~ Deciding Their Fate ~

Day 5 of the Podunk Studio organizing was deciding if a sewing machine is worth keeping.  Let me first say I am in no way a sewing machine collector.  I have 11 sewing machines.  Three of the 11 I've purchased, none of the purchased machines are vintage or antique.  Two of the three I use regularly.  My Brother 450Q is my daily machine and then there's my Bailey Home Quilter for quilting.  And the biggest waste of money in my studio was a Singer Embroidery machine I purchased in 2006 because I thought I could make money embroidering....HAHAHA!  Two of the 11 sewing machines are still at my dads until I find a place for them among the others.  The rest of my machines were handed down from family members and are sentimental and display pieces.  All of them work and are serviced by me once a year on the birth date of the original owner.  

This little gem came home with me a little more than a year ago.  It belonged to Mr. Podunk's dad.  Before agreeing to bring her home with me I made sure the motor was in working order.  Now that I'm in clean up mode I need to decide her fate.  Will she stay or will she need to go to someone who wants a project?

The cabinet is beautiful even though she has a lot of wear and tear.  Obviously it was used as an end table by a drunken smoker.  See the cigarette burns?  The oblong shaped burns tells me a cigarette has fallen out of an ashtray and continued to burn.  My mom was notorious for doing this very thing, smoking not drinking.  This to me this is character and tells her story.  It in no way would play a role in whether she stays or goes.

The inside reveals a beautiful Singer 66-18 with a Godzilla finish.  I had no idea what I had brought home.  This is a somewhat rare find.  The Godzilla finish was made during WWII.  You can read more about the Blackside Singer Sewing Machines here.   To me she is just another sewing machine that may need a little love.  These older sewing machines are so nice to have around as backups.  Two of my new sewing machines are built to only be serviced by a trained professional.  That really chaps my bum!  $85 for a cleaning and inspection, what a rip off.  This old Singer can be fixed by a 10 yr. old with an oil can and a screw driver.  I'm not sure if the professional servicing of machines has come about from lazy sewist or greedy companies.  Whatever the reason I wish we could buy new machines with the option of self servicing.  

And look at the details.  Even this stripped down WWII era machine has some beautiful design elements. Granted it took me about 15 minutes of elbow grease to reveal the fine scroll work but it's a lot prettier than my plastic machine.

The detail work and craftsmanship is amazing.  No slapped on decals from China.

The one issue that most older machines have is the old rubber on the electrical cords.  The light on this machine doesn't work due to the deteriorating rubber.   Mr. Podunk assured me he can replace all the bad wiring.

It was kinda scary cleaning and oiling a machine with so many bare wires.  But my thought was, If I can get her running and she sews a stitch then we'll fix the wiring.

The really scary wiring was on the bottom.  What a trooper this ole gal was, she hung in there while oiling the badly gummed up innards.  The bobbin winder was completely ceased up but now runs smoothly.  The stitching was very labored but now purrs like a kitten.  Stitching just as beautifully as the first day on the job years ago.  Well I'll fix this old girl but she'll not stay with me for long.  I'll be gifting this to someone special within the next year.  I can't reveal who that might be because they might be reading my blog.

The next item on the chopping block was my old treadle machine.   This belonged to my Great Aunt Beulah and was handed down to my mom then to me.  She works but needs some love.  I've never used this machine.  But I do have memories of pushing the pedal for mom as she stitched up a new dress for me. 

Why keep it?  First and most important to me is that it belong to family.  But she takes up SOOO much space.  Second reason, you never know when we'll lose electricity.  If you watch the news and depending on what side you watch it could because our country is being invaded  at the border or our president is a Nazi.  No I don't want to talk politics.  Living in Podunk the threat of losing power is real.  It goes out when it's windy, rainy, snowing, icy or if a squirrel makes a bad decision.  So she too is a keeper.  This one will stay with me for as long as I can find room.

One of her charms is this cute little box.  I'm not even sure if it goes with the machine.

The date stamp on the top of the box is hard to read but I think it says 1908 February 19.

I've never tried to place the things in it where they belong.  It is how it was the day I brought her home.

The contents may not even be for this machine.  For me it's not important if they will work.  It just the fact that it belong to a family member.  The sentimental side of me sure does slow down the cleaning and reorganizing but I think it's important to occasionally ground myself about what brought me to this point in my life where I have a Studio instead of a sewing nook like my mom and grandmothers.  It times like this when I wonder what will happen to my collection of sewing and quilting supplies.  Will they be loved by my children or will they be bought at Goodwill by someone who is like me who wonders about their journey before reaching them.  

 Maybe I need to make a will leaving these precious items to someone who will love them.  My aunt let me know at my grandpa's funeral that I was added to her will.  She said I was the only person she knew that would love her machine and stash as much if not more than she.  Do you have a quilt will? 

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