electric light on a treadle is always a nice touch.

motor mode with treadle belt dropped down.  yes, the metal motor belt is noisy.

I know nothing about motors.  Some day I will learn.  Not today.  I have heard that the stretchy rubber motor belts are bad for motors, but I don't know why.  So maybe this is bad also.  But since it is used at most for a fraction of an hour a week, I'm not too worried about it.  This machine is strictly for student use.  I do my own treadling upstairs in "Studio North", aka the living room.




















Since students are coming every week, I plan to leave the machine up, not tucked away in the cabinet.  The studio is also the guest room, and this treadle is also the bedside table, so the only time I will put the machine away is when someone is planning to sleep in that bed.  So the machine needs a cover.  And in an amazing twist of fate I spotted this magazine rack across the room at a charity shop and was immediately drawn to it.  At first I did not know why.  Can you read upside down?

By the time I got this close I knew what it was and scooped it up.  Two other women openly lusted after it and told me so before I got to the check out. A little reverse carpentry, and voila:  returned to its original function, albeit in a less elegant setting.

So, a real pastiche, an ancient and decrepit Singer straight leg treadle stripped of much of its veneer and glued back together, holding a Singer 237 zigzagger with dual motor and treadle capability, crowned with an absolutely gorgeous New Home coffin top from an even earlier era.

I call this the electric treadle, and this is not its first incarnation as an electric treadle.  It came with a treadle-pedal-as-motor-controller conversion box.  Back in the day you could add a motor to your treadle sewing machine.  Unscrew the pitman from the flywheel and screw it into the motor controller.  The treadle pedal will then control the motor on the sewing machine and make it go.  And the only reason I know this is that one of the folks over at treadleon sent me a copy of the instructions for attaching all of this.  Thanks, Jimmie!

side view of motor controller, the box to the right of the flywheel

All of the wiring was horrifying, of course, and I have no intention of trying to use this.  And although the machine had a motor and the motor was connected to this controller, the pitman was still connected to the flywheel, meaning that it was functioning as a treadle when I bought it.  Just another vintage sewing machine mystery. 

It was my husband's grandmother's treadle that set off the addiction.  I had always wanted one.....ONE.  I never imagined any reason why I would want or need more than one.  Silly me.  In future weeks I will describe my other treadles and the reasons why I love them and have to keep them. 

How many do YOU have?  Are they enough or do you want more?  Do you think you have too many? 

So...how many treadles are too many?

BANNED from the vintage Kenmore yahoo group!

Wowzer!  I posted a message a couple of days ago to the vintage kenmore yahoo group and suddenly stopped getting the digest.  Today I went to the homepage and learned that I have been BANNED from the board.

Now I have NO idea why.  Several months ago I included my blog URL after my signature, and was told that this was against the rules.  So I apologized to the moderator and never did it again.

Recently I tried to post a message saying that I could not open a file on this board, and asked for help.  It had an rar at the end instead of the pdf that all the other files had.  I did not whine or complain in any way.  I just asked for help.  And I got banned.

Anybody have any ideas about this?

I'm not majorly a Kenmore girl, so this won't hurt me too badly.  But it would be nice to know what I did wrong, and I now have no way to contact them to ask why.

The Sewing Machine Reduction Plan

Three years ago I restored my husband's grandmother's Singer treadle and an obsession was born.

Lovely to look at, a pain in the neck to sew on.  If the handwheel slips backwards the tiniest bit, the thread breaks

Fortunately DD-A wanted it as an art object for her new house.  She did learn to use it, too.

I have followed the path trod by many others and gone through the same phases:  initial enthusiasm without the necessary knowledge or wisdom, resulting in the acquisition of some questionable machines among the jewels.  Later on, overestimation of my emerging skills, resulting in the unnecessary conversion of a couple of decent machines into parts machines (in other words, in fixing them I broke them).  Lately, facing the consequences of three years of buying sewing machines at thrift shops and from CraigsList: there were 21 sewing machines in my dining room over the holidays.  Fortunately the big dinner is at the MIL's, but really.  21 sewing machines.  And that's just the dining room.  Total head count for the entire house:  88.  It's time to turn the corner and start reducing the herd.

I had a plan, but it morphed along the way.  I was going to focus on getting the high-end Singers (401 and 500) fixed up and sell them on CraigsList.  I delved into half a dozen machines sequentially.

Singer 401s:  Enthusiasts claim that this is the best sewing machine Singer ever made

I even "repaired" one, by which I mean that I unscrewed and adjusted things and got them aligned properly.  Usually all I do is deep clean and oil them.  I always feel especially empowered and virtuous when I move beyond clean-and-oil.  I got to the point where one was clearly going to take up too much time, four each had one small thing that needed to be fixed or added, and the last one is a parts machine that could donate to some of the four.  None of those tiny repairs ever happened.  So I guess I have a plan for Christmas 2013.

In the meantime, the DH's home health nurse got interested in the sewing machines strewn around the house.  Everyone in her family, including her father, sews.  She wants to learn and asked about buying a machine from me.  We discussed it in snippets of time over several weeks.  She absolutely loved the Singer 66 brown Lotus.  Everyone in her family told her she needed a machine with at least reverse and a zig-zag and I explained why I agreed with them.  It took her a while to give up the dream of the Lotus, but in the end she choose a Singer 237 and we put it in a Singer 7-drawer treadle with the gingerbread trim on the sides.  Her family approves, which pleased and surprised me since none of them are treadling.

The Singer 237 is one of my all-time-favorite models.  Sturdy, reliable, simple and straightforward.  

Can be treadled or handcranked too.

So I had five 237's sitting around (in the front hall under the entry table), a couple of them never touched, a couple with serious problems or missing parts.  I moved from the 401s and 500s to the 237s and got three into excellent shape, combined two into one good machine and a parts machine.  One went to the nurse (she does have a name but I have not yet asked her permission to mention her here).  Another one went to a nice couple--he made the call initially and said he wanted to buy his wife a sewing machine for Christmas.  Gotta love a guy like that.  One is reserved for studio use.  One needs a minor adjusment to the spring on the tensioner.  And today I bought another one at the thrift shop.  Two out, one in--that's not bad, right? 

A fellow guild member asked me to look at her family treadle.  It turned out to be a Singer 9W, identical to a Wheeler & Wilson D-9, but with a class 221 bobbin rather than the hard to find Wheeler & Wilson bagel bobbin.  The tensioner was badly rusted, so I convinced her to buy a W&W D-9 head from me as a parts machine.  I charged her the ENTIRE $5.00 that I had paid for it, too.  And before you tell me how much I will regret letting it go, let me mention that I have a W&W No.8 with a complete set of the glass presser feet, in its treadle.

Jo's Singer 9W.  It has a Wheeler & Wilson serial number.  We put a new belt on it and got it turning smoothly.

I sold a Singer 338 to a mother for her young daughter.  Grandma is teaching the little girl to sew.  It has problems and they returned it.  Fortunately I had another one to loan them while I try to fix it.  I'm the only person on my local CraigsList to offer a 30-day guarantee on vintage sewing machines.  And if I can't fix it I will either give the money back or they can keep the loaner.

I love Singer's flat cam machines, and these are the prettiest color!

I sold a lovely Riccar 108 Japanese zig-zagger to a woman who has become a student, so you may see her later on.

Everyone who has sewed on this machine loves it (all three of us!)

 And on Christmas Eve I sold a green Alden's zig-zagger to a woman with several daughters.

Never found a cam set to fit it, so it remains a zig-zag and straight stitch only machine.

And here's the best news of all:  THEY ALL TOOK A CABINET WITH THEM.   They took the well-used but sturdy vintage cabinets.  They took the funky not-yet-cleaned cabinet with the peeling veneer.  They even took the beautiful vintage Singer cabinet with the lovely coordinating chair, and they paid extra for that one (the rest were free).

A couple of machines were re-homed without any money changing hands.  The SIL wanted a zig-zagger and took a two-tone aqua Singer 347.  Merry Christmas, Mary!

Simple zig-zagger and very pretty.

And although I haven't delivered it yet, I am planning to give Don back the 15-clone that he gave me.  I had cleaned and oiled his lady's plastic Singer and when I took it back he confessed that he is the sewing person in the household.  His sewing needs are for tarps and canvas and boat cushions.  I told him that he had given me the machine that he really needed.

Post WWII Japanese copies of the Singer model 15 are known as 15 clones.

This was the worst-looking machine ever to come through my hands.  Three living spiders emerged during the cleaning process--three different species, too.  Paint was badly chipped.  Wiring was horrifying, but it turned out that only the light wire was bad, the motor wire was fine.  So I removed the light, cleaned and oiled it, touched up the paint, replaced the missing bobbin cover, put a size 18 needle in it and some heavy duty thread, and adjusted both thread and bobbin tensions for the heavy thread.  Presto-bingo, a boat cushion cover machine for Don's workshop.

After restoration:  Sews beautifully through eight layers of heavy canvas.  Maybe more.

The two other black 15-clones that I had fitted out with hand cranks did not sell.  Not only that, they did not even get a nibble (not a single phone call).  Next year I am going to put the motors back on, fit them up with size 18 needles and market them as workshop machines for guys.  I'll let you know how that goes.



The sales did not end at Christmas.  After Christmas I sold two Singer 301s.  One a lovely LBOW (light beige, oyster white) in a cabinet with the cradle that allows you to snap the machine in and out without unscrewing anything.  AND the matching stool with storage inside.  AND a 301 zig-zagger, buttonholer, and an assortment of slant shank presser feet.

And I sold the black longbed 301 shown in the last blog post.

The nurse came back for another machine, too, a gift for a crafty young relative.

Singer 128, La Vendedora decals.  It now has a new front slide plate and a hand crank.

Eleven machines gone.  So, it sounds like the machine reduction plan was a success, right?  Not so much.  During the same period of time three more machines showed up to join the herd.  Five if you include the month of October.   But those are a story for another day.

That's it for this year.  I sold everything I had fixed up and ready to go.  I did this last Christmas, and plan to do it next Christmas too, but not during the year. I may let a few go to friends or friends of friends, but I don't want to do CraigsList for more than one month a year.   And people enjoy spending money at Christmas when they are looking for gifts for themselves or others.

Are you wondering how many thousands of dollars I made selling these lovely vintage sewing machines?  Mwahahahahahahaha.  The best models sold for just over what a low end plastic wonder from Walmart costs.  I DID recover my own costs, which I carefully track, right down to my favorite double-ended lint brush and bottle of sewing machine oil with a brass telescoping spout.  I can't in all good conscience sell a sewing machine without these.  And here's the disclaimer about my financial relationship with Jenny at Sew-Classic:  I buy stuff from her.  That's it. 

I don't track the time spent on each machine, but I have a pretty good idea.  If you count ONLY the machines I actually sold, I made less than $3/hour.  If you include all the machines I worked on last year and did not sell, my hourly wage drops to well under $1/hour.  What I have NOT tracked is what I spent last year on tools and cleaning chemicals, paint, etc.  So I'm guessing that it is just about at the break even point.  A self-supporting hobby is not to be sneezed at.

And the money from Christmas 2012 went straight back into the hobby.  I bought some industrial-type steel shelves and rolling carts and converted an unused guest room into a sewing machine workshop.  I bought some tools.  I'll take my MIL out to lunch at Two For Tea, my favorite hyper-girly lunch place. And that will take care of it!

Which brings me to a final confession:  I am going to take some dead sewing machine carcasses to a scrap metal dealer to see what I can get.  A 127 with lots of rust, missing critical parts (and stripped of everything useful).  A completely rusted up 66.  And possibly a White missing some vital organs.  At least they will not be in the landfill.  If you are upset by the thought of them being melted down, well, I'm not.  It's a lovely image.  Think Gollum and Mount Doom.