The TVR

Not to long ago my favorite brother-in-law asked if possible to create some door pockets for his 1962 TVR Grantura.  For as long as I have known him Lee has been painstakingly restoring this old lady.

Of course I was more then happy to help and brought along one weekend, as they live almost three hours from here, my Husqvarna. Well poor Husque has been out of commission since.  For some reason it seems, as I just figured out tonight, none of my sewing machines seem to like the thread I tried. Ok so I'm sure PART of it is the layer of pleather, and the two layers of heavyweight cotton I used for lining. So today I decided to work on the door panels and get them out using the Commodore.

A little short history about this car. A TVR for those who have never heard of them are hand made English coupes much like the MGB but hard top.  Each one is unique in that it is hand made and none are exactly alike.  This should ring bells with crafters.  He has collected much history on this car as you can see in the above picture of it, he has done a lot of research and collected quite a bit of data on the car.

Now that the car is nearing completion, the interior is being done and I made the pattern to recreate the pockets on the doors. So tonight the Commodore flew.

Definately not the easiest of jobs.  Its amazing that a sewing machine that has sat for so long was able to just fly through this. Granted it did not like the heavy thread I had started with but once I changed over to the cone of polyester things went smoothly.  

And they are done, I hope they look as good as the rest of the car does once they are installed. Its a real treat to be involved even in two small pieces!

For more information about this car Lee's Grantura

And for more information about TVRs http://www.tvrccna.org/

Zooma zooma

My daughter and I made several trips out on the New York Row by Row quilt shop hop.  We have visited 8 shops, my daughter along for 6 of these, yes please do feel sorry for the 14 year old we traveled from Long Island to Albany in rain so bad we had to sit it out in a gas station at one point.

Once I got home i had to start immediately on the row by row. Of course Sparky was chosen for the piecing machine, I'm sure the neighbors are loving this as even though she's a great machine the one word I can think of to describe this machine... LOUD.  Wow! But then again, whats noise when faced with stitching like this?

Next problem to solve is the speed.  For some reason, my father and husband keep saying rheostat, the machine has two speeds, off and ZOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM.  More updates soon! 

Sparky Rides Again!

Ok so after over 20 years... Sparky rides again! While I still want to rebuild the original motor I have just ordered and recieved a replacement motor for old Sparks. So today after over 20 years of setting... Sparky sewed a single line. Now remember I ran out of bobbin thread about half way through.

Happy Bornday!

Well, today is quite the milestone in Millie's life, another year older. Today is the old 66's 96th birthday.  I had hoped to have it home by now but unfortunately the space thing just isnt working yet. Soon though must be soon!
I've been thinking a lot about how much this machine has survived through. Being "born" in 1917, I can only imagine the amount of clothing and linens and quilts, etc that she has created. Can you imagine, how many hours of work this gal has probably put in over the years, how many technical advances it has survived through. Not only survived but has not been altered like so many have been. Its simply mind boggling.

Happy 96th bornday my old friend! 

Life is Good

Life is good. Recently my husband I went to the ultimate yard sale with my in-laws, niece, step kids and my daughter. Of course the in-laws arrived first, as they and the step kids live closer to the flea market/yard sale and my husband, daughter and I brought up the rear.  My daughter and I both scoured the booths and tables for sewing paraphernalia as well as something for her birthday.  

One thing I've noticed is that there are a lot of sewing machines out there in beat up condition.  We found a total of 5 machines and only one peaked my interest, but it was too expensive.  Other then that there was nothing of sewing interest. My daughter however did end up with an unusual jewelry box.

That night my wonderful in-laws had over the nieces (there are two), two of the step kids and a long time family friend who might as well be family and we celebrated father's day, my daughter's birthday and my own (coming up soon!).  The amazing thing is I then found out why there wasn't any good stuff at the yard sale... They had bought it all!

This is a collection that my in-laws have been working on for about a year, two small toy sewing machines, a sewing box and a pin cushion which has a tape measure!  I really am lucky to have these wonderful people in my life. But the one thing I cannot get over is the sewing box. It is a match for the 66.

And now to continue the search for the regular foot for the Ole 66. 

 

Sparky!

In my last post we had just changed the plug on the Commodore branded De Luxe and had quite a light show. Well being optimistic people (stop laughing) we decided to try to change the plug to a more heavy duty one in hopes that this would solve the issue of the sparks.  Last week we picked up another plug, this time a vacuum cleaner replacement plug and gave it a shot.  Before we plugged in Sparky (now aptly named)  we grabbed a spare surge protector just in case we had to shut it down quickly without becoming fried ourselves.  When we tried it this time the light lit up just like before and worked perfectly! So then I made the hubby try the pedal. Yup, nothing, that's right no sparks, no TV  no cable box, no light, just that noise that you hear when the breaker trips and everything shuts off. Yup, no sparks just dead quiet.
So deciding that we would check out the motor to see if there was some sort of easy fix, both of us being mechanically inclined I started taking the motor off the sewing machine and can you guess what I found?

Yup that's right our culprit, or so we reasoned.  Perhaps its an easy fix, so we opened the case and started taking the motor out.  Easier said then done there is another wire inside that goes to one of the brushes that is fried too. So now its the debate of fix it now or replace it and fix it later. 

On a positive note, the other night our beautiful calico suddenly noticed there was another cat staring at her, a cat trapped inside of the Commodore, that's right the machine is that shiny... 

Bright lights and shiny stuff....

Ok so this week I spent some time working on the Commodore badged Deluxe.  I went off hunting for the belt on Friday when I was off from the main job, but was unable to locate one. I hit several stores locally looking for something that remotely resembled the belt.  I did see some vacuum belts that were almost perfect so I went off in search of a vacuum belt that would match. You would be surprised at how people are not willing to help you when you ask about a vacuum belt that is the same size as what you have in your hand... Needless to say, I wont be going back to that location.
So after all that, I ordered a belt from Ebay and set off to clean up the machine properly. Of course the beauty cleaned up so nice. A little Turtle Wax and an old pair of sweats seem to go pretty far.

The chrome on the wheel is nearly perfect and shined up with almost no work.

As you can see the chrome that Justin shined still has the awesome mirror shine and now you can see the paint is almost new car shine. Not very good pictures but they catch the shine. 

So now that I have the belt ordered, the machine shined its time to change the plug... So after changing the plug thought to leave that test for the husband.  Well when he finally came back from the race today, he plugged in the machine (after checking my handy work) and the light turned on. Woot! Or so you would think.  So lets press the pedal... Can anyone guess what happened? Big old spark shot out of the motor of the machine and I thought Neil was fried. So lets see if a heavier plug works then hopefully it will be fun to play with, if not... well lets see what the motor will cost to rebuild.  Can you tell I'm just heart broken that the machine isn't currently workable and that the belt is in transit. 

Amateur radio and sewing

A couple of years ago Neil (hubby) had his interest in amateur radio rekindled. Shortly after he got his license or ticket as they call it, he joined a local club called LIMARC, Long Island Mobile Amateur Radio Club.  We met a lot of great people and after a few months I started studying for my license, which I got last May.
So about that time we stopped by one of the ham's houses, to see his "shack" which is his radio room, when lo and behold we heard a sewing machine and his lovely wife is a seamstress.
At field day another ham mentioned his wife quilts. During a shop hop weekend my husband happened to mention we were headed out to one of the shops out east on the radio and another ham offered his sympathy for being made to go as his wife had already left with her friends, during the same shop hop we had a husband approach us about being a ham (do you see a trend yet?).  During the club Holiday party we were sitting with another couple, another ham active in the club too, and his wife quilts too!
Last night on my way across the parking lot, I stopped the only other female ham who works in my building, and mentioned the old 66.  Well surprise of all surprises, not only does she sew.... she collects sewing machines too! So what a conversation, showing her the remote mount radio in the car, discussing the clubs and their members updating her on some she knows but hasn't seen in a while, and sewing machines and the best places to find used machines and ham radios! I've come to the conclusion that ham radio and sewing go hand in hand!
Now to figure out how to use the treadle to power the radio...

WOOT!

Ok my beautiful machine is running, now only to bring her home and make the adjustments to it so that it will run.  I am having a problem where there normal 66 class bobbins aren't fitting but will have to figure that and the needle thing (cause thats not fitting either). YAY it works!

Flight of Dreams

Just over three years ago I discovered I have a talent for quilting.  A girlfriend from work had been diagnosed with breast cancer and I embarked on a new journey myself.  I made my first true throw sized quilt made with all breast cancer awareness fabrics for her. 

Shortly there after I joined my husband's family in the Relay for Life.  My husband had lost his brother to cancer in 2007 and his family had been doing the Relay for Life since.

 On a quilt high from the beautiful throw for Jean, I volunteered to make a quilt for the silent auction that year, and my now husband put out the request for blue fat quarters. Why blue? Because it was Paul's favorite color.  Deciding on a pretty log cabin design, my daughter learned how to use a rotary cutter, and both my boys learned how to use the iron. 

As the top of the log cabin quilt was done, I noticed I had a lot of fabrics left over. Some of the family had had so much fun in picking out fabrics (Marti yes you...) they brought a lot into this quilt. I must say, the ladies who bought the fabrics did a wonderful job so many amazing and awesome to choose from.  So after figuring out I had enough left over for a SECOND quilt... I put together a design of stars and flying geese.  Of course once you have two quilts going you know what happens... Yup, both sewing machines decided to not work.  Well this was a special quilt, it needed a special name, so we put up on facebook for people to name the quilt.  My step daughter Ashley, came up with the name flight of dreams.  It was perfect for the quilt.  However, the day of the relay as you can see in the picture below, my other half, my stepdaughter Amy and I finished tying off threads and hiding them during relay.

The quilt was raffled off at the end of relay, and the amazing thing was out of the hundreds of raffle tickets we sold, Paul's widow's sister won the quilt. 

This year its time for another flight of dreams, this one however wont be raffled but sold out right and part of the proceeds will go to the Relay for Life. Nothing like a good cause to fire up the creative juices.  I love the flight of dreams quilts. This year the colors are vibrant, greens and yellow. Bold and stunning. 

Just cant wait until its totally finished and even more striking! 

Deluxe Commodore clean up

Today I was working on the Commodore by De Luxe with my middle child Justin. He's going to be 16 next week and can polish metal to a fine shine.
After some assistance from Mr Wonderful-Husband, I was able to pull off the face plate and also the bobbin cover assembly.

Oiled the whole machine, and worked the oil through.

And gave the old gal a nice sponge bath.

What the main thrill of this whole thing, was that my nearly 16 year old was helping. I cant begin to tell how much it means that he's helping. I'm pretty sure he might find some of these motors interesting. 

Bad Jill, bad bad bad Jilll

Well, I brought home another machine... Bad bad bad Jill.   This is a beautiful Deluxe made Commodore machine.
Last night my husband started perusing the craigs list ads again and we found this beautiful machine that is in need of some TLC. From what I understand this old gal has been unused for at least 26 years. Yet she starts right up just needs a belt and a new plug. Also from what I understand I have purchased this machine from the original owner's grandson and his wife (lovely people!). Now a special word to a great co-worker who is such a nice person he came with me to pick up the Commodore, thanks Tom!  This gal is a portable and will fit in a corner for now while I restore and wait for the chance to bring home the 66. I look forward to learning more about this terrific, hernia causing, darling.
I have already done some research and found out that the Deluxe brand is a Japanese clone.  They were often branded for stores, and were often the economical choice. Yes they were not as expensive as the main name brands but this baby weighs a ton, definitely solidly built and built to last. I've read more then once that these are machines that last.
Pictures of this beauty will be following shortly, but I didn't have the time to take them tonight.

Sisters

So the other night my wonderful husband and I were again discussing the online search for a regular presser foot for the 66-1.  So while discussing the differences between a small hemming foot and a regular foot, as well as the cost of a full set vs the overall value of the machine. When my terrific husband states he doesn't think the 66 will be used as much as I think as I have all these "better" machines.  By "better machines" my husband means my current, newer electric machines, the ones that didn't work for 9 days after Sandy hit our shores (yes we live on the north shore of Long Island so got away easy) or after the storm last year that left us without power for 6 days.


First let me introduce you to the oldest of the sisters.  My blocky and beautiful Husqvarna 320.

The Husque (Husky) was a great Craig's list find. I had been working on two quilts for for our family Relay for Life team when my brand new singer started acting up. Of course the old Singer also was extremely moody and I had gone through two Singers 3xs to try to finish these two quilts. So this beauty popped up on Craig's list and my husband promptly called on it (yes I did say he's wonderful... usually). Unfortunately we were too late someone had already said they were picking her up. Luckily that person never showed and I am now the proud owner of this beautiful machine.  Mostly though I use her for the heavy duty alterations and some piecing. 

 
The next sister is another Craig's list find.  A beautiful Babylock BLQC.

 

This beautiful machine was listed as not working because it wouldn't recognize that the presser foot was down.  Figuring that we could either fix it or take it locally to be fixed it was worth the pittance that they were asking and stopped on our way from upstate New York to pick her up in Connecticut.  Well the car ride must have done something because she works like a charm.  This lovely lady is my favorite piecing machine and rides on my hand made quilting rack. 

I still have the two Singers, they still don't work well and I am not about to take them off to the rude servicer in NJ again these two sit in my storage. One day perhaps I will take the time to take them apart again.  I also have a singer serger that I love and find useful for edging fabric before washing, or when making clothing. 

These are the sisters, they have their uses and I love them all. 

Slowly

So not too much has been going on with the old 66. Having the beautiful machine in storage makes it very difficult to work on, except for what pieces I can pull off and carry home. So this weekend my 13 year old daughter and I went shopping for machine pull and steel wool. After our mini shopping spree we stopped by to visit the old gal. While we were there we tried to try the belt in the drawer. Of course it was way too small. So after a lot of research we ordered a belt from Amazon and are now impatiently waiting for it to arrive

Feet

So now the hunt for a plain old rear attaching foot is in full swing. The early Singer 66's were definitely odd balls according to my research.  Of course being an odd ball myself, I truly feel a kinship to this old lady.  Being different does have its perks, however finding a rear attaching foot for a sewing machine isn't one.  After days of searching online I have found two, one in iffy condition with spots of rust on eBay and a second which is a set of four feet, three of which I cant see myself using, but its a decent price, but still more then I want to spend. So now its time to start searching local antique stores!

I am beautiful

Tonight I finally got back to storage and started going through the drawers of the treadle table to see if there is a presser foot for the 66.  My fear was realized when I discovered she is indeed a 66-1 with the rear attaching presser feet and there is only one foot in the box that fits this machine.

Of course the one foot was not one I really plan on using with this machine, but its nice they had ONE in the box. I will have to sort out the button hole foot.

Although these are common, people seem to really love this machine. Each and every time I have had her out  and am working on something, someone has to stop and comment.  I love to hear about how these people who have stopped have grandmothers or mothers who have had the same or similar machines.  I think in the past week and a half I've had this machine it has brought smiles to so many people, not just me.  I think its time to name this beauty. Any suggestions?

Organizing.

Well, now that I have cleaned and polished the parts I brought home from storage, its now time to start working on organizing my sewing area and perhaps, just perhaps be able to find enough room for the 66 to come home.  I have been searching high and low for different storage and organization ideas but first you must understand my sewing area(s).  We live in a small apartment on the second floor. My quilting rack/sewing table/storage area is tucked in under the eaves in the tiny livingroom. And on the other side of the room is my beautiful sewing armoire and ironing board.

The day we bought it.

So I have been searching all over the web for fabric storage solutions and have come across several interesting suggestions I do plan on employing. One of the most neatest ones I had to do was to use comic book backing boards to wrap the fabric around and then store on shelves. OK the wrapping of the fabric works even if the boards are a little less firm then I had hoped. But for $12 for 100 they fit the budget and don't detract from my fabric money.

Metal Polish

Ok so today after two days of waiting for it, my Maas Metal Polish came in the mail from Amazon. So tonight My husband Neil and son David piled into the car and headed off to storage with supplies.

Pulled off most of the detachable shiny stuff. And ran home to start scrubbing.

And so it begins

I have always loved the classical style of the older sewing machine. The rounded corners and sleek lines. To me this is what a sewing machine should look like.  Until we started to antique with my in-laws I believed I was stuck with today's plastic machines.  Once we started going to the antique shops we started finding the old machines, some in OK shape and some... well, not in OK shape, but all above my price range.  My wonderful in-laws continued to look at machines, but not knowing what I wanted or how much I wanted to spend. The dream of an older machine continued. Until this weekend.  My husband found some wonderful antique malls in PA. At a small antique mall, in the back, we found a beautiful Singer treadle, in my price range (cheap).

And so it begins