White Treadle

I managed to save a beautiful treadle from a re-imagining "fiend" who likes to take these old machines, throw out the head and all of the pieces and parts, and then repaint the gorgeous wood. I understand re-purposing things. Heck I can even handle having someone toss the machine head, but painting this kind of gorgeous wood should be a sin.

My "new" treadle cost me rougly $25 (when you include gas to pick it up) and what Goodwill didn't realize is that the attachments were all sitting nicely inside the drawers, along with some bobbins! The decals are in gorgeous shape for a late 1890's/early 1900's build. (I'm still trying to narrow down exact manufacture date on the cabinet and the machine).  the finish on the cabinet isn't all that bad either, considering it looks like it has some water damage.  The top will need to be sanded, restained in spots and revarnished. The machine itself moves smoothly and may only need a bit of oil and grease. the treadle belt is broken, butt that should be easy enough to replace.

Here's some pictures for you, let me know what you think.  I can hardly wait to get a belt and test her out. I'm looking for a name for her. Right now I simply call her Mrs. White, but she needs a better name than that.

Singer Potted Motor

There is a GREAT tutorial over on The Vintage Singer Sewing Machine Blog at http://vssmb.blogspot.com/

He's taken a lot of time to put together a really great in-depth tutorial on this. I'm very thankful for all of his work on this.  It's greatly appreciated.  The site is a wonderful resource for a variety of information on old Singer machines.

First Treadle

I just won a bidding war for my first - ever! - treadle machine. As far as I know, no one has had a treadle since my great-grandmothers (if they ever had one). This one isn't a Singer, it is a White brand machine and the cabinet is in rough shape, for for less than $25 I'm not complaining.

I'll get pictures of her posted next week.

Singer Model 99 Clean Up

I received this poor girl a few weeks ago. Her bentwood case was cracked and had pieces that were loose. Her motor was loose, due mainly to a too small belt.  It looks as if someone had started a restoration on her without doing enough research and then simply gave up.

This is base all cleaned up.

I had to glue back in 3 of the 4 corner pieces. The were rolling around loose in the case bottom when I got her.  The top hinge was pulled up and nearly out of place due to the missing corner and some side wood pieces. Here they are all back in place.  (Sorry, it's a bit hard to see the red circles.)

She was pretty filthy when I got her.  Just look at the picture I bought her from.



And here she is, put back together, cleaned up and ready to find a new home.  I used plain vinegar to soak her face plate and bobbin slide plate, along with a few screws, for a few minutes. They came out much shinier than they went in.  I followed that up with a Carnuba wax refresh and quick bugg to bring some luster back. Too bad photos can't show it quite the same way it looks to the naked eye.

She's up for sale on my Etsy site for $55, plus shipping. I have her owner's certificate from Singer stating her date of manufacture of 1927 and a PDF version of the instruction manual.

Wood Glue is your Friend!

I just received another vintage Singer.  (Yes, I'm in a full blown addiction here).  I purchased her strictly for the case's locking hardware, and not the machine.  When she arrived it's obvious why I got her so cheaply and why the didn't test her completely.

She's an old model, with the electrical components installed into the case and it's all original.  I had planned on selling off the machine by itself.  A JoAnn's employee has been looking for a decoration piece and I was thinking this one might be perfect for her.  It may end up being usable as well.

I've been wood gluing, clamping, and piecing the poor case back together.  Whoever had it didn't realize that the wooden pieces that were loose needed only to be glued back in place and are critical support pieces for the machine.  As a result the hinges have pulled forward and one completely broke through the wood.  This has been the toughest part of the piecing job.  Shame on me, I forgot to take "before" pictures, so you'll only have "after pictures.

I'm hoping to have her polished up and placed back in case sometime tomorrow.  For now I've named her Mustang Sally.  Her decals are in near perfect condition and once she's cleaned and oiled she may still work.  I won't try her out as her wiring is pretty rough, but she could be converted to a hand crank fairly easily for whoever owns her next.

I'm having fun working on these machines.  Tomorrow it's adjust the tension on the Neechi day to do some polar fleece projects on.  If it won't cooperate, then it's back to my Crinkle finish Model 15 for the heavy duty work.

Who remembers Girl Scout Hot-Chocolate?

I still remember the feel and smell of my Brownies uniform and cold, dreary days remind me of my mom making us hot chocolate during our meetings to warm us up (and perhaps calm us down a bit).  My mom was my leader through Juniors and we made our own hot chocolate mix that we took on scouting camp outs, backpacking, and pretty much anywhere we couldn't haul the cold stuff.

Many years ago I made up a bunch of packages for family members for the holidays, coupled up with a cute Christmasy mug, and some cookies.  I've decided to do something similar this year but "dress" it up a bit, and thought I'd share some of the newly updated versions with you.  I've had to switch from MilkMan powdered milk (which was amazingly yummy) to Carnation as the company that made MilkMan closed it's doors.

Traditional Hot Chocolate

22 1/2 oz. (box) Carnation Powdered Milk
16 oz. CoffeeMate Powdered Creamer
1 lb.    Nesquick (a.k.a. Nestle's Quick) Chocolate Milk Drink

Optional:
2 cups sifted Powdered sugar

Mix it all together and keep it in an airtight, moisture-proof container.  When you're ready for some hot chocolate, it's usually 1/4 cup of mix to "standard" coffee mug.  You may need to add more if you have a different sized mug.

Now for the fun stuff!  CoffeeMate has introduced a lot of fun new flavors making more "adult" versions possible that don't require the toting around of Peppermin Schnapps (although hot chocolate and Peppermint Schnapps remains one of my favorite holiday treats!).


Peppermint Hot Chocolate

22 1/2 oz. (box) Carnation Powdered Milk
16 oz. CoffeeMate Powdered Peppermint Mocha Creamer
1 lb.    Nesquick (a.k.a. Nestle's Quick) Chocolate Milk Drink

Yum!!


Vanilla Caramel Hot Chocolate


22 1/2 oz. (box) Carnation Powdered Milk
16 oz. CoffeeMate Powdered Vanilla Caramel Creamer
1 lb.    Nesquick (a.k.a. Nestle's Quick) Chocolate Milk Drink

Other powdered options include:
French Vanilla
Vanilla Latte

Cinnamon Vanilla Creme

I'm stopping on the way home tonight for ingredients to try out the Vanilla Caramel version...it sounds heavenly.

Speaking of Old and Vintage Things

Technically speaking, my truck is a Vintage Machine.  Anyone who's known me for more than 15 minutes has heard about my truck.  I love it.  Bubba Truck is old, getting rustier by the hour, is dented, has some "challenges" with it's interior, and some people won't be caught dead in it.  I still love it.

Bubba is rapidly approaching it's 22nd manufacture date and is counting down towards it's 324,000th mile.  It's a 1990 Ford Ranger 4x4 Custom with an extended cab, manual transmission, locking hubs to engage the 4x4 transfer case, dark grey (where it still has color) and it's had a heck of a life.  It's hauled everything from groceries to my 4H group's entire rabbit herd, a pair of pot-bellied pigs, and office equipment.  It's an awesome little truck.

So, why am I mentioning my truck on a crafter's blog?  Because I'd like to overhaul it, but to do that I have to earn enough money (outside of my normal IT gig) to pay to do that.  It's about a $10K job - still less than the cost of a new truck.  So, I'll be busy cranking out stuff for the Christmas/Chanukah-Hanukkah season in the hopes of making some cash to start saving for the overhaul.

In addition to the normal crafting stuff, I'll be putting up a couple of vintage machines over this holiday season to find new homes.  One will definitely be a "decorative" piece as it'll be non-functional, another one will be functional but may or may not be in a nice case.  It depends on how some other things work out.

Please take some pity on my truck, and check out my etsy site.  You never know, you might just find a gift for that "hard-to-please" person.  And if you're buying a tote - remember, a portion of the proceeds goes to charity (and not me or my truck).

New Toys!

I finally unloaded my latest vintage machine wins and got pictures of them.  The Singer I purchased for the cabinet, not for the machine.  Good news is the parts will work on my Grandmother's machine just fine, so I may have a replacement deck with perfect decals.  I need to get a picture of the deck anyway, so a company I'm working with can make replacement decals.

Here's my $6 win:

As you can see, the varnish is having issues and a full strip, restain, varnish is in order.  The machine itself has been recently used (based on it's new belt and nicely moving parts), so I had to gut it completely.  Instead I think I'll simply swap what I need and either donate or sell this beastie cheap once I check it all out.  Here's a better idea of the damage to the cabinet.

My other win is a Singer Stylist 533.  After taking it out of the case I see there's a part missing.  Still, not too bad for $8.  And it does have the removable table stashed inside the case - right where it belongs.  Wiring is in great shape, so now it's just time to clean it well and stitch up a small project.

Fun "Naughty" Christmas Boys Fabric

I just "had" to have this fabric.  It's way to fun, and I know my BFF will get a HUGE kick out of it as a tote bag.  And since I will make it reversible he can keep this cutie pies with him all year round.

I also added several Christmas items to my Etsy site.  Drop on by there to see what are strictly one-of-a-kinds and which ones can be custom ordered.

Next week at some point I'll be posted again on tips for refurb'ing those vintage machines I love so much.  I do have one tip for you: Do Not leave your sewing machine oil where a it can be tipped over.  I've lost most of mine unexpectedly, even though it was in a sealed bottle and in a closed ziplock baggie.  It got tipped over and it leaked.  Not a happy find.

Oh, I did win 2 more vintage machines.  Pictures will come soon!

Singer Sewing Machine Manuals ARE Free

I keep running across posts on different boards where folks are asking where to find a particular vintage sewing machine model's manual.  For Kenmore owners it's a tough nut to crack and you may end up paying $10 or more to someone who's simply scanned in an original manual (marks, missing pages, and all), put it in a PDF and wants money in exchange for their time.  Occasionally you'll find a seller who is offering the elusive original manual for sale/auction.  Grab 'em when you can for those hard to find ones.  And if you do score one, do the rest of us a favor if you scan it in and make the PDF available for free somewhere.

However, Singer owners - of all age machines - will happily find free PDF versions off of the Singer website.  For those in the USA it's www.singerco.com.  And if you can't find a version, email them, they'll get you a link or may even send you the PDF.

Here's the list of Singer Model PDFs I've downloaded for free so far:

15 and 15-91
66, 66K and 66-91
99 and 99K
101-1
201
301
Stylist 533

There are also parts manuals available for Singers, for free.  I've downloaded those as well so that I can check part numbers should I need something.

My addiction is growing as I've just picked up the Stylist 533 today and will be checking out it's gears.  (Apparently they're a bit prone to breakage).  And I need to check inside the case to see if the table extension is hiding in there.  Otherwise, this little beastie will be a free-arm machine for as long as I hang onto it.  Pictures will follow soon!

Sometimes "Old" Tricks are Best

I read online somewhere about reviving wilted carrots.  The hint was to remove the tops of the carrots and place them in a baggie with ice cold water, seal the bag, and pop it into the fridge overnight.  Guess what?  It works GREAT!

It's Fall, time to pull out all of my veggie garden that isn't being over-wintered.  Some of the items left were carrots, and silly me forgot to put them in the fridge right after cleaning and they got limp.  I followed the advice and I now have crunchy carrots once again.

My garden is a lot of work, but I just can't beat tomatoes fresh off the vine, fresh lettuce, beans, peas, etc...  Fresh is always best, and since I grow most of my own, I know what's been put on/in the plants and get the best results from canning.  Now that I know how to revive carrots, I'm going to need to learn how to can them too.

One Size Does NOT Fit All

I'm going to be teaching a couple of friends how to sew.  Just very basic, beginning stuff, all straight lines.  Aprons!  I thought they'd be easy - which they are when you're talking about construction, not so much for sizing.

I freely admit that I'm B-I-G.  Tall with plenty of excess cushioning so to speak.  So I'm used to having to adjust patterns of all types to fit me.  Usually my issue is with the length of sleeves and legs, rarely do I ever have an issue finding something to fit my "girth".  Until I started looking at my apron patterns.  The biggest size I could find in my stash is XL, and online I'm only finding S-M-L for women and practically nothing for men.

Now this wouldn't be such an issue if it wasn't for the fact that I was going to sew along with my friends and make myself a good canning apron with pockets and long ties that I can wrap around to my front with a duplicate to go to my BFF who happens to be male and love food as much as I do.  Problem is, none of the patterns that wrap around to the sides of the models wrap around for me.  And with curves and angles on the pattern I like, a simple add to the fold line won't work quite right.

So I'm on a misson.  I'm going to learn to make patterns of my own, for those of us who don't "quite" fit the norms of some designers.  I might even add some ruffles (even though I'm not a ruffle girl) just to test out my cool ruffler foot on my vintage White machine.

When all is said and done, I hope to have a pattern that works, is quirkily (new word!) fun to wear and can be adapted to multiple sizes.  Check my etsy site in a few weeks, I have a goal to have a Christmas themed apron up for sale before November.  And if I can figure out how to make pattern pieces that will fit on an 8"x11.5" piece of printer paper, I might even sell a PDF version of the pattern(s).

Big score!

I bid on this strictly for the cabinet.  It fits well with all of my inherited furniture from my grandparent's house and it's so my style.  A winning bid of $6 brought this little beauty home to me.  It was advertised as being dirty and non-functioning with no attachments.  Here's what I found when I opened this baby up.

Hmm...wonder what I might find in those drawers?  Okay, so it's a smidge dusty and is missing a curved piece (it should be balanced on each side of the drawers).  I opened the drawers and looked inside the cabinet to find these...

Score!  All original attachments, including the quilting guide, screwdriver, Greist buttonholer, and STEEL! needles.  Not bad at all for $6.

It's a 101!

When I bid on this machine, I was blindly accepting Goodwill's assertion that it was a model 99.  Nope, it's more rare than that, it's a Singer 101.  I'm learning how hard it is to locate parts for this rare baby, so I'm not 100% certain that I'll restore it.  I may part it out instead.

I purchased it for the case originally, but found the locks won't work on my other bentwood case.  Still, it's a cool "toy" to play with and if nothing else, I'm keeping that cool, pull-chain light.

New Toy Arrived

My husband is being amazingly wonderful about my growing addiction.  This latest acquisition arrived last week and I didn't have a chance to unwrap it until yesterday.  I purchased it for the bentwood case, hoping to use the lock in my other bentwood case as this one has water damage.  Bad news is the lock isn't a match.  The good news is I think I can fix the bottom of the "new" bentwood case and use it for Black Betty if she won't fit in my latest $6 vintage machine and cabinet win.  (Pictures for that will come later after I clean it up).

The better news is I think I can get this sweet beastie restored for a friend of mine who'd like to purchase a vintage Singer.  This beauty cost me $5 plus shipping...roughly $30 total from Goodwill.  They did a great job of packing her up and she got here in one piece.

I sent them a big Thank You for such a good packing job.

This one is a knee control version (I hate the knee controls as they hit the wrong spot on my leg (I'm too tall for them).  They couldn't power her up either.  A quick check of the power cord reveals a missing locking mechanism, but these are easy enough to replace for less than $20 with updated wiring.

I love this particular light with the little pull chain.  It may get swapped over to my Crinkle machine, just because I think it's SO cool.

Some of the stencils are in really great shape.  I hope to get a good stencil pattern off of this one to make replacement stencils.

Love that it came with the metal cover (they're so often missing) and even better found original bobbins!

The knee control does work well, but the paint is pretty beat up.  Once I dig into her, I'll know if she's worth fully restoring, or would be better to part out and use as a decoration instead.  She's sitting on top of my first $6 machine with cabinet - a Kenmore 117 that I love the look of and haven't been able to part with yet.

I need to get pictures of the Violet Vixen posted as well.  She's my Kenmore 158.433 that I picked up for $14 that is missing her bobbin tension assembly.  Good news - I can still get that part.  Bad news - she has a paint chip.  I love her color though, so I may take her to a friend's brother (he has an auto body shop) to see if can mix a paint to match, or that is close enough to be worth a full paint stripping and repainting.