Sewing Machine Spotting

It's deer hunting season here in Minnesota and I just had to accept it when I moved here and embrace it when I married a hunter/fisherman a decade ago. While he was going to be out in the cold I decided to visit my friend in Arizona. Knowing I had missed our vacation a few years ago due to his kidney stones, my husband gave me gift cards for Delta last Christmas just so I could visit Cathy this year. We got it all arranged and I took off in six degree weather in Minneapolis on Tuesday and flew into seventy degree weather a few hours later. It was heaven!

Left is Arizona temp of 70 and right is 6 degrees as I left Minnesota

Among the usual pool time, favorite pizza and ice cream shops, we took in Scottsdale's Canal Convergence water and light festival. Great fun to see how water is important to the desert and making it fun with lights and music. We also went to the Scottsdale Museum of the West for a Barry Goldwater exhibit of his photography. Before we got to his terrific display we took in the work of Maynard Dixon. As we wandered around I found this line drawing:

Maynard Dixon's sister at the sewing machine

Leave it to a true sewist to find a sewing machine everywhere they go! All in all, it was a wonderful get-away with sun, extra sleep, great conversation, and love of a dear friend.

Coming back to 38 degrees wasn't as hard as I thought but the question came up about getting both cars back into the garage since snow is coming. Before I left I got the summer furniture up in the garage attic with the help of a daughter but now we have the returned the snow blower to it's rightful spot and need to get the sewing machine cabinets out of the way. While I was gone I got an email about the Singer 27 in a drawing room cabinet:

Singer 27 in drawing room cabinet

and the calls have been coming in for the rest of them! How great is that? Here's the garage on Sunday at noon:

Waiting for their buyers this afternoon

Tom and Freeman both came at the same time but it was a fruitful session with two collectors/sellers. Now the Singer 12 in the house is gone and the Singer 27 is in a new home. While checking everything out Freeman asked about the Singer 301 cabinet and then it was gone, too. Three machines in one hour! I nearly cried because now there's only two left, one empty cabinet, and hopes of getting the cars inside before the snow. Here's how the garage looks now, waiting for the Bernina 730 to be sold tomorrow:

After three more gone

Good to have a warm vacation and rest, good to be home again, too. Now, what's my next project? I think I'm making legging for a seven year old granddaughter!

In the Meantime

As usual, there are so many sewing machines and just too little time! I've acquire some very nice ones, sold a few, fixed a few more since my last post but it's craft fair season! I do not have time for machines, just sew, sew, sew. Tomorrow is our final day for being in a craft fair so I took some of the comments from the last fair to heart and have made a few changes.

The baby booties attracted some nice attention but it was the little cuties herself who stole the show:

Kelly & Evelyn at the Blaine show

Yes, that's my granddaughter Evelyn, with her mom who got many offers but apparently she is not for sale. Hoping she could model some of the booties brought about the comment of her too-big feet. I don't think her feel are too big but I made only the smaller sizes: 3-6 months and 6-9 months. People wanted to buy them but they were just too small. In the two weeks between craft fairs I have made a dozen pair of booties in sizes 9-12 months and 12-18 months. They are much easier to make when you aren't struggling to turn them right side out so there's no objection from me! It's always fun to match up fabrics with patterns:

Booties for sale

When not sewing up a storm, I managed to pick up a Bernina Record 830 for a song. As usual, when they say it's still available, I do not hesitate but go right over (before they change their mind or get a better offer). It came with a wonderful set of accessories but no extension table or carrying case. During the testing phase I found out the foot control was wacky and this model would need a much more expensive replacement for $75. Ouch! Maybe there was an alternative? I Googled "Bernina 830 foot control rewire" and found a YouTube video. I had a nice new electronic foot control so I opened both up, switched wires paying attention to the colors and instructions, put it all back together, and it worked. It continues to surprise me since the whole process is pretty simple but the inside of an electronic foot control is anything but simple.It's my plan to continue to learn about circuits from LinkedIn Learning and my son-in-law so I'm saving the complex problems for later. Here's the Bernina Record 830:

Bernina Record 830 with accessory box (full!)

The garage continues to get cleared out with another treadle going to a new home to a maple tree farmer, a Singer 15-90 going to a young father who wanted to make gear (his wife had a new computerized sewing machine he wasn't allowed to use),  and a few sets of treadle irons and cabinets without machines were let go very cheap. So there is a plan and we should get one car back in the garage after the craft fair is over. No new machines! Especially in cabinets! Then I spy a Singer 301 in a table. Oh no, not a black 301. Yes, it's still available if I can get there in the next two hours. You bet.

It's an estate sale so they do not know anything about sewing machines. It's missing the power cord and the foot control has the button missing but it comes in a decent table with the cradle so it is mine. It is also Halloween and I need to get home to relieve my poor husband. That means since he answered the door while I was gone I get to answer the door during dinner. Oh well, that's a price I'm willing to pay.

Right next to the front door is a Singer 12 treadle that I've been working on rather unsuccessfully. Someone has shown some interest in it so I'm motivated to get it working smoothly. For this one I check Treadleon for how to clean and adjust a treadle and then Youtube videos for threading a model 12. I finally put a brand new leather belt on it, shortened it twice, adjust the pitman rod to shorten it, and she runs! I keep treadling to work out any of the kinks and find she's really fast, loud, but fast. I'll try it again this weekend but I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

Singer 12 treadle

Singer 12 treadle with new belt

The cabinet is in good shape and a coating of Howard's Feed & Wax really make it look good. I have to keep wiping it down to get the excess off but by now it's practically glowing.

 

 

Singer 12 in treadle cabinet: she glows!