Total Chaos, No Shame

 Last time I hinted that there were big things in the works here and I hadn't planned to discuss it until it was over.  I'm moving about 45 minutes away and two doors down from one of my daughters.  Same size house with an almost identical layout.  

I've been in this house 32 years and I'm using this as an opportunity to weed things out but I still have an enormous amount of stuff.

The mover couldn't get over here to give me an estimate and asked for pictures and the easiest way for me to do that is to dump them all on the blog.  Faint-hearted or squeamish readers should turn their heads away now.

All the remaining comments are for the movers.

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Here are the photos as requested.  I am still packing and putting boxes in a 16 foot pod.  I would like your company to unload the pod once all the furniture is in the house.  Each box is labeled and color coded as to what room it will go in.

Much of what you see here will be packed in the next week and a half.  I will move all the lamps and art work.

I have approximately 43 sewing machines, most of which are cast iron and weigh 40 pounds @.  Almost all of them are in cases but I am still packing and putting some machines into empty cases so I can't be more precise at this time.  The cases should be thought of as dust covers and not ways to move them.  In other words, don't trust the handles and latches to hold but they will protect the contents during the move once they are in the truck.  

I will also have a twin mattress and box spring in my car that I would like you to move into the house.

LIVING ROOM AND FRONT HALL

Notable items:  loveseat, recliner, assorted chairs (some will be moved in advance), curved glass china cabinet, large hutch, cedar chest (may or may not be here for the move), 36" flat screen TV, 50" new flat screen TV still in box.  3 cast iron treadles and their cabinets (sewing machine removed from them.)

KITCHEN

Toaster oven, microwave, KitchenAid mixer, cuisinart, vintage GE refrigerator.

There is a stainless steel refrigerator at the new house that I would like to have moved back to this house.

DINING ROOM

There is a large dining table under all the junk, most or all of which will be gone by the move. Six dining room chairs. One very large antique hutch which separates into two pieces.  5 sewing machine cabinets.  

GUEST BEDROOM

King sized bed.  Wardrobe.  toy chest, three card tables.  Two small bookcases.

MASTER BEDROOM

Full sized bed, two antique dressers, two nightstands, recliner, hanging clothes which will wrapped in plastic bags and won't need to go into a wardrobe box.

WORKROOM

Pilates machine.  3 wire racks. Loose desk top and two small chests of drawers that support it.  Small bookcase with sliding doors.  Rolling tool chest.  

BASEMENT STUDIO and LAUNDRY ROOM

There is a door to the outside and outside steps.  The washer and dryer are not being moved.

Upright freezer.  43" flatscreen TV. 5 wire shelving units.  One 10 foot long quilting frame and an extra-large sewing machine.  4 2-drawer lateral filing cabinets.  3 3-drawer lateral filing cabinets.  One 4' x 8',  3/4" plywood top.  Small rolling tool cart.  Three sewing machine tables.  One dresser.  One table with a concrete top.  Hanging wall shelves (items will be removed).

The gun safe is not going to the new house.

Side Roads to the Buttonholer Rabbit Hole

 (An earlier post was all about buttonholers and how I went completely down the rabbit hole and spent three weeks testing, evaluating, photographing and writing about them.)

 

While I was testing the low shank buttonholers for straight stitch machines,  I wandered down some side roads from time to time.  This is what I am enjoying about lockdown--the time to do things slowly and get something completely done with no time pressure.

I used my personal favorite straight stitch machine, an apple green and white ModernAge 250 manufactured by Toyota and of the type nicknamed "15 clone" because they are a direct copy of the Singer Model 15.  This machine has worked flawlessly for years even though the check spring had broken off.  Back in the pre-pandemic era I was using it to teach someone who had a 15 clone of her own at home, and it bothered me that this machine was missing the check spring (it didn't bother the student at all btw).  So I spent some time dis-assembling the tensioner, replacing the check spring, and then re-assembling it.  Took me two tries and a google search but once again the machine is working flawlessly.

 

I figured I would test some of the buttonholers on the Necchi BU Nova that I discussed in a previous post, and then correct the "fixing" I did and then thought better of.  Comments from readers made me realize that I had probably just created a future problem by my "fix".  Thanks to Dre in PA and another person who contacted me privately.  Plus, it was still sitting on my dining room table.  Problem was, that Necchi is a high shank machine, and I don't have a single high shank buttonholer.  This led me down another side road as I went through two small boxes of high shank feet and dug through them selecting the best one of each type to dedicate to the Necchi.  And photograph them for a future blog post.  There went another afternoon.  And I did fix the Necchi by undoing the previous "fix", by thinking about what was wrong and why it might be so, and then by swapping out the clutch knob from the Necchi with the terrifying wiring.  Problem solved, machine put away, spot cleared on the dining room table for the next machine to test buttonholers on.

 

Another machine I planned to use for testing the buttonholers was a Wards Signature 220, which was a lovely machine that I had restored in November and low shank.  But the buttonholer simply would not fit.  The configuration was just wrong and it absolutely would not go onto the presser foot shaft.  Guess what--another side road because I decided to write a Craigslist ad and accompanying blog post about it.  

It has the four step buttonhole feature, so it really doesn't need to have a buttonholer.  Moved it off the table to make way for the next machine to test those buttonholes.  It sold quickly on Craigslist and went to a good home.

 

Another buttonholer testing fail with a really lovely dark teal and white vintage Japanese zigzagger, which also turned out to be a high shank machine.  I took time to write up a blog post about it and sold it on Craigslist to help combat the Great Sewing Machine shortage of 2020.

Singer 223

 

I have a few other vintage machines that I restored some time ago, but I don't remember what type of shank they have and I wasn't in the mood to find out that they wouldn't work.  So I unearthed a Singer 223 with a completely chewed up needle throat plate.  

 

Because I knew it was low shank, that a Singer buttonholer would fit, and that the throat plate wouldn't be an issue because it would be covered up anyway.  And this did work.  And I need to spend some time searching for a vintage parts vendor to see if I can find a throat plate for this.  This model is one of my favorites (OK, I know I say that about a LOT of models but it's always true!) because it has both a zigzag stitch and a blind hem stitch. 

 

This makes it an absolutely perfect machine for a dressmaker looking for a good vintage machine.

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Big things going on in my personal life which have directly affected my sewing machines.  Can't talk about any of it online yet but I am super busy right now, so what I said up above about enjoying the relaxed pace of pandemic life has flown out the window.  

So how did I manage to get this post out?  Because it was already written.  I usually keep a couple of posts in progress and work on them off and on until they ripen.  This one was all done so up it goes.  And you will hear from me again in the future but it might be a while.

 If you are one of my personal friends who knows what is going on please DON'T mention it in the comments below.  Not because it is any kind of giant secret but there are reasons.  Thanks.

Singer 401 for sale: with everything but the kitchen sink

 

 

I'm continuing to sell sewing machines on Craigslist and now we are approaching the Christmas season.  In keeping with my pandemic sales plan, all machines will be shown contact-free on my front porch, as long as the weather holds.  In North Carolina we have some nice days throughout the entire year, but we do have some winter type weather from time to time as well.  

You can see the CraigsList ad for the machine here

As usual, I never ship machines.  So why show them here on my blog (with international readership!)?  Because followers of this blog love to see photos of cool vintage sewing machines and accessories.   And the blog gives me a platform to provide more information to potential buyers than a simple Craigslist ad.

The end of the Golden Age of Sewing Machines, when they were made entirely of metal parts and built to last a lifetime, came in the 1960s, and the last two top-of-the-line great Singer models were the 500 and the 401.  I have read (on reputable sites) that these are almost identical mechanically, and this is a good time to remind my readers:

I AM NOT AN EXPERT, JUST AN OBSESSED HOBBYIST WITH A BLOG.

Up for sale today is a 1960 Singer 401 in a case.  I have had probably a dozen 401, 404, 500, and 503 models go through my hands, and I saved the best of the lot for myself.  This is that machine.  The finish on machines in this series of models can turn chalky over the years but this one still has a nice glossy finish.

I need to downsize and I have dozens of different machines that I have saved over the years for my own personal use.  And I can't sew on all of them at once!

I have put together an amazing package of extras and accessories to go with this machine.  The "I want it ALL and I want it NOW" package.

• A set of top hat cams for this machine, all in their own box (a repurposed makeup box).  The machine has several of these stitches built in, and the manual provides clear directions for using them.  But if you want to leave the machine on one setting and just pop the cams in and out, you've got them all.

 

• Two small parts cabinets containing presser feet and other attachments, all in labeled drawers.  This is the way I like to organize my presser feet because you can find the one you want at a glance.  And if you don't have to wonder "what foot is this and what does it do?"  Please note that the Singer 401 is a slant shank machine and all of these presser feet and attachments are specifically for slant shanks. 
  
• binder foot
  
• blind hem foot
• blind hem guide
• button holder
• buttonhole attachment
• buttonhole foot
• cording foot
• edge stitcher
• free motion/embroidery foot
• fringe foot
• hemmer, adjustable
• hemmer, narrow
• overcasting foot
• quilting foot
• quilting guide bar
• roller foot
• ruffler
  
• shirring foot
• satin stitch foot
• seam guide
  
• special purpose foot
• straight stitch foot
• walking foot
  
• zipper feet:  narrow, wide, invisible
• zigzag foot 
• and an assortment of needles in various sizes and of various types
•  4 each of size 9, Dritz brand
  
• 10 each of sizes 12, 14, 16, and 18, Organ brand
• 4 each of sizes 9, 11, and 14 ballpoint needles for knits, Dritz brand
• and one Schmetz twin needle, 2 mm width, size 12
  
• 2 each of size 11 and 14 quilting needles, Schmetz brand 

 

• Not one but two buttonholers:  The one with 9 metal templates in the retro pink "Jetsons" box, and the Singer Professional buttonholer with 20 plastic templates.  Why two buttonholers?  Why not?  The Singer Pro does more, but who wouldn't want that Jetsons model?  The Jetson one was designed for straight stitch machines, but you can use it on the 401 if you have the stitch width set to zero, no problem. Both buttonholers come with an original manual and include the test samples I stitched out.

 

• A monogrammer with a template for every letter of the alphabet.  It makes fairly small letters, suitable for a label inside a shirt facing or on the top of a pocket. Includes the test samples I stitched out.

 

• A circular stitching attachment (see YouTube for tutorials).  Use the decorative stitches on the machine to make circular designs.

• A vintage scissors/thread/pin holder shaped like a duck! 

• a large vintage-style sewing box containing
• a pair of nice sharp vintage Wiss scissors (shown in the duck)
•  
• 
  
   
  
• a pair of vintage Wiss pinking shears, not only in the original box but with the original packaging too
• a few vintage Singer instructional pamphlets, showcasing the 401.
• a bottle of sewing machine oil (new)
  
• a lint brush (new)
  
• a pair of snips (new)
  

If you bought the machine and all of the accessories separately, you would easily spend twice what I am asking and probably much more.  The whole package includes a few mystery extras, not revealed here, and nice ones too.  I'm not a business, just a hobbyist with a passion for vintage sewing machines.  I get my fun from cleaning them, servicing them, and sometimes repairing them (although this one didn't need any repairs).  It is a thrill to restore a machine to full working condition, even if all it needs is cleaning and oiling.  When I have finished most of them need to find good homes.  

Another part of the fun is scouring thrift shops for vintage sewing tools and accessories.  And this lets me include extra goodies with the machines when I do sell them.  In this case I have included absolutely every extra that I have found that fits this model. 

If your parent, offspring, other relative, domestic partner, or best friend has expressed a desire for a good vintage sewing machine, you could not do better than this top-of-the-line Singer with all these bells and whistles!  Check out the CraigsList ad if you are anywhere near Hillsborough NC.