Three Little Kennies in a Row

Occasionally I get asked by friends, church members, co-workers, neighbors, and family if I could "take a look" at their sewing machine to see "what's wrong with it." This can be a bit of fun

1. to see what they have been sewing with
2. usually to find out it's nothing major
3. to hand it back running again, to their amazement

Today was just such an experience. A co-worker brought her mom's sewing machine but apologized because she had dropped it. Was it too broken? I had noticed a crack on the left side but the handwheel turned fine and everything was moving so I told her not to worry, it just seemed a bit stiff. Her mom reported it had tension problems (don't they all at one time or another?) so I went back to my office and looked at it again. I noticed it had one of those front storage compartments like the 3/4 sized Kenmore 158-1030,1040,1050 machines but this one wasn't that size and just looked different. I looked at the model number twice before I realized I had a Kenmore 158-1060, the last 3/4 sewing machine in that line:

Kenmore 158-1060

I had never seen one before and it's not quite full-sized but not as small as the others in this line. By now I was all excited and practically ran back to her office to tell her what a rare sewing machine she had. I tried to check ebay sold listings as well as current but there were none to be found:everyone is hanging onto them!

She goes home with me as a proud rider in the passengers seat (yes, I cast loving glances her way, thinking about the fun I would have getting her up to speed) but when I show her off to hubby he says "oh oh, you have a problem here." He was right, the crack was on the metal, reaching the plastic and was not going to respond to glue and clamps. When it was closed, the take-up lever rubbed against it, not at all acceptable for sewing.

She got the royal treatment, a real spa time, cleaning out stray threads, oiling all those dry parts, and a bit of grease on the 2 gears I could reach. She responded nicely and was all limbered up when I started stitching. Ouch! The bobbin tension was way off so I got that adjusted and away she went. All stitches were performing nicely but I had to leave that side compartment door open. The light was shining in my eyes but it worked fine, no catching on the broken section. So she's heading back home tomorrow for another consultation. I don't feel comfortable mending that kind of break so they will probably have to decide what to do. Before I packed her away I had to have a bit of fun with a photo shoot of the three Kennies:

Kenmore 158-1030, 1050, 1060

Take a bow, girls

 You can easily see how they changed colors and with plastic on the 1060 front face plate. They all have plastic storage compartments but metal bodies. Sturdy little ladies, huh? Below is a birds-eye view to show the stitch patterns but it's difficult to see they are increasingly more complex.

Top: 1060, Center 1050, bottom: 1030

It was a fun evening but just a bit sad that 1060 has an irreparable injury but the 1030 had a broken piece for nearly 10 years until I got a donor machine for the part. Maybe 1060 will find one some day, too, or will have a story to tell about her great injury. If only they could talk...