Treadling on Tuesday

Max the treadling granddog is up to his old tricks again! My daughter took this picture on her iphone when I wasn't home. Max had put his food dish under the treadle, and you can tell by the look on his face that he knows he is not supposed to be there. I just love how his whole body is snuggled right up to the treadle! He is a real character.

When Max is not in control of the treadle machine, I have been working away on piecing these scrap strips. 
It's mindless and relaxing sewing, so I like to do a little each night before bedtime.




Today is Remembrance Day in Canada. We remember those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom.

Treadling on Tuesday

Last Saturday I was able to visit the London Friendship Quilters show and besides enjoying a great quilt show, I was inspired by chatting with my old friend Jacqui and her husband Jake. They restore vintage machines and have an incredible collection of antique sewing machines. I only wish I had my camera with me (I know...BAD blogger!) so I could show you their amazing display. 

They reminded me how much I love my old machines and I spent last night sewing on my much loved 1901 Singer Treadle while watching QuiltCam over at Quiltville. Did you join in and sew with us? If you didn't catch it live, you can always watch the YouTube archived show. 


I wasn't able to sew very long before Granddog Max decided he wanted to treadle. Can you see how that presents a problem?!?
He brought his favorite toy under the machine and kept trying to "help".

Eventually I stopped trying to treadle more scrap strips, and spent the rest of the time removing the adding machine tape/paper from the back of completed strips. That's a very easy but boring job, which was made more fun by watching QuiltCam!

Treadling on Tuesday - Great British Sewing Bee

My 1901 Treadle machine

I am still treadling regularly on my Sphinx Egyptian Singer Model 127, sewing more scrappy strips onto adding machine tape. 
I really wanted to watch the Great British Sewing Bee while I treadled, since I quite enjoyed watching season one last year. It's like the "Survivor" TV show, only with sewers competing in sewing challenges. It was an unbelievable challenge to actually be able to watch episodes of season 2. It's like the BBC doesn't really want anyone to watch it!

Watching season 2!

I'd be happy to buy the season on a disk set, but couldn't find that anywhere. I'd also watch it on YouTube since that is where I found season 1 episodes, but for season 2, I could only find episode 8.


Horrors... I had to finally resort to watching contraband episodes, which my son taught me how to find on the internet. 

David was the last man standing/sewing in the bee!

The whole "finding a needle in the WWW haystack" should earn me a Detective position (and by the way, I'd be happy to work with contestant David who is a police officer). I eventually found and watched all 8 episodes of season 2 while treadling scraps! 

Treadledog Max

Episode 6 was my favorite because all the sewers had to construct a vintage inspired garment completely made on a vintage machine. One of the show reviewers called the antiques "dangerous and archaic machinery"!!! HA!


And of course, Max the Treadledog was always under foot, eager to help me with the dangerous treadling!

Treadling on Tuesday

Progress is being made on my treadle scrap quilt. I am working with this project one design decision at a time. I posted the scrap strips with the black sashing on my design wall last month - see that post here.
From that post I decided that I wanted to sew two scrappy strips together to increase the scrappiness and decrease the blackness. Reducing the amount of black sashing in the quilt makes it look much happier don't you think?

I clipped the pile of strips into sets of two to sew together, and drew the 1/4" seam line on the paper foundation for accuracy in sewing. I sewed a couple of long strips together during Quiltcam last night and started removing some of the paper on the back.

I really like treadling these long seams as compared to all the short seams I've sewn on these strips. FUN!

Treadling on Tuesday

My parents were traveling in Pennsylvania and found a very special gift for me - a tiny little treadle machine! Isn't that the sweetest thing?!?  I just love how much this little treadle looks like my big treadle - that it is painted to look exactly like my treadle cabinet's wood, and has two drawers on both sides with gold drawer pulls.




The card that came with it says it was made by "Clay Designs" by Esther O'Hara.

Just look at the size of the new treadle compared to my old treadle! I just love it, even though I can't actually sew on it. It's looks like a Mama machine with it's baby machine ;)

I am treadling away on my scrap strips and have come to the end of my black sashing strips, so the next step is to remove the paper from the back of the scrappy strips and get them up on the design wall. 
Tonight is QuiltCam, so I'll "see" you there!

Treadling on Tuesday

I have been treadling a bit here and there on my old 1901 Singer. I am joining the scrap strips together and then sewing those long strips to the black sashing that I cut a couple of weeks ago - click here to read more. You can't see the black sashing in this photo because it's under the paper. I am drawing my 1/4" sewing line on the edge of the paper as I go along to make it easy to be accurate.

I am removing the paper from the seam allowances where I joined the smaller strips together because it's so hard to pull paper out from under a seam allowance once you've sewn over it.
Have I mentioned lately that I love my treadle machine?  It's unexplainable really and difficult to express how very soothing and relaxing it is for me when I sew on a treadle. 
I should have some progress to show on this project soon. And I am starting to get ideas about how I might hand quilt it!

Treadling with Bonnie

Were you able to catch QuiltCam last night? If not, you can watch it anytime on the archived version on Quiltville's YouTube channel.
I enjoyed treadling with my 1901 Singer Treadle as I listened to Bonnie's latest adventures.

While stitching, I had to wind a bobbin so I thought I'd show you what the treadle vibrating shuttle looks like. It's very different bobbin case than the modern machines have and it takes a bit of getting used to.



The long bobbins fit inside the shuttle and this is how it gets tucked into position in order to sew. 

Isn't that so cool?!

Treadling on Tuesday

After getting my Singer treadle sewing machine back from the spa (repair shop for cleaning, oiling and maintenance) I realized that I needed to tighten up the belt. I hadn't done that since I installed a new one a year and a half ago.
I just opened the staple, cut about a 1/4" off one end of the belt, poked a new hole in the belt and reconnected the staple. It wasn't difficult to do, but did take longer than I expected because I don't have the proper tools. However, I made do with what I had and stuck with it, and was delighted to be successful!


The new belt made it easier to wind the bobbin, and it was going along well until I came to a knot in the thread. Can you see that knot where the seam ripper is pointing??!! That will not go through the vibrating shuttle bobbin at all, so I had to cut it at the knot.
But I had wound enough thread on the bobbin to get back to piecing some scraps....ahhhh... so fun!

Tuesday Treadling

Guess who's back?!?

My 1901 Singer sewing machine is home again after a stay at the spa. It was missed!






It now has a lovely new face plate which helps reduce thread breaks. The old one looked like it might have been the original face plate, and it had many nicks around the single hole where the bobbin thread comes out.  Now it is nice and new, and the thread comes through without getting frayed or broken.

Reconnecting the machine to the cabinet was a bit if a production, but the damage to the wood was minimal. I had trouble disconnecting the machine, but was able to get it solidly reconnected back together and ready to sew again. 


So I was happily back to treadling my scraps onto old adding machine tapes. It was getting a little tricky to wind the bobbins because the belt was too lose, so I trimmed the belt by 1/4", reconnected the staple in the new hole, and re-installed the belt (good information here). I now consider myself to be a pro at this and sure do love my Treadle!

Treadle Trouble

Sometimes you learn the hard way how NOT to do something.

I wanted to take my treadle machine in for servicing and was unsure of how to remove it from the cabinet.
It seemed to me that the only way was to remove these two contraptions at the back of the machine.
This is not how to do it!  
I should have asked for advice first!

Apparently these screws do not have to be removed, taking the wood with them! There is a little hidden screw at the end which attaches to the sewing machine. Now I know. But how do I repair this wood? Any ideas?
I am missing my treadling already :(

Treadling on Tuesday - Max the Treadle Dog

Yesterday I auditioned some scrap strips on my design wall, and here are my newest strips of treadled scraps. They are just sitting on the cutting board waiting to get trimmed up.  I think I need more yellow to throw in there to brighten them up a bit...they are getting a little on the dark side.
I sure am enjoying my treadle project, but it is very challenging to treadle when little Max is around.

My Granddog Max has finished his puppy training course, and he thinks he's pretty smart. But he's definitely not smart enough to learn to treadle! He is fascinated by the treadle and loves to get right in there to see how everything works!

Max - you are not helping at all. Get out of there you crazy treadling dog! 
I should try to get him on video... he could be a Youtube sensation with quilters!

Treadling on Tuesday

From Quiltville

Last time I wrote about my treadle (click here), I had brought her out of hiding/storage hoping that I would get more treadle time in.
And it worked!
I have been more tempted to sit down at the machine and do some treadling than I was before. 

I am piecing random scraps onto an old adding machine tape, and using both pieces of the tape (remember the yellow carbon copy??) You can see the rest of the roll of tape on the machine bed, and see that I don't have much more to use up. When the tape is all covered in fabric, the quilt will be ready to assemble. How big will that quilt be? I have no idea yet!

Did you happen to notice my scrappy mug mat which was a  lovely gift from Julie??  I adore it...thank you so much!

Tuesday Treadling

I haven't done a Treadling on Tuesday post since last year! Why is that? 
Because I haven't done any treadling since then. 
I was reading Cheryl's blog post about her vintage sewing machine booth, and started to miss my treadle machine, and wondered why I haven't been using it.
In fact the sewing

Treadle covered with "Quilter's Blessings"

machine has been hiding stored safely in the cabinet for a while. Sometimes I slip into this scarcity thinking pattern in which I believe that I should put special things away so that they don't get broken or dusty or used too much. 
But I have learned that when very special things are put away safely, they are forgotten about and never used! Since I put the machine into the cabinet, I have not been tempted once to sit and treadle when I find that I have a few extra minutes.

Today the sun was shining on my treadle, and I decided that it was going to come out in the sun shine where I could see it and enjoy it, and be tempted to sit and treadle whenever I wanted to relax.






Ahhhh.... that's so much better!  I will thread up the machine and I bet you that I will be tempted to sit down and treadle every time I walk by.
How about you? 
Get out your special machine and give it some love and appreciation!

A New Sewing Machine

I got a brand new sewing machine, all the way from England! My friend just got back from a "trip across the pond" and she brought me this souvenir.
I love it!
I am having a hard time sewing with it... since it's a candle, and made of wax!



And to give you a perspective on how small it is, here's a picture of me holding it. 
Isn't it adorable?!?! 
What a fun gift for a quilter!


And speaking of sewing related fun, while I was sick last week I enjoyed watching the video called "The Birth of a Sewing Machine in 1934" (just click on the title to view). It's a long video (about 70 minutes) but I was sick, so what else did I have to do but lay around and watch videos?! It is vintage footage of the Singer factory in 1934. There is no sound at all with this video but it was fascinating to me. I loved seeing the 1934 workforce arriving to work at the factory all dressed up!
There were so many times while watching the footage when I said to myself "that does not look safe"!  There were work stations and set ups where workers could easily be burned, or maimed, or get a needle in their eye. And so many possibilities for repetitive stress injury! They worked so hard at this factory to make these classic sewing machines. And to make the needles for the sewing machines (at a rate of 18,000 needles made per hour!)
The complex machinery used to make sewing machines, even back then, just blows my mind. Watching this video made me appreciate my 1901 Singer treadle even more! 

Treadling on Tuesday

It's Tuesday and I'm not treadling. I'm still feeling sick and I'm getting very Grinchy about all the sewing time I am missing out on. There are only two more sleeps until the next mystery clue comes out, and I haven't even finished the cutting for the previous step yet.

But even though I am not treadling, I love watching the Grinch treadle! 
Yes... the Grinch does his sewing on a treadle machine! And he makes his dog Max power the treadle while he sews!

I wonder if I could do that with my new Granddog Max?!? Maybe I could bribe him with treats to get him to help me treadle? Not likely. His work ethic leaves a lot to be desired! LOL

And did you know that the Grinch actually sewed his own Santa suit without a pattern! A brilliant and creative sewer!

People Powered Machines

I mentioned yesterday that I am coveting a hand crank machine, but seriously, it's becoming an obsession, and I have been trolling the Kijiji ads to find the right one for me (ie. one that I can afford that is in good condition).
Why am I doing this? 
Heaven knows I don't need another sewing machine! 
But these are so cute and adorable and amazing!
Just look at this video... can you even imagine using a modern 2013 technology to plow a field, while you use OLD 1885 technology to sew! Amazing!

Doesn't this look like fun?
Sometimes Bonnie Hunter sews on her hand crank machine during QuiltCam time... which is live tonight at 9 pm. 
Drop by and see what machine she is sewing on this week. 
I will be treadling along with QuiltCam fans - until I get my "new" hand crank machine! LOL

Treadle Vacation

What a beautiful morning to treadle! 

As I treadle away feeling the sun on my face, it almost seems like I'm on vacation on a sunny southern island. Until I walk outside and discover that it is ONE degree! 
Nope... I am still in Canada!
But I can enjoy my mini-vacation moment!

Treadling on Tuesday

I will be treadling today, because it's Tuesday, and it has become part of my routine. I want to make sure I keep my treasure in good condition and the best way to do that is to keep it in running order with lots of oil and TLC.




After all, I do NOT want my treadle to become one of these... 

*GASP* 

...a rusty old plant stand!!!

This old treadle base was found on my cousin's farm when she bought the property, so the story about what happened to the sewing machine is unknown. 
See the lucky (?) horseshoes laying on the treadle?
The Raymond sewing machines were made in Guelph, Ontario. To read an interesting article about the company - click here.
Don't let your old sewing machines become plant stands!
Give them a chance to stay in working order with some regular use and attention.

But don't have so much fun that you sew into the wee hours of the morning ...
you need regular maintenance/rest too or you might turn into a rusty old plant stand!

Sewing Museum Link Up

This week Beth from Love, Laugh, Quilt is hosting a link up called "Sewing Museum". Of course I have to add my new collection to the list. Well, it's not really "a collection" as such, because there are only 2 items so far! 
Okay...it's a really small collection! 
Here are my two vintages sewing machines...

Sweet Baby Jayne on the left is my newly acquired 1964 white Featherweight 221K  (with a "tail", as the folks from "Treadle On" would say). And on the right is my 1901 Singer Treadle Model 127 with the sphinx egyptian decals (no "tail" so is people powered). Hey, I just realized that my Singer doesn't have a proper name. I have been calling her "Treadle" but that seems so impersonal! Do you have any names to suggest for this beauty?!?

To see more collections, hop over to Love Laugh Quilt. Enjoy!

I love both of my antique treasures and use them at least once a week to keep them in good working condition. They each have projects that are all their own from start to finish.

This is Baby Jayne's project this week... teeny tiny little half square triangles, which I am sewing with a 1/8" seam allowance, and the machine is doing a great job with these little bits. I plan to use the blocks as a border for a stitchery that I am starting to work on.

And I am sewing with the thread collection which I won at the fall fair last weekend! It is an 18 spool collection celebrating the Coats & Clark 200th Anniversary and I am delighted to have the selection of colours to play with!