Well now...that a silly prompt if you think I only have ONE machine!!
I have my main machine - Jenny Lind (because she is a Singer!) - a 9020 which is not a common Singer machine. My Parents got her at a special sale - I have not ever seen another one like her, except my Sister's - but then my Parents got one for her too at the same time! My Parents got buyer's remorse after they bought the two machines, wondering it they would turn out to be duds...but I have been using mine since I started quilting in 2001. And relatively easy to service (I do most of my own servicing)
She is a good basic workhorse of a machine - only thing I dislike on her is the reverse button - it's hard to hold in. If they had only kept the lever idea from the earlier machines!
Next up is my Treadle machine that I restored - Aurora - A Red-eye Singer. I was happy as a clam doing the restoration work. The guy I got her from said his mother used her as a plant stand (!) and that the treadle belt had been broken since he was a young boy. EEP!!! Somewhere in Aurora's history she was exposed to smoke - she is not quite old enough for it to be oil lamps so probably at least one person smoked. The amount of grime that came off during cleaning...not only on the machine head, but on the cabinet as well.
And her little sister - Alis (Borealis) - a Singer 99 - alternately, and mistakenly called a Featherweight - but its not a real Singer Featherweight (I want one of those too!) At 22 pounds, she is NOT light to carry. I restored her too. Looks like she might be due for a bit more polishing on the bobbin winder!
Then there is the serger - O Brother - and not surprisingly, he is a Brother 1034D. He kinda scares me, so he mostly stays in his tote bag.
Rockette - a Singer 500a 'Rocketeer' with the #42 cabinet - it needs refinishing and the top hinges on the machine are sadly busted. This was given to me for my wedding by my maternal Grandmother. Someday I hope to find a stool like in this picture - I think Grandma HAD the stool, but might have forgotten to give it to me when we went to pick up the machine. My Mom has one that might work but I think it might be a bit wider than the official stool. My cabinet is a bit darker than this photo - oak finish, I think.
And Goldie - a Singer Golden Touch and Sew 630 which has the dratted plastic camstack so it keeps going out of timing. I hold on to her because I really LIKE some of her features and I keep hoping someday I can either get a set of metal cams, or I could turn her into a felting machine. The most peculiar thing on this machine is the normal foot - it's got rubber pads under it that interface with the feed dogs - and the rubber disintegrates, sigh. But, I love the 'wind the bobbin in the bobbin case' feature.
Elvie - the Singer 15 that my Grandfather bought brand new for my Grandmother, passed down to my Dad and then leant to my maternal Grandmother who made quilts for the poor with her Dorcas group. She kept a stable of machines in her mobile home for the Dorcas ladies to use. When she passed away, my Dad asked me if I wanted it - silly question! OF COURSE I wanted it! (Seen here piled high with my pincushion collection) You might be able to make out some of the writing on the case - my Dad wrote how to thread the needle and some other handy tips for the Dorcas ladies in red pen. My Dad recalls his first sewing task was making sails for their sailboat in the 40's. My Grandfather also used the machine - I have several puppets that he made the clothes for with this lovely old lady.
La Donna - a 431G machine that my friend bought to make baby clothes with when her hubby was stationed in Germany. I just was blessed enough to obtain the 'unicorn' throat plate for this machine - I might need a different bobbin case but supposedly, I should be able to make her chainstitch - I've been meaning to try it out!
And just for fun - a music box treadle given to me by my Daughter and a Lego sewing machine that I got as a door prize at the Retreat I go to annually!
You can just see the bag that covers La Donna under Aurora's cabinet behind the Lego machine. As we learned yesterday, I have TOO MUCH STUFF!
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