301 Singer Sisters

I enjoyed a fun but short visit with the Erin Quilters last night. It was wonderful to see old friends again and have a quick visit. It was a very snowy drive, so I didn't stay for the whole meeting and was relieved when I arrived home safe and sound.

Sewing on a Free-Westinghouse

I hope to have some sewing time tonight with my 301 Singer Sisters! They are my beloved work horse sewing machines from the 1950's, so of course I have affectionately named these old girls Lucy and Ethel. I make sure to give them a regular workout to keep them in good sewing condition.

Singer Sisters

The threading of these slant needle machines and their bobbins are a bit different from the majority of machines that I use regularly, so I often need a reminder of how to thread the needle (from right to left) and how the bobbins unthread in their cases (the opposite direction of my Brother 1500). A great resource for 301 machines is found at SewUSA. There is a lot of information on a wide range of machines and you can access the threading diagrams here for most of the brands you can think of. Here is the direct link to the 301 information.
Ethel's wiring is a little on the unsafe side, and she probably needs to be re-wired, but that is one job that I haven't learned to do yet. I keep her workouts brief and hope I don't electrocute myself or start a fire! But every time I use these machines I remember how much I like the sound/voice of these machines, and what a nice stitch they make.

I have started making some improv house blocks and need to build a neighbourhood... by Wednesday!

Design Wall Monday

Progress is slow but sure with my Allietare blocks. I enjoyed an evening of sewing with some friends, and was able to make a lot of progress. Here they are on the design wall. There are only a few more blocks to finish and then I can start putting the quilt top together.








You can see in this photo that I was sewing these star blocks on Lucy - my long bed 301 Singer. She just sews like a dream with a perfect tension, and a lovely soft sound. It's such a thrill to sew on a 63 year old sewing machine that works beautifully.
To see more design wall posts, hop over to Patchwork Times.

The Herd

It's time to fess up. I have developed a slight problem with collecting sewing machines. It's an odd thing to collect, since a quilter really only "needs" one good machine.  So what's the deal on the "herd" (that is what quilters call a group of machines)? 
It's like any other addiction I suppose. It started with just one sewing machine ... a basic Janome with no frills, purchased in 1990 for $300.  I took my first quilting classes with that machine and sewed the guts right out of it. It is still kicking around here somewhere, but it has been retired.

Ny nephew helping me to clean my Brother 1500

Then I realized that I really liked quilting and I needed a real work horse for machine quilting. So I bought machine #2 - a Brother 1500 that supposedly sews 1,500 stitches per minute. It has been such a fantastic machine and I love it. If it ever dies, I will immediately replace it with one that is exactly the same.

Janome Jem Platinum

One Christmas Santa brought me machine #3 - a lightweight portable machine called a Janome Jem Platinum, which is a great machine to take to classes. It is also the only machine I own that does a zigzag stitch, so I use this one for sewing batting scraps together, and anything else requiring a zigzag (like making fabric bowls).

1901 Singer Treadle

Then I started to covet a "people powered" treadle machine and purchased machine #4 - an amazing 1901 Singer. I love this machine and it is set up in my dining room. I have a scrappy project that I only work on with this machine whenever I get the urge to treadle.

White Featherweight

Just after I bought the treadle machine, a wonderful friend surprised me with machine #5 - a beautiful collector's white featherweight machine, which I love but don't want to sew on it too much for fear of wearing it out! It is so cute and makes a perfect stitch even though it turned 50 years old last year!

Blue White

Then I met a lovely blue machine while I was taking care of my brother when he was sick.  After my brother's death I bought machine #6 - that pretty "blue White" machine. This machine is a very heavy industrial machine and I can barely lift it - it's 100% metal parts (nothing plastic in this baby!). But it purrs like a kitten when it sews and makes a perfect stitch.

Then an old singer found it's way to me... I've never mentioned it before on my blog because I was embarrassed that I adopted machine #7! This really is a beauty, but I haven't had much time to get it working well yet. In addition to being a pretty machine, it's a lovely piece of furniture (being modeled by my Granddog Max). 

Twin 301 Singers

Last year I was given two 301 Singers (I call them Lucy and Ethel) by a generous blog reader. She wasn't sure they were working machines, but I have spent some time cleaning and adjusting them, and they are now sewing perfectly. Machines # 8 and #9.

And so you see how a herd appears. I have also become somewhat of an expert at restoring old machines and am amazed by the variety of machines. And here's an interesting fact - not one of my machines uses the same bobbin! Here is a photo of 4 different bobbins.

I do take full responsibility for my addiction collection and enjoy using each machine for various tasks. But I must admit that storage is becoming an issue.
My next machine purchase will be a hand crank machine, but working ones are in short supply. It's like searching for a needle in a haystack, but I'm fine with that. But that machine will be my last one for sure!  *snort*

Singer Tins

In her quiltland travels, my friend Barb found these vintage Singer boxes. She thought that my recently acquired 301 machines each needed one. Barb kind of has "shared custody" of these machines, since she was with me when I picked them up, so she was on the look out for accessories for them!

One box is green with a gold interior, and one is black with a purple velvety interior. It has a lot of attachments in it and I have no idea what they are for!

Barb declared that every box needed a seam ripper which she added.

The green box not only has a green seam ripper and  matching scissors, but it also has a pattern for making a sewing machine cover. Hmm... I wonder just who she thinks will be sewing that???!!

Scrap Happy Monday

The blocks are all sewn for my QPOM and I love it's yummy scrappiness! This isn't the final layout and changes will still be made every time I walk past, but the blocks are done, and a small dent has been made in the scrap bin! 

Lucy, my new Singer 301A, got a wonderful workout sewing these blocks. She is very clear that she does not like to wind bobbins, but I think I can fix that by replacing the bobbin winder tire ring.
Hop over to Patchwork Times to see more design wall postings.

Adding to the herd

I am almost embarrassed to admit to my blog readers that I have acquired two more sewing machines! I know. It's out of control. But what could I say when a faithful blog reader asked me if I would like an old sewing machine or two? Of course I said YES! And then she told me they are 301s. I gulped and tried to remain calm, but couldn't wait to meet them, since I don't think I've ever seen one in real life.
So, here are my new old machines which are both Singer 301s. 

Meet machine #1 - a long bed Singer 301

Maybe she was a school sewing machine because she has the "T419" with permanent marker written on her? 

According to this article on dating your Singer, the machine's serial number is NA349993 which indicates it was made in 1953 in Anderson, South Carolina.

Look at this interesting sticker on the bottom of the machine. Canada was trying to take some credit here!

Meet machine #2 - a short bed Singer 301

Her serial number is NA294165, so she was also made in 1953 in Anderson, South Carolina.

These sewing machines must be long lost sewing sisters. 
And since they were born in 1953, I think I'll call them Lucy and Ethel! I can't think of more appropriate names for the 1950's, can you?!?!

These machines also came with some attachments, but I don't know what all these things are yet. I do know that the two bobbins that were in the box are not for the 301. One is plastic (no plastic for these old gals!) and the other bobbin is too wide for the 301 bobbin case.

Can you see the difference?

The bobbin with the grey thread is the right one. 

I have started to get to know them. First I read about them on line - Judy Laquidara loves her 301s and I read her review here. 

More interesting information about 301s can be found here and here.

Then I started cleaning and oiling the machines, and buttering them up by telling them how beautiful they are. And then it was time for the big test... can they sew?!?!

First time out of the gate, they both sewed beautifully. Yippee....they both work and made a perfectly tensioned stitch!

They also have a very unique sound when they sew that I really like. It's amazing how each machine has it's own voice. 

So now I am a "collector" apparently. 

And sewing machine collectors call their machines "the herd".  These old gals gravitate to my herd because they know I love them and they will be used and well cared for.  (For a funny blog post on my kind of "problem", click here)

A big thanks to my blog reader Liz who allowed me to adopt these beautiful Singers into my care.