Locust Tree Blooms and a Solution to the Bobbin Winder Issue

We made kind of a mistake planting a locust tree in the yard many years ago..it has spread from the original tree (which died after about 15 years) to three clumps of shoots - it's a rather invasive tree..but..they provide some lovely blooms in the spring time...


My Tiger cat under the locust tree:


I got an email from one of the ladies on the TreadleOn list, Cindy, saying that if I took the top screw out of the bobbin winder it could move down into contact with the wheel..only downside is that one has to hold the bobbin winder down whilst winding..but not a big deal..may still look for something to make the bobbin tire and the wheel match up a bit better some day...but it's not a priority...Here is a shot of the bobbin winder without the top screw..Oh..and you can see the orange spool protector in this shot as well!!

Playing with Alis

I finally got to sewing with Alis, the Singer 99 that I converted to a hand crank back in February. I am really liking hand cranking!

 First, I made her a felt spool protector out of bright orange felt (you can't see it in the pic since there is a spool on it!) Then I oiled her up, cleaned out the hook area, threaded her up and started cranking...had to do a few tweaks to the presser foot pressure and the tension knob, but I have her sewing a pretty nice stitch - the stitch length knob is still frozen but that is not dreadfully necessary yet - I did oil it and hopefully it will loosen soon.

I took the knee-bar controller out..took me a few to figure out there were screws on the bottom of the case! And one screw needed some 'manly muscles' so I got DH to at least start that one...Machine is significantly lighter with both the motor and the controller removed.. I bagged the pieces..just not quite sure what to do with them!


I am noodling with whether I can move the hinges on the case..but not sure on that since there are two holes for the screws that come up from the underside that would need to be filled and re-drilled...it's just a wee bit off for leaving the hand crank in place and putting the dome case over it (maybe 1/4 inch!!)..I can SEE there should be room to move it..but just dunno about the mechanics of it..for now, I am just leaving the bolt tightener tool in the underside of the case...and taking the crank off to cover the machine...


Need to figure out how to get the bobbin winder to work with the spoked hand wheel..am thinking about adding something to where the bobbin tire should meet up with the wheel...thought maybe a piece of
treadle belt would work, but it's a wee bit too thin..need to go to the hardware store or the craft store to see if I can come up with something that might work..

Oh..guess who helped:

AZ Retreat 2012

I am back from the AZ Retreat...

On the way over, we stopped at KFC..I had wings and coleslaw..but they stuck a biscuit in the box..being wheat-free, I wouldn't eat the biscuit..and my traveling partner was way too full, so she suggested I feed the birds! A flock of mostly red-wing blackbirds eagerly devoured my biscuit...I didn't get a picture of the whole flock (every time I put the camera up, the birds took to the air..silly birds!) but here is one saucy fellow and a few of the bolder birds:

Here is a shot of the room before anyone started setting up.

Usually, when the two of us get to Retreat, only a couple of folks are there already..but this year, at least 1/3 of the Retreaters came the night before!! We were greeted in the hotel lobby by the whole group!

Here is a shot of the room after a few people had arrived...

I did a 'motorectomy' on Alis and turned her into a hand crank machine...I have a bit more to do - rewire the lamp to the plug receptacle and find a place to mount the plug or just connect the lamp to the cord or I could just remove the lamp (the hood is missing..and it may be too bright with a bare bulb)...and figure out how to move the hinges a couple of centimeters to the left so I can leave the hand crank attached - the hand crank is just a WEE bit too wide the way Alis is mounted into the case - I think I can do that without too much trouble - if not..I just have to leave the bolt tightener in the compartment under Alis..Oh..and I need to figure out how the heck the control box is mounted so I can remove it..I may need some 'manly muscles' to get it loose...

And I worked on stitching down the sashing on Heart's Garden...it's almost done!

 It was a fun Retreat!

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off to Retreat I Go!

Its been a busy month..and I am SOOOOO ready for my week in Arizona!


A dove in the Arizona desert

Stuff for Show and Tell:
A Hug from Chris..quilt was made from bright wedges that I got last retreat from Chris's stash..(Chris was one of the Arizona Retreat's Hostesses..she passed away from pancreatic cancer just before last year's retreat...)

Will also be showing Heart's Garden and the table runner I made using Aurora.

Stuff I am going to work on:
Finishing the stitching except for the label ** on Heart's Garden..it has the borders on it and I need to hand stitch the joining strips down..it needs the binding cut and applied..and hand stitched as well..that will be my major project.

I am also taking Alis (the 99..I keep thinking maybe I should rename her to Agent 99, yanno like Barbara Feldon from Get Smart)...and am going to do her 'motorectomy'...and turn her into a hand-crank machine. Hopefully that won't take a bunch of time..

I also have both of my projects from the classes at Road to finish off..almost done with the Happy Village - just a wee bit more FMQ and it will be done..

And I have a couple of other projects I can work on..a pillowcase kit..a table topper using the wedge ruler from Phillips Fiber Art that I got for Christmas...my wee Hexie basket:



And..the OctiHoops..practice, practice!!

______________________________
**  I still don't have a printer to print the label with..the Epson I was using broke..they didn't have the replacement one I wanted at Fry's when we went shopping, so I have to wait for it to come in...

Folded and Spindled

Today I joined in the fun with Planet Patchwork's Wonderful One Day Mystery - Merry Mayhem Presents Case #13: Fold and Spindle

I used some fabric that I had pulled for a table runner back in 2003..and had never gotten around to making the table runner (it was in PIGZ status ALL that time!)...and I sewed on Aurora..

After part 3

After part 4

After part 5

After part 6

TA DAH! Done...first project finished using Aurora! I really liked using the treadle for this project. I didn't annoy her too much (trying to sew backwards..she breaks the thread when you do that!) I got a lot of exercising done!

Did this with a small group of ladies on the Forum. It was fun seeing them come together!

Opps...I did it again!

well..I was looking at Craigslist..and saw a picture of this cute little lonely sewing machine and I just HAD to go look at her...and she followed me home...

Meet Borealis...Aurora's Little Sister...


She is 3/4 the size of Aurora...a Singer 99...She has a few flaws...the slide plate is missing, the hood to the light is missing, the key to the case is missing (but you can open it with a small screwdriver), the knee lever is missing.. and the case needs a good restore...Oh...and no accessories..

I intend on getting rid of the motor and turning her into a hand crank...hopefully I can separate out the light fixture from the motor..

But..overall, she needs less restoring than Aurora did..I think she has been locked up in her case for almost ever! She needs to come out and play!

Haven't checked her serial number to find out when she was made..Will get to play with her more on Thursday afternoon or Friday..

Driving Miss Aurora...

I got out some pre-cut patches of fabric today and sat down at Aurora...

On the seam on the third patch, I managed to get a piece of thread caught around the oscillating hook...eppp..Aurora came to a dead stop...OH NO...now what?  I ended up taking the needle plate and the slide off to see better - could see both ends of the thread but tugging on either end got nowhere...dribbled a little Liquid Wrench on the thread and that worked its magic and I was able to get the needle to move just a wee bit..allowing the thread to be pulled out..WHEW!!! Back to sewing!

Here are the first 4-patch blocks I made..

The fabric for the 4 patches being exhausted (I got 7 of those 4 patch blocks out of the stack of squares), I used some other pre-cut patches that I bought at a thrift store..fabric quality is not really high (I suspect most of these patches were 'salvaged' materials like old shirts or skirts)..and started making HSTs...

Don't quite know what I am making yet, though..

I am getting the hang of starting the treadle going forward (sometimes without using the hand wheel!), but small patches are a bit of a bother, since you have to stop so soon after you 'get going'.  I am loving it though...very cool to be using my feet to generate the power...

A perfect Labor Day activity...

Aurora, Restored

And...here she is - restored!

(click thru on any of the pictures to get to the Photobucket album with more details)
The front plate:


The bobbin winder area:


The bed and throat area:


The back of the head: (still needs a wee bit more of the Tar and Bug remover and some more rubbing!)


All cleaned up!


Now..to actually SEW something!

Aurora Restoration

I've rubbed the treadle cabinet with Howard's RestorAFinish..and it looks pretty good overall..the black rings are still somewhat visible - I have heard I need to treat them with 1/2 bleach 1/2 water..but just haven't done that yet..

DH and I re-assembled the cabinet and re-installed Aurora..

I have oiled and lubed everything that I can find that moves in Aurora..she still squeaks a bit though..may have to disassemble the feed dogs area as that's where the squeak comes from..

I replaced the winder ring on the bobbin winder - the old one looked kind of warped and chipped off like old chewing gum!! I had no idea rubber could 'rot' like that..

I cannot get the clutch knob to come loose..not that its a big deal though, it just means the needle still goes up and down when I wind a bobbin. One of these days I will probably  get DH to take the head out of the case and up-end it so that Liquid Wrench can soak down into the knob..one of the guys on the TreadleOn list suggested whacking it with a rubber hammer..eeekk!!!

The decals are glowing brighter at least on the front of the machine (the back of the pillar is still quite dark - it will take more oil and rubbing!!) I just used sewing machine oil and most of the grime has rubbed off...

I put the belt on (fun...NOT) and then learned there is a simpler belt made of a rubber tube that has a metal join.that you don't have to pound a nail thru.so I ordered one of those..it has arrived (and came with a cute little treadle sewing machine charm!) but I haven't tried it out yet..

I ordered a quilt foot from a lady on the TreadleOn list..

I learned how to operate the treadle... It's a 4 step learning process...first you get your feet coordinated by treadling without the belt - you can 'throw the belt off' by using the belt shifter (it's how you get the head back down into the case), then with the belt in place and the presser foot lever up and no thread...then with a piece of paper and the presser foot down (still no thread)...then finally..once you can run the treadle for a goodly time, you add the thread and a couple of pieces of scrap material!

I successfully wound a bobbin, threaded the machine correctly, and SEWED!! This machine makes gorgeous stitches...

What a gas to have a machine that is so well made that 90 years later, it's still cranking and can be fixed by little ole me!

Here is Aurora - almost restored...(with all my tools still out), in front of the workroom window:



Don't know if you can tell she is on top of two pieces of plywood so the legs don't sink into the carpet..its very hard (nigh well unto impossible) to move the treadle when its up against carpet!

She still needs all of the chrome polished..but my polish dried up so I need to get a new can...

Meet Aurora...

My Mom called me up a couple of weekends ago and said she and my Dad wanted to get me either a Featherweight or a Treadle for my birthday later this month...so I should start looking..I popped onto Craigslist and found a couple of candidates..I really liked one of the treadles that was not too far away...

Went to look at her..and she followed me home!!

She is a 1921 Red-Eye Model 66...in pretty good condition - the decals are not worn at all and the cabinet has no breaks or bad scratches (the lady that owned her last I think did not sew even a single stitch on her..just used the cabinet as a plant stand - how sad) I need to do some scrubbing on the cabinet and use the Howard's RestorAFinish..and the head needs to be de-gunked..and she needs a new belt (the guy that sold it to me said the belt had been broken as long as he remembered his Mom having the machine)..

We broke her down into 3 pieces to get her home..the treadle legs and the head (in a box with an old blanket for padding) fit into the trunk, and the cabinet fit into the back seat..



Happy Birthday to MEEEEEEEE!!!!