Help in the sewing studio

My husband called from a charity store and asked if I might be interested in a vintage sewing machine.  Silly question!

So he brought home my first Bernina!  Best of all - she works!  And she was just $10!   I brought her to the local dealer to have a check over and with a bit of cleaning and oil she humms...

some handkerchiefs that were tucked in with some sewing instructions...

She is all metal and weighs a "ton" but since she will be a studio machine that is fine.  She came with two extension beds too.  I'm going to keep a walking foot on her and use her for putting on bindings and some small project quilting.

Watson in his "All American" t-shirt...

One of my MS things makes it difficult for me to change out feet on my machines.  Having a "permanent" walking foot machine will make things a lot easier!  Now I just need to find a permanent spot in the room for her!  Also needs a name...she was made in Switzerland so I am thinking Heidi?

New addition...

Today we added another sewing machine to the family...

found this 1950 singer at an estate sale.  The cabinet is in good shape and I really liked the decals.  Hardly any wear and it has this neat "badge" about Singer and 100 years of sewing.

Anyway, we saw it Friday but it was too pricey and I really don't "need" another machine.  But I was still thinking about it this morning so we dropped by on the way to the supermarket and it was still there...and 50% off.  (Of course my DH got them to take off a few more since by now the power-cord had gone missing...it was there on Friday!)  My logic...I don't have a singer in a cabinet...and that knee control looks like fun...that is my story and I'm sticking to it....

So now the machine is all cleaned up, the cabinet oiled, and the stool that comes with it stripped of it's old coverings.  Next step...figure out where to get a power cord (hints and advice appreciated) and recover the chair.  The serial number on this is AJ766685...

Also,  need to find a place in the house for it!  Do you think my DH would notice if I moved his treadmill out into the garage?  Ya...probably would....

Bonnie Visit...

My friend Bonnie came by yesterday and helped me with my old Singers.  We got two of the three working well...I have a list of things to get to make them work better.

I am really impressed with how nice the stitches are on this 99K with the hand crank!  It will be fun to use if I can keep Brownie away!  (she seems rather attached to Helen the 99K)

After dinner we looked at some quilts.  (my poor DH lost his chair for watching the news!)

It is fun to see the same or similar patterns done with different fabrics.

What a difference a few decades can make!  These log cabins both have the half-square triangle in the center  and have similar construction but were made about 100 years apart!

Today we went to the quilting bee with the guild were Bonnie and I met.  The gals were glad to see her.  As I worked on the donation quilt I could hear lots of quilt talk across the room...all fun!

Old Singer Machines and a kitten

This week a friend is coming by to help me with a couple of antique and vintage sewing machines.  I thought it would be a good idea to dust them off before she arrives.  Two of thee hadn't been unpacked since we moved back from the UK 4 years ago!  (these are in addition to my two featherweights but those are used all the time!)

The one above is part of a treadle.  I don't have the table.  Not sure if it is worth keeping or using it for parts.  It was made in 1910.  The decals are nice though the ones on the bed are worn.  This machine was a workhorse.

This one is and hand crank 99K and was make in 1921.  It came with a manual that includes how to put a motor on it.  It has it's original wooden case with lock and key!  (When I put this on the kitchen table to inspect it my husband said, "aren't you taking this Downton Abbey thing just a bit too far.....)

The last is also a 99K but this one has been motorized (though the manual that is has is for a hand-crank!)  Between the two manuals I should be able to sort them out!

 It was made in Clydebank, Scotland in 1955.  It is wired for the UK...wondering if I should get a transformer and run it that way or get it rewired?  If I remember correctly it ran ok....This has a case that looks a bit like an old suitcase.  It is also made of wood and has a lock and key!

So it will be fun to tinker with these this week...I'd like to get the hand-crank one working!  (which may only mean oiled and threaded as it seems to turn fine!)

BTW...have a visitor in today.  Heard a cat-howl outside the door and the two bully cats from up the street had little Rapunzel, my neighbor's kitten, cornered.  I ran them (the cats...not my neighbors) off then brought her inside for some treats and a nap...

Tale of the cursed binding....

I was thinking of holding this story off until Halloween but I am sure by then I will have forgotten it...or at least hope I will. How many things can go wrong binding a quilt? It is a much longer list than I ever expected and I believe I have hit every bump on that road at full speed the past few weeks. Even more unexpected is just how many of those things can go wrong with just one of the quilt!

First in the interest of fair disclosure - I dislike binding at the best of times and really dislike binding with deadlines. You can guess where I am at right now!
I have only two quilts left to bind to be ready for the show in October. One of those quilts has taken more time than the other 8 combined! It is my Scrappy Bargello - Vale of Evesham Quilt. The irony is I loved making the quilt. Relatively low stress pattern with lots of fabrics. I love how the quilting came out with just a continuous line leaf and vine all over the quilt. It was all just too easy so the quilt gremlins declared war on the binding of this quilt.

First, when I bought the border fabric for the quilt I also bought some fabric to make the binding. I didn't do a great job of labeling the fabric and promptly used it in another project. Whoops....

No Problem...I rustled up a piece of dark brown that that worked as well and went to town making binding. I even started to pin the binding on....when it hit me. I hadn't measured. So of course the binding is 6 inches short! A run to the closet...no more of this fabric and absolutely nothing that worked well with it. grrrr.

So out comes another fabric - an old dark green mottled batik. There is a full yard so I know it will make plenty of binding. I cut the entire yard up into strips...I sew the strips together. The pile is on the ironing board when the phone rings. When I come back the pile is on the floor and the cup of water that my Dh left on the ironing board is sitting upside down on top of the wet fabric. (On the ironing board is a cat.....) When I pick up the pile I notice a green spot on the carpet...heck there is now a green spot on my khaki pants...could even be a green spot on the gold cat pulling on the other end of the wet and wrinkly and dye discharging binding. (And yes I had washed this before putting it into my stash!) Three rinsings it is still bleeding green...even worse it is stretching into a bias edged sink monster.

Deep breath and trip to the quilt store later. I have some brown and green batik...it is in the washing machine. Today I think I will work on the 1930's trip around the world....On a totally different subject...does anyone recognize this little sewing machine? I bought it at an auction in England but it doesn't have any name or even country where it was made on the the machine or the case. It is entirely made of metal and firmly attached to a wooden base. The wooden base fits into the case exactly so I assume the case to be original.