Tablecloth Magic

 I would love to be able to pull a tablecloth out from under a full setting of dishes but I'm no magician. Instead, I've been busy with vintage tablecloths and finding new life for them as pillows. When I could no longer contain my personal collection of tablecloths, napkins, and placemats in the four large containers, I knew it was time for a clean out. Those I knew I was not going to use I sold in my Etsy shop but I had even more vintage linen in a huge Rubbermaid container. I dug down into that box and pulled out most of the tablecloths and then started to evaluate their worth. Only a few were worthy to sell and the rest were in various stages of disrepair. What can you do with stains that do not come out and holes worn through the fabric in others? I got busy and started to figure out which pieces were of usable size and what to make of them. First up was a rosy red tablecloth with four good corners so I pieced them together, added piping border

Four corners red and teal tablecloth into pillow

and pieced the rest of the salvageable tablecloth for the back.

It's even pretty on the backside!

I got fancy and added an invisible zipper so it can be removed for washing. This one got a new pillow insert with the very last of the poly filling I had, encasing it in a new white cotton case. Could I do this with each one? Probably not.

Next up was a lovely green scalloped edged tablecloth that had no flaws except for some of the stitching coming undone on the scalloping. Thinking I had good luck with the four corners idea, I did the same

Green scalloped edge with delicate flowers

for this pillow. Instead of the zipper insertion, I made an envelope pocket style of closing where one side of the back overlaps the other by at least six inches to allow the inserted pillow to be removed. I really liked this one but now I'm wondering where I'm going to put these two pillows.

The next two pillows just cried out for lace edging and did I ever have a stash of it to use up:

Faced roses and lullaby land pillows

The print was so delicate, maybe faded, on the teal and green tablecloth but there was enough to capture two sections for a pillow with a zipper for easy removal for washing. That little lavender gem was a tablecloth made out of what seems to be hankie linen so maybe it was not a tablecloth. Looking closely it appears to be a sailboat and looks like it belongs in the nursery. The front and back are the same on both of these lace trimmed pillows and by now I've exhausted my stash of pillow forms. What is left is a very large tablecloth and a couple bed pillows so that is what I made up:

Full sized bed pillow with new blue and white casing

For this one I found some thicker piping and there was enough fabric to make up my own matching piping. I used the envelope style of closing but added vintage buttons to keep it closed:

Last section of this tablecloth on the back, buttons on right side

I had already used a large piece of this tablecloth to cover my BIG iron board having read that tablecloths can make the best ironing board covers. I'll give it a try!

Now I have this great collection of vintage tablecloth pillows but where am I going to use them? Some would look nice in the porch for summer and others really wouldn't but I get another brainstorm. How about taking the dark quilt and pillows from the guest bedroom

and replacing them with the bright quilt my aunt made for me? Here's how it turned out:

It looks quite old fashioned with the metal trundle bed but I like the brighter look for the coming spring. The pillows look great with all of their colors, finding some of those shades in the quilt. My aunt hand quilted the whole thing! I've had it for 40 years so there's no sense in keeping it stored. although I did use it for several years as a bedspread when I first received it.

There are still more tablecloths left, some to be used for clothing, some for the remaining bed pillow in that bedroom, but I feel like I've made good use out of these worn out beauties. Their best parts are now on display and the rest is cut up for rags. I really hate to use paper towels so now I have a good stash of rags that might be used once, might be used and wash up but at least they are getting used.

Which sewing machine did I use? My Husqvarna Viking Designer 1, of course. I managed to repair the broken bobbin winder but in the process now the LCD display if a bit off so I'll have to investigate and see which part I jiggled lose but my bobbin winder is back! Sewing machine sales are still going on with another Bernina leaving midweek and a Viking Freesia 415 finding a new home yesterday. There are many happy sewers out there and I love to hear from them. How about you?

Staying Home

So we are staying home these days but working from home. What does that mean when I'm always working at home? My work laptop came home with me and I set up a tall table in the sometimes sunny porch. There are two mornings each week where I'm in charge of monitoring our local chat service for the library and answering the group email account. We are all on internal chat so I keep up with everyone while we try to support our faculty in getting everything online for the remaining two months of class. I've learned how to work in chunks of time, taking breaks to go clear my mind; it's at those times when I will sometimes solve a problem so down time isn't always down!

Since I am no longer spending time driving for work, I not only have extra time at home but my sewing machines and projects are a nice break time diversion. Before everything started to close down I picked up two sewing machines from Goodwill auction, a Husqvarna Viking "Emma" and a Kenmore 158-1310. I couldn't resist the Emma since that's the name of one of my granddaughters but wasn't expecting much since it was just a mechanical model. This one surprised me with its solid feel, easy controls, and more than passable stitching:

Husqvarna Viking Emma

It came with all you could need with extra presser feet, some tools, a few bobbins, and a great padded carrying case. There was a receipt in the pocket showing it had been bought in 2003 for a fairly hefty price considering it is mechanical, in fact it was twenty times the price I paid. You gotta love an auction. Maybe some day Emma will sew with it but not to worry because it's a solid machine that someone else would like, too.

Next up is the Kenmore 158-1310, a nice machine that seemed pretty familiar. I clean it up and test it out to find it only goes backwards. What? Again? I checked my inventory database to find I had just sold this exact model with the same problem. Of course, I don't know what I did to fix the one I sold  so I put the cover on, made a note on its label, and had to walk away for the time being.

 

Kenmore 158-1310

Because I'm so happy with the Singer Futura XL 400, as I wrote about in Embroidery the Easy Way?,  and its embroidery functions as well as free motion, I took a chance and got a Singer Futura CE 250 embroidery sewing machine. It came with everything so there was less risk involved but I knew this was a problematic model. Upon testing it out, I could see the manuals were nearly identical so I was hoping for less of a learning curve. I was lucky that I could install the software on the same laptop as I had for the XL-400 with no problems or confusion on the part of the software but I kept getting error messages after the first project was stitched out. I kept playing with it until I got the right combination of thread and sequencing of steps but I'll need to use it more before I feel confident enough to sell it to someone. Here's a nice stitch-out:

Deer antlers and arrows on camouflage fabric

I didn't even use stabilizer and it turned out this nice so now I just need to keep trying different patterns and features. I'll do it "for the cause" (said tongue-in-cheek).

Not to let too much time go by, I attacked another one of the quilt block sets I got back in September at the river Rats TOGA. With one under my belt, pieced but not quilted (a future blog post), I got out a Joann's Block-of-the-Month set from 1997 where the blocks were all done and an attempt to assemble them. It looked like there had been a change of heart with some purple sparkle fabric added to the sashing but I took that out and started over again. Here was part of the planning:

Blue BOM 1997 with new sashing

This was the easy part since the blocks were all done and a pretty nice job of it, too. I used my Singer 66 treadle since this came from a treadle sewing group and that made it even more fun. Here it is all assembled:

Final assembly, waiting to be quilted

Because it has a white background, I needed white batting so I ordered Quilters Dream batting. I've seen it talked up in a few of the quilting books and it gets great reviews but it's a bit pricey so this was a smaller project to try it out on, only 45" by 60". This is also a smaller project for continuing to practice my free-motion quilting skills so it's a bit of a win-win.

Let's continue to keep busy and keep sewing because this is one way we can head off the pandemic: stay home (and keep sewing).

Comfort

It appears I have worked myself into a state of exhaustion so I took nearly a week off from work, suffered from flu-like symptoms, visited the doctor twice, and still have intestinal distress. What's a girl to do? I think it's time to pamper myself a bit. Here's some of my favorite things:

• Visit my grandkids: who doesn't brighten up to see they little faces?
• Rest and read in the bell tower in my backyard: I'm a librarian, enough said.
• Relax with some knitting while watching favorite TV shows, preferably something funny.
• Sewing: either a new project to finish up an old one
• Sewing machines: fix up an old one, clean up a dirty machine, discover new features

The above list is pretty much in priority order but weather, time of year, commitments, all of this is subject to change. Even though I think I'm on the mend, no one wants to risk catching this and with either rain or bugs on the scene, I'm inside the house working on sewing machines. I know, I suffer so.

Viking 6360

Here is my latest sewing machine model that I fear I will have to put back on a shelf. This Viking series are wonderful when they are working and I have one in perfect condition. I have disposed of several that I thought I could fix in my early days of sewing machine repair and now I'm so much more savvy. There's now another one on my worktable so I guess I'm just not that savvy. Ellie brought it over and my first response was "No way, problem machine for sure" but you know it's quite difficult to just toss a sewing machine without at least looking at it. Dials would not turn, there were faint cracks on the cam gear, poorly replaced take up lever, and the back cover was broken. Time to walk away! So here's how I (almost) fixed this problem sewing machine.

1. Heat and sewing machine oil: this combination got things moving again. The next day I had to start all over again. Who is the stubborn one here?

2. Compare to working model: even when they were not exactly the same, they were similar enough.

Model 2000 in a beautiful green

The cam shifter showed it should be clicking into each selected stitch but mine was swooshing between selection. Without a firm "click" it never actually engaged. Without positive contact it would only stitch in the needle left position and backwards.

Here's the location of the problem but difficult to photograph

3. Heat and oil.

This went on daily for a few weeks (or maybe it only seemed that long) until the stitch selector dial would move but the indicator did not.

Dial stuck on the purple/green choice

 Oh oh, this is bad news. But I persisted, replacing the poor take up lever:

Take up lever with a weld?

Old lever on top, replacement on bottom

and fixing the back plate. When will I quit? I just found the applications for fall craft fairs and realize I have to get sewing again instead of playing with sewing machines. That's still something on my "happy" list so I pack up the Viking 6360 in hopes for either inspiration one day or cleaning out when my good sense reigns again.

Summertime in the Cities

Life has a way of grabbing us and making demands on our time and resources. Lately, it's been my time that has been in low supply but it's Sunday morning when I typically like to write a post for my readers. Loyal readers. Most of the time I have no idea who reads my blog posts but then I get questions and realize I have some very loyal readers and that humbles me. Thank you for your faithfulness while I attend to other duties.

I have continued to buy, restore, and resell sewing machines but it has slowed down as it happens every summer. There are cabinets stacked up in the garage but neither car wants to be sitting out and I've been too busy to try and clean them up anyway. One is for a Bernina Record that I have been using to hem bridesmaid dresses for a step-daughter who is pregnant with her third baby so they are hemmed with that in mind.

Bridesmaid dress with lower hem in front

I love the hemmer foot for making rolled hems and it seems to work the best of all the rolled hem foot attachments. Leave it to a Bernina to make the best stitch.

Next up is a Viking 2000 that I've been using for all kinds of projects because it's so sweet.

Viking 2000 in perfect condition

This is a model that is known for all kinds of problems but mine has been perfect so I want to keep it active and sewing. I made up swimsuits for a granddaughter and great nieces again giving them a choice of fabrics:

Swimsuit fabric choices: electric blue or dancing pink?

and they liked both so I decided to make up the blue fabric first:

Swimsuits sizes 7, 10, and 12

Sorry about the color difference but they really are the electric blue as shown in the first photo. I was busy sewing along and didn't notice anything amiss until I laid them all side by side. You can't see it very clearly in the photo but the middle one has a very narrow crotch! I don't know what happened but I wasn't paying attention and didn't catch it in time. Although I do not have any extra fabric I could have done some sort of an insert if I caught it sooner. I sent it along in hopes it just might work but with apologies and the promise of sending the pink swimsuits this week. It wasn't the fault of the Viking sewing machine because it made such a nice zigzag elastic stitch making the whole project easier. Maybe too easy? There is no autopilot for sewing!

I had another run-in with a New Home XL-II, a favorite of mine. It needed a new hook drive gear but after replacement I find it has other problems that I cannot fix. This is a big disappointment since it's such a good machine but I fear it's going to go for parts, too. At least I learn a few things along the way!

As we continue to care for my aunt in Iowa, I find I'm spending more time getting her financial papers in order and that takes a huge chunk of time but is necessary. I keep telling myself it will slow down but not yet. We cancelled a trip down this week because we need to go down the following week to take her for a bone marrow test. She could have this done without us but she doesn't want to have it at all and we are hoping if we go with her this might allay some of her fears. We just need to know what is causing her blood counts to be so dangerously low and if there is something that should be done to help her. Thank goodness she is not in pain but we are in more distress than she is at this point.

Life goes on, I continue to keep sewing as it is such a soothing task for me that I can't imagine not sitting down to a sewing machine to have a little fun. Having so many sewing machines to choose from makes it all the more enjoyable, don't you think?

Cautionary Tale and Cabin in the Woods Finished

This week was full to overflowing that included replacing a clutch motor with a new Servo motor, a fundraising event that was way too much fun, and along the way I had the opportunity to repair a Kenmore. I got a call on Friday asking if I could repair a heavy duty sewing machine that no longer worked. Well...it was left in a storage building over many months while they moved and that wasn't doing it any good. The model number wasn't familiar but I said I could look at it but it might be cheaper to buy another older Kenmore if the repairs were too costly. Here's what I found when I opened up the top:

Kenmore 148-12050: a dirty bird

Oh my, I almost said NO but knew it still had life in it so I started to clean. Because it was fairly dirty inside I think the rusty coating landed pretty much on the dirt. Cleaning off the dirt with sewing machine oil took the rust off, too, so it looked worse than it actually was. Whew!

Kenmore 148-12050 all cleaned up inside

It took more time to get it to run quietly, replacing the ring around the hook race that had rust on it. Even when cleaned off, it seemed to be a noisy part so I replaced it with a clean one. Yea for spare parts! Here's another view of the feed dog area when exposed before cleaning:

Kenmore 148-12050 feed dogs before cleaning

With tension adjustments and much sample sewing, it now sounds better and ready for more sewing. Moral of this story: do not store sewing machines in unheated areas unless you are ready for the accumulated moisture and rust that follows.

And here she is, all cleaned up and running again:

Kenmore 148-12050 after her spa treatment

The Cabin-in-the-Woods quilt I was working on is now finished with backing, binding, the works:

It was tricky to figure out how to add quilting to the wolf panels so I used free motion quilting and outlined the animals. You can't tell from the front but on the back it looks nice:

Young wolf outline (fabric is actually an orange brown)

 A recently acquired Viking 49 was the machine of choice for the free motion stitches and they were effortless: great sewing machine! I sure could use more practice on my straight stitching when adding the stitches to the whole "sandwich". The Pfaff IDT sure made the whole process go much smoother in keeping the layers together with no creeping forward or backward of fabrics. In consultation with a daughter who made binding suggestions, I had to go with a green that would coordinate and I'm pleased with the overall effect. It was a good project for these very cold days and we are in for another week of cold along with 50 mph winds today. What a good day to stay home and sew.

The Purge

With Christmas right around the corner, I'm as busy as the next person but I also know this is the season people start to think about staying home and getting some things done. New Years resolutions can bring out the crafty in us as we think about new hobbies, finishing up the pile of mending, or just upgrading our current equipment. Used sewing machines to the rescue! This is about the busiest sales time for me so I need to be ready.

Ellie, my gateway to a sewing ministry in Haiti, made the mistake of showing me the next shipping container and I couldn't help but note some empty space. She said she could fill it with portable sewing machines if I had any that would work and still be cheap. Be still my beating heart: I found at least eight she could possibly use. While I was getting them ready I heard from Darlene who was going to be in the Twin Cities for Christmas and was looking for sewing machines for granddaughters. She liked the Husqvarna Scandinavia:

Husqvarna Viking Scandinavia 100

and was looking for others of the same ilk. If she liked a Viking she might like the Emerald 118, a good basic machine with a few more bells and whistles:

Husqvarna Viking Emerald 118

I couldn't help but think of another good beginner sewing machine, a Riccar 9900:

Riccar 9900

All three had a nice variety of stitches with stretch included and buttonholes of various sizes. The Riccar was probably twenty years older than the 2004-5 dates of the Vikings but included more stitches and two storage compartments. Darlene came over soon after she landed and looked all three over. She was charmed by the Riccar, too, and said it would be perfect for one granddaughter but had a much harder decision with the remaining two Vikings. They each had their pros and cons and even though I liked the Emerald 118 much better, in the end she went home with the Scandinavia. One machine was staying in Minnesota but the other one was flying home with her to Washington state. That's one nice grandma!

Of the eight machines possibly destined to Haiti, Ellie chose to take all of them. I was so excited and didn't want to have to haul any of them back into the basement to find a new spot for them. It included three Singer 237's, a Singer 66 with lotus decals, another Singer 15 clone called Helvetica (stamped Made in Switzerland), Necchi Alco, Singer 177C, and a Morse 400.  All were in cases except for two of the 237's, some were zigzag, some only straight stitch, all with regular needles and only one that took class 66 bobbins. They like to keep it simple and I agree they shouldn't have to keep s supply of different needles and bobbins for a wide variety of sewing machines. Ellie and her friend Karen were happy with the haul and I just hope they find room for a few more: I left the Kenmore's behind but I could be talked into it!

Lined up and ready to get shipped out

While I was searching for parts, I found a Singer 15-91 that was a good stitcher with a new set of cords and foot control but not a beauty:

Singer 15-91: yes, the finish is that dull

Her decals are pretty well worn away and her clear coat has been cracked and shows significant wear. Have no fear, someone will be happy to have such a good machine even if she is not very pretty. There is a sewing machine for everyone who wants to sew and I hope there are a few you might share your stories with us. Beautiful or ugly? They are not going to win in a beauty pageant, just winning the talent contest.

Continuing to Learn How to Sew

It was another big sewing weekend with First Quilters on Saturday morning and our granddaughter Sarina staying overnight for a sewing marathon. What fun! Let's do this in chronological order:

I was invited to come back to make a presentation about how to clean your sewing machine and they said I should bring my sewing machines, too. That's a bit of a loaded invitation since I have way too many to bring so I selected about six to show off and possibly interest someone in a sale:

So many models and all for sale

There was quite a bit of interest in a fun Viking 21 model in a compact cabinet:

Viking compact cabinet

but it came home with me. I love those compact tables that fold up so nicely and this one is really nice because you do not have to bolt the machine in but just put it down on a lower shelf.

On lower shelf for storage

On upper shelf for sewing

It's still very portable but with the machine lifted out the cabinet is lightweight enough to move around.

There was a nice group of women in a semi-circle of chairs who looked on while I explained how to clean the interior, exterior, oil, and maintain a sewing machine. I had a nice Kenmore that I used for demonstration but asked if someone had one they wanted me to demo with and Cathy said she also had a used Kenmore she would love to have cleaned. She was a very good sport when I revealed the packed link under the needle plate. Everyone admitted their machine probably also needed cleaning like that so she was in good company until she asked if we could remove the bottom plate. Under the bobbin area we removed the free arm cover to reveal a whole mess of lint. At this point everyone gasped and someone even got up to throw out the linty globs that had fallen through. I reassured Cathy that what we were seeing was not at all unusual and most machines even look worse that this. Nevertheless, she was quite embarrassed until she remembered she was not the original owner but it was bought at a garage sale and just maybe this was from the previous owner. I liked that idea, too, and Cathy stayed on and continued to clean it out and we put it all back together again. The next morning I sent her a pdf of the manual so she could figure out anything she hadn't already discovered on her own:

Cleaning up the Kenmore 385-18630890

The afternoon was spent with family at Skylar's 6th birthday party and afterwards we asked if Sarina could come home with us so we could spend more time sewing together. Boy, did we sew! She wanted to make a top for her shorts made in August but we couldn't find an easy pattern so we switched things up. How about using knits and a serger? Yes, we bit off more than we could chew but it was still fun and it turned out well:

Sarina in her raglan sleeved shirt she made

Finding a free raglan shirt pattern, she chose two different fabrics. It was quick and easy to put together mostly by herself once she got the speed on the serger down to a slower pace. Then I added the neckline band and wrecked it! So as a way to disguise my mess we added the flower trim and she liked it even better. I made up leggings but we had to do the elastic on the waistband over again to get them to fit better. It wasn't too hard and I can adjust the pattern for the next pair. That's right, there's another pair coming up:

Sarina's extra pair of leggings

Since all of this was done without her Brother sewing machine we got it out to make her own hot mitt. She did all of the sewing up to putting the bias trim on. For that we went out to the industrial Singer 78 in the garage and I sewed through all of the 11 layers. It went home with her to finish hand sewing the bias edge but we all knew how much her mom would love it. It was a great weekend even if I didn't sell any sewing machines or get any of my own sewing done: it was grandkids time!

Maintaining Good Will

Despite my dim view of some brands of newer sewing machines, I have to make exceptions from time to time. For instance, I have an embroidery machine, a Singer Quantum XL-6000 that I wrote about in Revised Opinion, that is fantastic and enjoys a great reputation. Modern Singers have a wide price point so you can bet you get what you pay for: one lesson to learn is a cheap Singer will sew adequately but do not expect it to last. If something goes wrong, there is no repair, just toss it. This goes against my principles so I generally will not buy this type of machine. But then they have their higher end models, like my embroidery machine, and they are pretty sweet. Last night I sat down with a Singer Quantum CXL and got a pleasant surprise. It worked pretty well and was even a bit intuitive (I'll still download and print a manual).

Singer Quantum CXL

Before I bid on this one, I checked out reviews and parts to find there was something odd about the foot control. It had a different connection than most and they were no longer making them nor a substitute. Without a foot control, how could I hope to use it? Checking a free manual online via Singer, I could see there was a feature of using a button for control so possibly no need for a foot control. I also saw a very neat way they stored the accessories with a slide out tray on the right side of the machine, similar to the Elna 5000-9000 series.  My last twenty second bid was successful and it was mine! Would it be a yea or a neigh? I went to pick it up yesterday and the first thing I checked was that accessory tray: it was there and complete!

Slide out accessory tray with smoked plastic cover up

 With an extra electrical cord, I plugged it in and it worked! It is going to take a some practice in using the controls with just my hands but others do this and I think there is a population that likes this choice.

Singer Quantum CXL: red button for stop and start: easy!

Before I pick up my winning bid item, I went next door to the outlet and it turned into my very lucky day. My little eye spied a Viking case and I hoped it would have a model 21 inside. Not only did it have that prized model but it was clean and fully loaded:

Husqvarna Viking model 21

Inside the suitcase was the extension table, original manuals, stitch wheel, original accessory box with double layers for everything essential:

Double layer accessory box

There was a Viking booklet with sewing ideas dated 1959 so there were varieties of aprons, table decor, even bath "wrap-arounds." The machine itself is amazingly clean so I'm guessing it was gently used. It needed to be run plus the needle position lever was stuck on the right, very fixable. What a great find and all on the way to pick up another deal. I love this business!

Viking 21 manuals, booklets, and stitch wheel

Triple Stitch

This past week I scored a triple: three sergers in two days (I think that's a record for me). It was never a plan but more of a happening so here's the story, with photos.

Watching an ad for several weeks, I finally broke down and asked to see one of the sergers listed in a local ad. A week later Larry got back to me and we set up a time for me to see the Huskylock 535 he had for sale. I knew he had a sewing machine and another serger also listed but the 535 interested me the most.

Huskylock 535 serger (after cleaning)

Larry had the sergers and a Singer set up on a workbench in the garage and he ran a cord so I could see if they worked. The Huskylock 535 very, very dirty but came with the original manual and a box of accessories. A decent four thread model that I thought I could clean up and get it to sew properly, I like it so it was now marked "sold." Right next to it was a Huskylock 430, only a three thread model, but it also had the original manual plus four large cones of white thread. In the past these Huskylock's had caused me some trouble so I wasn't sure I wanted even one let alone two but they both seemed to be okay so I took them off Larry's hands. They were his sisters' machines and he had fond memories of her coming over and making pajamas for the kids.

Huskylock 430 and 535 sergers

The Huskylock 535 was on the table first and I spent most of the time just cleaning the exterior. What a mess but it was fine under the particles of grit, probably from sitting out in the garage uncovered. The real surprise came when I checked the needles before stitching to find they were both in backwards. This machine wasn't going to stitch that way! The tensions were all messed up so it took some work to get it all to rights but it's now working great.

Next up was the Huskylock 430 yet it was much cleaner and stitched right away with no problems. The inside was clean so either it had not been used much or it had been lovingly cared for. I like the latter reason. Checking out the box of accessories that came with the machines, I took note of two needle plates but they were not the correct shape for either of the sergers I bought. Online I see they are plate B and C for an Elna L4 serger and the rest of the box is most likely also not for the Huskylock's. I'll hang onto them in hopes of an Elna L4 some day in need of plates. Although they are not newer models of sergers by any stretch of the imagination, the Huskylocks are still very usable and in good condition with much life left in them.

Huskylock 430 serger

I had already arranged to pick up a Kenmore serger the next day so was thinking I would cancel that appointment since I just picked up two but my husband convinced me it would be a good outing for us. He would stop by after work to pick me up and we could check on his mobile home out that way and even offered to take me to dinner. How could I say no to that? So I met the owner at a local supermarket's coffee shop where she confessed she never even used the Kenmore serger. It still had the cones of thread from the manufacturer, the foot control was in the original plastic bag, and all of the accessories in the box placed in the front catch bin were untouched. Yes, it was new! It came home with me and sewed like a champ.

Kenmore 385-166551 serger

Because it had sat unused for some time it did have problems with stiffness and moving dials, etc. When I tried to make a rolled hem I could not get the position finger to move out of the way because  the stitch width plate could not move over far enough. It just needed to be screwed in and out a few times before it was moving smoothly so I could slide the finger down and out of the way for a rolled hem.

Stitch width plate needed to move right for the position finger to slide toward the front of the machine

All three need to be in totes or bags so I better get planning and sewing. These triplets remind me a little bit of the series "This Is Us" about a family with triplets. Like them, my triplets were not all born together and one of them is very different than the rest but still valued. Let's hope they don't crash and burn the way each one of the Pearson's do in the series but rise above their problems to be productive and stable!