Good and Bad Coming in 3's

It's been too long since I posted and I fear all of my readers have left me but here's a refresh and getting back into the saddle again. Sewing machines have been coming in the door like an avalanche! We had a record snow year for us in Minnesota and it appears it has brought out the "clean-it-out" bug in many. It all started with a Singer 301.

Betsy responded to my ad and said they were tired of their crappy new Singer breaking down every time they wanted to use it. As it turns out, they were going over to Grandma's house to use her Singer 301 so why not just get one of their own? That sounded like a good idea to me, too, but when she came and saw all of my other machines she asked if I would be interested in a few more. After photos were sent they came a week later with these gems:

Singer 1507

The Singer 1507 is not one of my favorites but I think all that was wrong was using the wrong bobbin. This is a frequent error and I'm ready to suggest when you get a new sewing machine to check the bobbins and if they are a different type mark them in some way and keep them separate from the others. I have bobbins with pink nail polish dots on them: maybe that was one woman's marking system?

Singer 6110

This Singer 6110 seemed to be okay, at first, but it had not been used in so long that some of the functions were no longer working. I could not get the dial to move to engage the stretch stitches. Even after giving it a nice oiling and cleaning out it didn't budge. The old trick of walking away worked: by the next day I could get the knob to move into the stretch stitch zone and all worked well again. As it turns out, this is a pretty decent sewing machine. I even made a zippered bag since it did not have a built in carrying handle:

Singer carrying bag with vinyl bottom and zippered top

And now to the cabinet model, a Singer 66 in a compact cabinet.

Singer 66 with no decals, c1910

This was originally a treadle machine since it has a spoked hand wheel but the treadle mechanism had been stripped out and the whole thing was painted a ghastly green. The exterior was stripped and I think the wood veneer was  removed but I'm hoping I can clean it up when it gets warmer. The sewing machine itself might be a bit plain but she is running again and shows much promise.

Love those compact cabinets

Inside painted green: pretty dingy!

As if that wasn't enough, I answered an ad for three Pfaff 1222's. Who would have three of the same model? Someone with a drapery business who needs the even feed of the Pfaff IDT system, that's who. She did not want all of the bells and whistles of a newer Pfaff and these old ones kept breaking down. In my optimism I took all three and hope to be able to fix the wandering straight stitch and other signs of worn down mechanisms.

If course, I have been working on repairs, too. Natalie had her machine back again and we determined it was fine, it just needed to have the bobbin race and ring removed and set back in place. I had another machine come in for what was suspected a shot motor. Nope, the motor was good but there were other adjustments and cleaning that took place to get it running good again. Her New Home sewing machine had been a gift from her mother-in-law years ago and it had sentimental value so it was worthwhile to have it running "extra fine" again.

There were more, such as a Kenmore 385-1764180 that was in great condition, and a Bernina 730 in a cabinet that came without any feet from an estate sale. Neither were free but were affordable and great models to have. It's getting crowded again so I better get selling so we have room to walk!

Paneled in Christmas

I continue to work on panels I have picked up for a song and hope I haven't created a monster. I like to think I run with themes in mind in my interests and activities: sometimes it's vintage, sometimes it's industrial, sometimes it's sergers.. you get the idea. After working on the Cabin-in-the-Woods quilt, I got out a series of printed panels with a Christmas in the barnyard theme:

Barnyard Christmas panels

There is only one print, just a mirror image of it and there were twenty two panels so I needed to come up with something to use them up. Not a quilt this time since there is really only one panel, but may be tote bag? My first effort came up with a decent bag with a zippered opening, lined, snaps on ends to snug it up or open it up:

First bag with zippered closing

Snaps on ends

It turned out good but feels a bit flimsy, like it needed something to stiffen it up. Batting? Quilting it into layers? Ah, how about making my own reversible quilted fabric? On the first bag I took the border print and used it for the short/narrow sides but this time I used the border for the bottom that the bag will sit or stand on. I can then quilt the sides separately from the bottom to give it the strength it needs and an area of separation. So I set the panels as I like and measure out the batting and red backing fabric and get to quilting. Each panel gets an outline or box around the main part of the design and then I draw lines to fill in the design with a diamond pattern:

Panels assembled and quilted

The bottom gets the same treatment:

Close up of the finished bottom

Now it's ready to sew up the sides, flat fell the side seams, and box the bottom. I love to finish off the seams with bias or some other way to conceal the cut edges:

Flat-felled seams for a neat interior

The top edge was trimmed and the red lining fabric was folded over to the front for a colorful top edge. The handles were added but I had to use white since my stash of webbing currently does not include red. I may have to change that. I think I like it but it seems too tall to me but that just might be personal taste.

Bag #2 quilted

Which sewing machine did I use? I tried my newest machine, the Adler 153A but without a walking foot it was not going well so I got out my reliable Pfaff 1222 with the built in even feed system, their IDT, for near perfect results. There were a few lines of stitching that had to be pulled out and at the very end I decided to let a few pass and now I regret not having higher standards. I tell myself that it was my first try at this model but who am I kidding? I just got tired of it and wanted it finished. Note there is no zipper  closure or even a Velcro tab but I might have to consider that on another one. That begs an answer to the question will-I-make-another-one? It took way to long to do the quilting but it did give me a chance to practice making straight lines. Stay tuned to another post where I use more of those panels!

Just Relax

I got an semi-emergency call from Natalie who said her Kenmore was holding the thread too tight. Was it nervous? In a panic? What had Natalie done to it? I doubt it was anything dire since her Kenmore is about forty years old and still in great shape. She brought it over, we tested it out, but it didn't behave exactly as she had described. Isn't that frustrating? The tension mechanism was not quite right, though, so I said I better take a look at it. Here's what I found when I took it apart:

tension mechanism in order of disassembly

That's way too many pieces and so many ways for it to go wrong. Then I noticed something on the counter that wasn't there before, a piece of felted lint:

felted intruder

It must have fallen out of the disks. I cleaned each part off and found other bits of stubborn dirt so reassembled it all to find it was just fine now except she was noisy. Out came the oil and cotton swabs for cleaning and she was better but there was still a distinct click-click as the needle entered the race. It wasn't hitting anything so I took the ring and race off and the noise went away. Checking and watching each part very carefully I could see the race had a bit of play as it fit into the hook. I found another one, exact same number and configuration so as it was replace and tested, wait for it...it was now quiet! I believe the race had worn away enough to cause it to fit with too much slop in it so it got an update. Natalie is going to be happy with it now!

Race

Race in place with hook and ring

We continue with winter here and have even succumbed to having out roof raked. There must be nearly two feet of snow up there and even with a new roof in 2017 that's quite a bit of weight. The extra insulation my husband insisted we have added must have paid off since we have no icicles hanging from out roof. All of that snow is now in our yard and is four feel deep on the patio so we need to work to get it further away from the house: spring melt will come one day. Just to add a bit of spring to our never-ending winter, I have this beautiful basket of bulbs, sent as a memorial for my mother-in-law who passed away in February:

Bulb Basket to remind us of spring

They smell wonderful and are just an encouragement for spring! I hear we are getting another foot of snow this weekend, just in time for daylight savings time.

Update: It wasn't exactly a foot of snow but it was snow on top of ice for a real mess. I've been working on a few Christmas projects (always thinking ahead!) and can share the end results with you later in the week. In the meantime I'm going to use this bad weather as an excuse to stay inside and SEW but I don't think I needed an excuse, did I?

Patio snow removal (he's not getting lost in that color)

Zero Cost

We have a "zero cost initiative" at work where we are looking to have college course materials that are free for the students. It would be nice if every course would only have the cost of the tuition and not have to pay even more for books! Thinking along those lines, I got a zero cost sewing machine on Sunday that is pretty interesting, an Adler 153A:

Adler 153A

I answered the ad in the first half hour and they wanted me to come as soon as possible so I got in the car and started driving to get there before 3:30 when they would go to the next person if I was a no-show. Sometimes it is hard to give something away! I not only got there before 3:30, they handed me a bag of accessories and even carried the machine out to the car for me. That's great on both parts because the bag contained parts for the Adler and also an Elna! Plus, she's a hefty 46 pounds and I do not want to have to carry her around any more than necessary. Electrical looked good so I turned the handwheel only to find it was not going to move...yet. Heat, oil, thread removal, oil, heat, much persistence and she started to move. It was difficult to see where to even put the oil:

Adler 153A with back plate removed

After some decent movement and cosmetic cleaning of the exterior I could turn my attention to the decorative stitch cams. It came with one installed and two in the bag of accessories. I could see how they worked but there are two levers and I'm unsure about what each ones does: no manual but several videos that I'll need to watch again.

Cam inserted with dials below: on or off?

When I tried to install the other cams I could see they had a position pin on the back that should be inserted into the cam holder inside the machine. This machine did not have an actual hole, just a spot where the pin would catch. The cam would not click in flush, it stuck out too far and didn't engage the feeler finders for each knob. This meant some modification was in order: I filed off the pin on each one until it would fit comfortably. This is a very big no-no but I have no other Adler for these cams yet one that needs those cams. Leaving just enough of the pin so it could still be used by the machine they were meant for, it was a decent compromise.

Adler 153A with top off and exposed cam mechanism

Stitching is good, tension is great, I tried several belts to keep her quiet, so I think she is ready for prime time! As I go to pack her all up I notice the foot control, all scratched up and dirty. I clean up the outside and then take out the one screw that is holding it together to find:

Foot control opened up: dirty inside!

It's really dirty in there. A somewhat open design, there were rolls of dust and even a few slivers of fabric wound around the moving parts. I got it all cleaned out, electrical double checked, and reassembled with two screws to hold it together better than before. It's fun to run and works similar to the Brother Select-o-Matic: when the cam is running the zigzag and needle position dial moves automatically:

Adler 153A with Automatic dial feature

It's pretty cool to watch it run. I need to make a stitch sample to check my final product and wanted to wait until it had a chance to sit in its newly oiled self before running it again.

Sitting overnight with time for the oil to penetrate, it runs better in the morning. Here's a stitch sample I made up with a variegated thread:

Adler 153A stitch sample

Not too much information online about this model except to say it was known to have a cleated belt made out of a fiber that didn't hold up. Many of these models are around but not running without that belt. Check: my belt is in great shape so I dodged that bullet. I'm pretty happy with her and think I can find a new home for her. Zero cost: that's my style.