My venture back into the sewing world in 2010 came with deciding to do lap quilts for my children and grandchildren. All my life I've loved sewing and sewing machines, but have never been very talented with making garments - although I did sew a lot of them. But I grew up with quilting and enjoy doing that. So I did not get back into sewing machines to start making clothes! Heck, I can buy a t-shirt just about anywhere!
Way back in the early 90's I set my Singer 630 in its cabinet out on the curb. (The picture is not of my machine, but one like mine; except mine was in a desk cabinet.) Someone came by and wanted it, and I went out to help them load it. I've had cause to regret that action a little bit, but not much. Truth be told, the tension on that machine would not hold very well. In about 2003 or 2004 or so, I wanted to make bathroom curtains. I didn't have a sewing machine. So DH and I went to Walmart to buy one - I told DH I was not planning to start sewing anything major so didn't need a high-dollar machine.
We bought a Brother XL 5130. It worked great on the curtains, and worked great on RV club vests that I made for the two of us in 2006. However, in 2008 or so I started picking up vintage dolls from the late 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s. I wanted to sew new clothes for them after cleaning them up. I had issues with the Brother machine - which I now realize I could have resolved.
So, in early 2010 when I decided to make lap quilts, I decided I needed a "better" machine. DH and I went to the Bernina shop at the Hancock in Hurst, Texas, to look at the machines. I had saved $$ to pay for one. The sales lady proceeded to demo a Bernette - which is NOT a Bernina but is made for Bernina (low end machine). After the demo we moved on to a Bernina. Unfortunately the sales person had a difficult time getting the machine to work, thread was jamming, etc., and she was never successful getting it to work. I figured I didn't need to buy anything like that so we left.
My hunt for a vintage sewing machine began. I wanted another Singer 630 sewing machine. I could not find one scouring Ebay and Craigslist (locally and elsewhere). Finally found a 600E in the cabinet in Corinth, Texas. DH and I went to get it. It's a wonderful machine, currently waiting for me to get the latch that holds the bobbin in place fixed because somehow when I lifted up on it, it came out. My bad. The 600E is the last Singer machine with metal gears. Those that came after it are plastic and the gears become brittle and break. (Picture is not of my actual machine, I borrowed this one from Ebay - mine is in a cabinet.)
Then I found a 645 on Craigslist in Houston. I called the lady, she said if I wanted it she would pack it up and ship it to me. Otherwise it was going into the dump because she was moving to Tennessee. I paid $65 for the machine including shipping. It got here - dirty nasty bugger. DH would not let me plug it in. We started turning it by hand, cleaning it a little bit, saw things were working, oiled and lubed it, and it ran! I used this machine until one day it went c-r-a-c-k...and I knew a plastic gear had broken. We took it to our local sewing machine guru, Mr. Bruner, and I paid to have the machine gone through and gears replaced. This is now one of my work horses.
The sewing machine bug hit, and I started looking at vintage machines on Ebay and Craigslist. Everyone kept saying how wonderful a Singer 301 (straight stitch) machine is - so I had to have one. I found a mocha Singer 301 short bed on Ebay at a great price, bid on it, and actually won! These are HOT items so usually don't win. It got here safe and sound, dirty, and in need of oil and lube. We took it apart from top to bottom, cleaned it, lubed it, oiled it, and this is one of the best running machines in the house. The fold down bed extension is currently off of it because this will be used to do the quilting on the Easy Quilter I picked up at the Dallas Quilt Show this year. To use this machine in my gidget sewing table (made by Arrow), I have to slip a cutting board under the machine to adjust the height.
One would think that three machines would be enough, but nope, not true. I found a Singer 648 on Craigslist being sold by a retired sewing machine repair fellow in Garland, Texas. I bought it and had the plastic gears replaced. It is also one of my work horses. A picture of this machine is also in the column to the right of this page. It fits nicely in the gidget work table.
And then there is the Singer 221 Featherweight. I LONGED for one of these, couldn't stop looking for one. Finally called Mr. Bruner to ask them to keep an eye out for me. They said they had one - some lady had come in and traded it in on a NEW machine. No matter what they told her about the 221 she wanted to trade. So DH and I went to look at the machine. It was expensive. But we made a deal on it, worked out the money on the machine (I think we paid it out over a month or so). This is the jewel in my herd of machines. She is absolutely pristine. She came with a special embroidered note from Mr. Bruner to "enjoy, Dorthy." I've used her one time, to make a strip quilt top for my great niece Presley. I'll use it to complete the quilt, too.
After that, machines started following me home from everywhere. We went to a machine gathering in College Station, Texas, and I came home with a Singer 500A. Oh, my, talk about nasty! The machine had been owned by a man who smoked like a chimney but made quilts for one of the charities. I wish I had taken a picture of the machine before we took it apart and cleaned it!! When he died the head of the machine gathering didn't want the machine to be thrown away so rescued it. She sold it to me for $75 and I was foolish enough to pay that for it! Should have paid about $25. We brought that thing home, took it apart, lathered Go Jo all over it (Go Jo is a hand cleaner, comes from the auto supply store). All the parts we took off we shoved down into the bucket of Go Jo. We began to see that old back tar and yellow nicotine melt off the machine onto the counter protecting sheet we had under it. Talk about awful! However, the machine cleaned up (lots of work). We had to order a new control foot and assembly for it, and received the wrong one. Took the machine to Mr.Bruner and he got the correct one from his source. This is another work horse in my stable. (NOTE: June 10, 2013. I am considering selling my 500A. I have not bonded with it the way I thought I would. This is the only machine I have that I'm considering selling.)
So what came next? Oh, yes! My goodness - my "Russian" princess. This is an absolutely gorgeous Singer 66 in a cabinet. We bought it from the wife of Bill Paxton. (Ken went to school with Bill.) The machine had belonged to his mother, but it was Bill's wife who had the machine listed - and she was a beautiful, delightful lady originally from Russia. DH enjoyed talking with her because his family originated from the same area where she was born. Anyway, this machine was perfect except the wiring needed to be replaced. Mr. Bruner did that for us. She now has a place of honor in the kitchen at the end of the island -- she holds the mail baskets.
Chronologically I can't remember which machines came first now days. But, there are more!!!
Then there is the fantastic black long bed Singer 301! I saw this beauty on Craigslist one day, but the price was just TOO much. Apparently it didn't sell, because a couple of weeks later I saw it with price reduced...at a reasonable price. We contacted the seller and drove to Forney, Texas to pick it up. Oh, my gosh, I love this machine. So pretty, and sews like a dream. The fellow who sold it to me was also a retired sewing machine fellow. However, he told me he had not done anything to the machine except clean, oil and lube it because it needed nothing. This one had belonged to a doctor's wife and apparently she had never used it. It came in the original case with all the accessories. Again, this is not an actual picture of mine...mine is put away so I borrowed this picture to show what one is.
We went to an estate sale, started to leave, but we spotted a sewing machine case and things close to the check out desk. I ventured over to see what it was -- a Singer 404 in the original case with every accessory imaginable. Price was $45. We brought it home with us. This one will eventually go to a granddaughter.
At another estate sale we found a Singer 401 (I was wishing for one!). They wanted $95 for it. We debated back and forth with one another about it and finally decided to take it. Then DH noticed old brittle masking tape wrapped around both back legs of the cabinet in the spindle area. He peeled back enough to see the legs were a bit cracked. Tape had been applied to make the legs sturdier. We told the sales folks we changed our mind -- they offered it to us for half price. It came home with us.
I just can't remember the order of when things were acquired, but in early 2012 my friend Debbi mentioned that she was getting rid of her 1918 Singer 99K handcrank machine. I jumped on it, offered her $$ for it, and it is now a prized possession. I took it to a TOGA with me in April of 2013. Fellow machine enthusiasts Riley G. and Margret Snow worked on it, cleaned and oiled it and it is now a happy machine. I took it to a people-powered retreat with me in May of 2013.
Anything else? Oh, yes! She also gave me a Babylock serger.
And my cousin had a sewing machine in her garage that her MIL or GMIL had given them. We had a television which they needed. So we traded. The sewing machine is a vintage Brother 651 Model C. It was a dirty baby in a cabinet too lightweight for it. We took it all to Mr. Bruner to see if it really works. Sure enough, its up and running now. We ditched the cheap flimsy cabinet and ordered a custom tray box for it from friend/sewing machine parts dealer Cindy Peters out of Wisconsin. It fits perfectly. Instead of the machine being very badly wired to an incorrect knee operated system, it now has a new foot controller with lead wires to the machine and light.
(NOTE: April 15, 2013. We gave this machine to a young cousin last summer. Not sure his wife was ever able to use it. One must love vintage machines to be able to use them!)
A sweet friend had his mother's 201 sewing machine, but it was not in good appearance condition, so I let it go. Likewise his MIL's Necchi 537 wasn't in the greatest shape so we let that go as swell.
A friend is giving me a vintage Cleveland machine. I've brought home the accessories, still need to pick up the machine. Another friend is giving me a 185K; and another friend wants me to come see if I want her treadle machine...I'm sure I do!!!
And I'm in the market for ANY machine that is pink (lol)! After fighting my mother all my life over having to wear "old lady" pink, I've fallen hard for the color and want everything in pink! However, there are some really pretty machines out there in pink. Necchi had one, Kenmore had one or more, Brother had at least one, so did others. I want one or two -- and in any other color I can find! And I want a machine that has been repainted in fire engine red...don't care what model or brand!
Update - April 15, 2013: We went to the NE Texas TOGA last weekend. Cindy Peters of Stitches in Time (Minnesota) came down for the TOGA and she brought me a pink Atlas!!!! Yea!! Now all I have to do is get it cleaned up, lubed and oiled and humming. Can't wait! I'll try to get a picture of it loaded soon. I've got to find some matching nail polish for it --- NO, not to wear -- but to fill in a couple of dings on it. Over the years folks were not careful with it and they packed the heavy metal controller in the middle of the machine bed and it bounced around and beat up the machine a bit. The machine as well as the controller should have been wrapped in some kind of protective something or other. (The picture shown here is like mine but this is not mine - I haven't had time to clean/oil/lube mine to get it ready for pictures. Soon.)
Update - June 29, 2014: I decided to sell the pink Atlas machine...I'm hoping to find one in better condition. We went to the NE Texas TOGA in Lone Oak, Texas, in April of this year. I had put out a notice that I was going to sell the machine and was packing it to take to TOGA. Friend Valerie Newton (who is from England) wanted the machine, so it was sold before I got there. Now I need to find another one that does not have the dings this one has.
Update - June 10, 2013: I went to a Cranky Retreat in May - Thursday thru Sunday, 17-19 May. I took my 1918 Singer 99K handcrank because it was a people-powered retreat. It was back in Lone Oak, Texas at the Matthews Retreat Center. I had mentioned beforehand that I was interested in finding a treadle machine for myself and fellow machine enthusiast Sue Hoch Childers let me know she had a Singer 66K in a Parlor Cabinet for sale for $65. So, after dinner on Friday evening friend Missy Shay and I went to Sue's house to look at the machine. I bought it! I brought it home, cleaned it up, got it oiled and we put it back in the cabinet. For the life of me I couldn't get the thing to go forward - it wanted to go backward. I noted the bobbin winder tire was riding the belt even when in sewing mode. Today I removed that tire and the machine has been going forward. Tonight I practice stitched a strip set together. Yea!!! So, here she is - I call her Sue after her previous owner.
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| She's a beauty! |
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| Luci thinks this machine is pretty nifty, too. She likes to lie down beside the chair when I'm operating it. |
Just in case someone may think that I've stopped buying machines, that's not the case. See above. On Sunday, June 2, 2013 I picked up a Singer 201-2 that I found on Craigslist. It belonged to the fellow's grandmother but he was cleaning out his garage at his wife's insistence and was selling it, in the cabinet, for $35.00. Wow. A 201 for $35. That's a REAL bargain. These are heavy duty workhorses. As of today, June 10, 2013, it is on a visit with Mr. Bruner for cleaning, motor check out, and new wiring. This came in a cabinet that is sturdy, has three drawers on the right side, and had a controller located on the bottom of the cabinet. The machine was hard-wired to that controller. There is a pedal of sorts sticking out from the controller at the base of the cabinet for foot control. It was necessary to disconnect the machine from the controller and fish the wiring up and out of the cabinet in order to remove the machine for transport home. I don't want to wire the machine to that controller so I ordered another one from Cindy Peters. This controller will not be attached to the cabinet, making it easier to remove the machine when necessary. I picked up this machine in Colleyville. I had made arrangements with another person in Colleyville to pick up another machine on the same trip.
I am not ready to load a picture of the Kenmore 1755 because I did not purchase it for me. I bought it for a friend because their house burned to the ground along with everything they owned. The fire was started by a nut case who decided it would be just dandy to set fire to brush during the fire ban summer drought of 2011. He caused many homes to burn down and much property lost. My friend and her family lost so very much. I have lunch with her fairly often, along with another friend and she mentioned that she can't do anything crafty right now because she lost her machine in the fire. I looked around at what I own and didn't think I had anything quite like she would want. So we started looking for something for her. Thus the Kenmore 1755 that has all the cams and attachments and the manual. I hope to get it to her this week.
That's all for now. I expect this page will grow.
