21 June 2011

I Can't Help Myself

Only last week I was complaining that all of my sewing space had become my DD's bedroom and walk-in closet. So the obvious solution is to turn the rest of my house into sewing space, right? I already had Elizabeth, my 1953 Singer 15-91, just inside the door to the family room where there is just room to open her up and let her straightly stitch. But Elizabeth seems to have spent too much time sitting up to her cabinet ankles in water or something that has rotted away a few inches of one leg, and has to stand on a folded dish towel to be level. So I've continued to scan Craigslist for a replacement table for her. Just a table, mind you. Of course not a whole 'nother machine. That would be silly.
Then I ran across this beauty for well under $50.
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So pretty!
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But this lovely cabinet is already occupied by a 1901 Singer Model 27 treadle machine.
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She sports pheasant decals, many of them silvering, but all of them otherwise intact.
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And beautiful vines on her face plate.
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The belt is broken (and, for the moment, lost between here and the car somewhere) but everything turns smoothly and in silence.
Now what do I do? I'd love to get my new friend (Virginia, I think) sewing again, but I can't see using her for regular (or even occasional) sewing. The vibrating shuttle mechanism is maybe just a little too quaint, and look at the bobbins!
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I think I'll move her to a place of honor (i.e., out of the way), put my 15-91 in her place and get rid of the peg-legged cabinet. But that leaves the universe out of balance, because a 15-91 can't actually be converted to treadle. Hmmm.

5 comments:

  1. It's beautiful! And what a bargain. I think I know a little too much about old Singers now for my own good; it can't be healthy. I agree, those bobbins look scary, although they probably hold a really good amount of thread! The machine is so pretty, it would look lovely on a bookshelf or something. If you can make Elizabeth fit in that table, I think it's a worthwhile solution: beauty plus practicality.

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  2. that is one of the most beautiful cabinets that I have ever seen! Congrats!

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  3. Incredibly beautiful cabinet! And the machine is nice too. And yes, I believe I spy the intriguing puzzle box sitting on it! What a find!

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  4. Very beautiful. It makes me *really* want a treadle machine.

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  5. Why, oh why, did I let Gramma's tredle leave the family when Mom went electric?

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