Turning Rain Into Sunshine

It has been plenty rainy here in Minnesota so the mosquitoes are thick but the grass looks amazing! Having spent several days sick last week, I'm happy to report my stiff neck is almost gone. On the computer front, mine still has a virus but I'm learning to love my husbands laptop and think my next computer might just be more portable. All of these examples point to making a poor situation into something good. This was my experience last weekend when it was hot and humid after a wild storm that blew down many tree limbs and cut electricity to homes. During this recovery I was at a local college on a panel discussion to talk about my career journey. It was fun to see these new career students and to think back to when I had first begun. Reminiscing on the long walk back to my car, I couldn't find the keys to my husbands car. When switching cars it's usually my practice to double check everything since it's a bit unfamiliar but how could I have lost them? Oh no, I didn't lose them: they were safely on the drivers seat in the locked car. The campus seemed deserted so I found their security office and a campus cop drove me back and spent a fair amount of time in the heat trying to flip the lock. Finally successful, I could drive away in this old car that no longer can run the air conditioning while idling so I spent time at the intersections with the windows down. But it still took me from point A to point B.

I drove by one of my favorite antique shops and figured I had the time so why not stop? I have never bought too much there but I like their various vendors and displays. They asked what I was interested in and I said "sewing machines and things related like attachments" but I was told they really didn't have any. There were three empty cabinets but no machines so I continued to look. I found a vintage dress and as I paid for it they asked did I find what I was looking for and I again mentioned sewing machines and one looked at the other and said "Doesn't Tim have one in his shop? It's in a portable case or something." They took me back downstairs to Tim who said he had one called --gulp--the featherweight and sometimes quilters like them. Sure enough there was the box:

Featherweight case

and it opened up to find a Singer 221 in great shape:

Singer 221 dated January 1957

The price was higher than I wanted to pay so I walked away. I got all the way upstairs when I remembered they had 15% off signs all over so I went back down and asked to see how it ran and if it was included in the sale. We took it upstairs, looked it over, and I got it for the sale price. Now it's still more than I would normally pay, especially without any accessories, but the carrying case was terrific and the bobbin case was present so I thought I just might be ahead on this one. She cleaned up nice and ran pretty good after some of the normal adjustments. When my husband got home and I showed him my latest he said it probably was the best Featherweight yet in terms of decals and general condition. But then he said those words I like to hear but don't like to hear: maybe I should keep this one for myself. Oh so tempting but we shall see.

Is she a keeper?

My day in the heat with no air-conditioning turned out to have quite the silver lining when I found another Featherweight. The car is still dying, the rain and heat keeps coming, and I keep sewing in my cool basement. May you find a bright spot in the midst of the rain, too.

Compact Style

I like efficiency. One tool that can do many jobs, well organized closets, a place for everything and everything in its place kind of thinking. That's part of why I love the compact sewing machine cabinets where you can have a dedicated space for sewing, along with your tools, and it doesn't take up too much space, as you have read in my post about the Phoenix and its cool cabinet. I was surprised when another cabinet with a built in chair came up on Goodwill Online. Because it was a cabinet model it was pick up only so there were only three of us bidding and I won! Here's the cabinet when it's all closed up:

What secrets are hiding within?

The top was pretty well worn but if it would be as easy as the Phoenix to strip, stain, and seal, I'm in! So let's take a look at what this cabinet has to offer:

Two nice drawers for storage

Front pulls out: it's a chair!

All ready to sew.

Don't you agree that is not only efficient but cute? Overall condition is good but I still plan on refinishing the cabinet so it's the best it can be. Those knobs are solid brass, too, and cleaned right up. All of that on the positive side of the scale, now let's look at the sewing machine, a Domestic 725:

Domestic 725

What a cool art deco look with a textured finish so there are no decals to wear down and with a few chrome accents she is complete. The cords and wiring look good with only one spot that I put electrical tape on. Everything moved so I went in to clean and oil. The two ends came off but not the top yet I could reach almost everything, flipping it over the tend to it's underside. It had been used but not too much and certainly not mistreated. There is a built in knee control, something that makes more sense with it's compact size: where would you put a foot control so it could be used at the correct distance? I test drive the Domestic to find...it feels like a tank. I can get her up to speed but even at full throttle and going very fast she just sounds...inelegant? After the initial disappointment wears off I thread it up and test with fabric to find it stitches just fine, no real adjustments are necessary so why am I disappointed? It just is a run-of-the-mill straight stitcher with a deep growl.

Maybe another sewing machine would fit into this rectangular opening. I test out a Kenmore and it fits fine but then I notice the knee control and the whole wiring harness that would need to be switched out. Somehow that just seems like way more work than is necessary. The cool cabinet has a not-as-cool sewing machine in it, everything works fine, I didn't overpay for it so JUST GET OVER IT! I tell myself. I think this is going to be a project I need to finish up very soon or it's going to languish. Sigh.

I'm sorry I've been a bit lax with posting recently but my computer has a virus and after hours and hours of antivirus medication it is still sick. Then I got sick (could I have caught something online, too?) and still have a stiff neck, the result of falling into a dead sleep in a recliner. This too shall pass but thanks for continuing to check in with Sewing Machine Mavin and reading about my adventures in buying, refurbishing, and selling sewing machine (and the things I make with them, too.)

Free Is Always Good

It's been a very busy weekend of babysitting but I managed to squeeze in picking up a sewing machine on Saturday morning for free. That's a pretty good price, don't you think? And I thought I was too late...

Friday afternoon I was very busy at work but while drinking an afternoon coffee before having public desk duty, I checked Craigslist and found a Bernina 530 that had been posted for four hours. AUGH! It was gone for sure but I couldn't resist: I sent an email and said if the other offers fell through, please put me on the waiting list. She wrote right back and said "if you make an appointment and keep it, you can have it for free." After the adrenaline rush subsided I wrote back that if she could hold it until Saturday morning at 9 am, I would definitely be there. I was anxious to hear the back story on this one and why it had been so cheap and now free but figured I would hear a good one when I picked it up. Upon telling my husband he thought it was a great deal and would even come with me so it was a win-win.

It was about a half hour drive from us but traffic was good on a clear but hot Saturday morning and we found the address with no problem. They were very excited to have this piece of furniture move out but pointed out one of the legs had fallen off (was actually sheered off) and maybe I would change my mind when I saw it. It was so clean and shiny, with a mirror finish on the '50's styling, it took my breath away:

Bernina 530 cabinet with seat

When I saw the sewing machine, it, too, looked like it had only been dusted, not used. Her husband plugged it in and ran it, moving just a bit slowly but not much. Oh wow, this was just too good to be true so why was it so unused and why were they giving it away? She was not much of a sewer, making only a few costumes over the years and it was just taking up space now. I just had to tell them what a beautiful machine it was and so pristine but why give it away? They had a few calls about it, asking if it had extra "feet" and she didn't know what they meant. They seemed a bit pushy and she just wanted it gone, not to have to take more photos and keep fussing with it. Because I simply said when I could come pick it up they said SOLD to the lady with no questions. Keeping my mouth shut paid off big time in this instance! Between the four of us we got it loaded into the Jeep and were ready to drive off when they started yelling at us to stop: they forgot the storage seat. Now it is perfect:

Bernina 530 cabinet with bench that has a Necchi label

Once home I only had about twenty minutes before we had to leave to babysit but I still managed to get her plugged in and running again and she sounds smooth. Finally this afternoon I get to play with her a bit and make some sample stitches:

Bernina 530: so sweet

Because she is in a free arm cabinet there is no extension table (another question she couldn't answer earlier callers) but one isn't needed. It takes only minor cleaning but the stitch position lever is stuck and I take the hair dryer to it and get it working again. Here are the stitches I played with:

Look between the printed stars to see the pink stitches

I couldn't help but wonder why someone who only made a few costumes would have twenty spools of thread and a dozen bobbins full of thread but since she must have had it since 1959, there might have been some mending done, too:

Date in upper left corner is 12-11-1959

There is a stamp on the back for a Bernina dealership in Minneapolis on east 38th Street but I'm pretty sure that no longer exists. This is a model 530-2 because of the buttonhole feature. As I read over the manual and check the machine I see that it has been left in buttonhole mode but it changes back with no hint of being frozen in place. I am one happy camper with a new gem like this. But now I need to finish this up and go move cars around because we have golf ball sized hail predicted and we better get the newer car into the garage before it arrives. I wonder if a steel case of the Bernina sewing machine would stand up to hail. We are not going to find out but treat her with care as she has been over the years in her first home.

Finishing Up

What a great feeling to be finished! Here are the results of some long time posts that you might wonder "Does she even finish anything?" Not always, but today I need to show you the end results.

Here's the Pfaff 130 repaint in the refinished cabinet, ready for sale:

Not so glamorous in the garage but she was up on bricks over the winter and I looked at her every time I parked the car in the garage. It was closed up and the top was covered but now she is done, complete with the Pfaff 130, working quite well. I'm missing the knob for the feed dog drop and there are a few tweaks to the repainting (like infinitesimal pieces of blue tape lurking under edges of metal buttons) but those are minor issues that I will keep working on until it is as perfect as it can be. This was a cabinet and machine that were left on a back porch for many years, hense the repainting, but it has been a wonderful journey and a satisfying final destination.

A quiet machine in a demur cabinet that takes up so little space is the Phoenix 283:

I was only going to refinish the back of the chair but it turned out so well and was so easy to strip off the original finish that I went ahead and did the entire outside of the cabinet, too. I had the fabric for the chair cushion already from another chair project (does it look familiar Sarah?) and it was a perfect match for the metallic green tone of the Phoenix. This is one beautiful machine and now is in a cabinet that also is beautiful. It is so compact yet has great storage in the chair seat plus a lift-out caddy for all of the accessories for sewing including thread and bobbins. a wonderful sewing machine with a compact cabinet that anyone would be proud to own.

I'm happily sewing up dresses and hope to have enough done by this weekend to put them in my Etsy shop. It doesn't seem like much of a new item to only have a couple but I should have a dozen ready for photos very soon. I can hardly contain how much fun they are but maybe because they are fairly quick to make, unlike hours of work on sewing machines and cabinets. Oh wait, they do take hours to make and there is ripping out involved and hot irons...but a cute dress in the end and it brings back many happy memories. I'll hold back from posting photos of my own daughters when they were miniature size and wearing my home-made creations. But I remember.

Pretty Dresses All In A Row

The lure of pretty little dresses all in a row never seems to grow old for me. I loved making dresses when my own daughters were under age ten and now I find I still like to make little dresses. It's especially nice when I don't have to worry if they will be liked or even worn when I can put them in my Etsy shop and hope the right person will find one for the little girl in their life. So here's the parade of dresses:

We stared out with printed on dress patterns for the three rainbow dresses, written about in Ain't She Sweet:

Not much skill or imagination but my granddaughter picked this one to try on. Next up is one I featured in Daddy's Little Girl, a blue and white windowpane check with an eyelet overlay:

Then I tried my hand with a gray and yellow print that my daughter, Alison, admired:

This one is just a prototype because of the assembly errors but I did learn and didn't make those errors on the next models from this pattern:

Two dresses were made from the pattern below, being careful to find fabric that would have enough personality and could stand on it's own since there was so little contrast:

One in green (above) and one in pink (below), on right:

 

The dress on the left is the same pattern as the blue windowpane check with white bodice so a different look with other fabric.  It's been a fun project and still isn't over as I have another blue border eyelet dress cut out and ready to sew tonight. Here they are, sunning themselves on this bright sunny day:

 

May you find something that brightens your day, too!

What Was Old Is New Again

An older project is finally coming to a satisfactory conclusion. Remember the Pfaff 130? Not the one I bought earlier this year but the one from 2014? It has been the subject of a repaint job but it got derailed by the cold weather. It languished in my basement over the winter and now it's getting the attention it deserves. I dusted it off and applied the decals:

Pfaff 130 repainted with clear coat

Pfaff 130 with decal placement

Pfaff 130 decals finished ready for the unveiling

It got another couple coats of clear coat (alright, maybe another four or five) and I started to take the tape for masking off the silvery parts. I should do this kind of thing in a shorter window of time because I couldn't remember what I had done but I had a model to look at with the one bought this spring.

Where do all those screws go? There was not only the motor and electrical works to put back, but the bobbin winder, presser foot and needle bar were all in need of cleaning before reassembly. I finally got it all back together and started to test her out. Growling. She is not happy with this and doesn't want to move. Closer inspection finds paper I had stuffed up inside and more little bits of plugs for the numerous holes (see what I mean about doing this with a shorted window of work time?) but even when they were removed it was very slow going. Patience is needed so I would walk away to do something else and every time I passed by I would try it again. By the next morning she was moving much quicker but I noticed a sound that seems like she needs more oil yet time and a little more TLC will find her back in her cabinet:

Pfaff 130 cabinet waiting in the workshop/garage

How sweet is that? This is one patient sewing machine to be gone from her home for almost an entire year but that time is coming to a close. She's quite the beauty now and running so much better. Who will be the next one to get a new paint job? I have two candidates: the Phoenix that I have planned on repainting from the start (but used the Singer 66 as the first one to experiment on and the Pfaff 130 because I need to get the big cabinet out of the garage) and maybe a fun one by repainting a Singer 99. I bought paint to match for the Phoenix, a nice sage green but the Singer 99 could be either a pink or a spring green. I know we voted earlier for a black repainting but I just can't bring myself to paint it black after the last two black repaints. I need more color in my life!

Stay tuned...

Light as a Feather

It pays to be polite and persistent. This little saying paid off in a big way this holiday weekend (Happy Independence Day, America!) when I got a text from a number that wasn't in my directory. No message but a media download so I clicked to find a Singer sewing machine in two photos. Not just any Singer, but a 221 known as a Featherweight. There was a message with the last photo asking if I was still interested. That was a bit of an understatement but who was this???? Then I remembered someone from the winter of 2014 with a text and machine but it never panned out because her husband didn't get it out of the garage storage area. I guess I didn't really forget since it only took about 20 seconds to recall this transaction. It was now out of deep storage and I could come and get it. We discussed price and I went over the next morning.

It was a longer drive than I like to make but for a Featherweight I would make an exception. They were coming back from breakfast out with a tiny tot in tow so I waited a bit in their newly minted neighborhood. Sure enough, in their immaculate garage as only new home owners can have (white walls?) they produce a box marked "Antique Sewing Machine." There she was, without a case or any accessories and with two foot controls. Oops: one belonged to her own newer sewing machine that she apparently hadn't used since they moved there a couple years ago before baby arrived. Upon inspection I note it's just dirty from storage but it's missing the bobbin casing:

Singer 221 with missing bobbin casing

We get it plugged in and she runs very slow but I would be a bit slow if I had been in storage through several Minnesota winters in a garage. The aluminum inside looks passable, just in need of cleaning and no real disintegration. I asked why she didn't want it, maybe she really did need to keep it as her husband suggested, but she said no, it was her grandmothers passed down through her mother but no, again, she just didn't want it. I didn't press the issue in case there was some long ago baggage she didn't want to open up about her relationship with her family but please note that I did at least ask her to reconsider. Really, I did ask. Then we exchanged cash for the machine and I walked very quickly to my car. You can imagine my excitement!

Singer 221 aka Featherweight: ain't she sweet?

So here she is at home, all cleaned up and waiting for a new bobbin case that was ordered within the hour. I drove straight to my daughter Kelly's and we talked about our recent sewing (me) and home improvement (her) projects. She walked me to my car and I told her she needed to see this little darling and she was too polite to say no. Her eyes got round with the wonder of this darling and commented "Wow, they really are light, and cute, too" while I stifled my I-told-you-so. We might make a vintage sewing machine user out of her yet!

When home and cleaned up (there was much fuzz and thread wound around the bobbin and hook) I ran her again and now the motor sprang to life.  Her decals are very intact, a better specimen than the last Singer 221 I had (and sold) but none of the extras we come to love. I have an extra buttonholer and a box of accessories but will have to order bobbins. No case is very worrisome but there are other solutions, such as a metal box from Harbor Freight but this I will leave to the buyer of this honey. I plan to get in touch with a former customer who said she was looking for a Featherweight to see if she still wants one and from there will rack my brain to see who else mentioned she wanted one.Here's the rest of her lovely looks:

Singer 221 back

Singer 221 birdseye view

I need to see how she runs so I borrow a bobbin case from the Singer 301 that is waiting in the living room (waiting for what?) and find out she sews a perfect stitch. Perfect.

May this holiday weekend find you in good sewing spirits, too!