Singer 301A LBOW

Another Singer followed me home from a garage sale a couple weeks back. And a model that I haven't owned before, to boot. A Singer 301A. Oh, and the LBOW, you ask? Those that are into the Singer lingo know that it stands for Light Beige / Oyster White, that once-ubiquitous two-tone color combination Singer used so much.

As you can see, this sewing machine needs a bit of cleaning. The lady I purchased it from said it was probably good for parts (!). I was thinking that it seemed to be in pretty nice condition to just become a parts machine.

Singer Golden Touch & Sew Deluxe Zig Zag Model 630

The title says it all. Ok, so maybe it doesn't, but we do know from Singer's name for this machine that it does zig zag stitches. What we don't know until we delve into it is that it has an electronic motor control, which has an automatic needle-up park feature. That's kind of cool. And it has very similar stitch controls to the much-revered Singer 401/500 series. And it has a built-in bobbin winding feature. You simply leave the bobbin in the machine, flip a lever, hit the gas, and don't let up until the bobbin is full. But enough of this. On to the photos, which by the way, were taken before I did anything to clean up the machine.

The carrying case leaves a little to be desired. Instead of gluing down the loose flaps, someone decided it was easier to just rip off the offending flaps. Bummer. But the big S is still proudly displayed.

Domestic 69 Hi Speed

This is an update of my blog post from a year and a half ago, of a Domestic model 69 Hi Speed sewing machine.
(click here to read it)

I'd mentioned in that posting that I was in need of motor parts to get my machine running. A kind man (thanks Keith) emailed me saying he had a 69 that he was getting rid of. He unfortunately lived on the other side of the country so shipping the machine to me would be nearly $50, a cost I wasn't ready to incur. So I asked if he'd want to part with some pieces. We came to an agreement that anything he could fit into a USPS flat rate box was mine for the cost of shipping plus a couple bucks for his time and effort. Here's what I got:

Elna Carina - Together at last!

I had left this poor Elna apart long enough. Time to get all its bits back in place. If I can remember where they all go. The first photo below is the shot that I showed in the previous blog post. I had taken the machine apart to this level to try and sort out a slow-speed jerkiness but didn't get the problem sorted. It's just a minor inconvenience, so back together it goes.

Necchi-Alco A709-4

Ok, so I'm a little delinquent on posting new stuff to this blog. It's been a busy 4 months. Below is a photo I took this morning of my sewing work bench, with a poor Elna that's been all ripped to pieces for 4 months or more, patiently waiting for me to reassemble it. I just hope I can remember where everything goes...

No Grasshoppers here - Elna Carina TSP cl. 56

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted something here (March to be exact, and now it's July). That's what happens when I don't stop at Goodwill stores. So, guess what? I stopped at the local Goodwill last night. And what did I find? Well, there was a Singer 404 for $19.99, some other generic plastic thing for $19.99, and this wonderful *Swiss Made* Elna for a paltry $12.99. As soon as I saw the price on the Elna, I promptly had to take the machine to the closest 120v outlet to see if it worked. Since the "air" foot control was missing its friction end plug, I could only get the machine to briefly go while I held the end of the tube against the air intake and simultaneously pushing the air bulb. The machine showed enough life that I felt confident that my $14.12 (after tax) was well-spent.

Yet another Kenmore - model 385.17928090

There's a reason there are so many older Kenmore sewing machines still floating around the thrift stores these days. They're built well (in my humble opinion) and just seem to keep on going with minimal upkeep. I've been sort of lax on my hunt for sewing machines lately but last night we stopped at the local Goodwill on the way home from dining out (hot date, huh). This Kenmore model 385 had just been put out on the shelf (Goodwill dates their price tags) and at $12.99 I couldn't pass it up. I could have waited a few weeks for the half-off sale but it wouldn't last that long at the low regular price. I have a couple other model 385s and they are both good machines so I figured, hey, one more? Why not.

How to wire in a motor controller

I have a 50s vintage Morse zig zag sewing machine in the basement that has the two plugs coming off the machine, one for the motor and one for the light. Here's what the plugs look like, along with the $2 motor control I picked up at Goodwill to connect up to the machine:

Mini Kenmore - reminds me of tax time coming up - Model 1040

I've heard of these miniature (well, maybe not that small) Kenmore sewing machines but haven't had one in the stable (actually, my basement) until recently. It's probably a 3/4-size machine. Cute little thing. Actually I saw one of these at a Goodwill a month ago but didn't buy it because the outer case was fairly trashed. I ran across the one pictured here last week and decided to take the plunge. It is missing its small tray for accessories, which the other machine had that I didn't buy... Oh well. Can't have everything.

This is a Kenmore 158.1040. Yes, it reminded me of the 1040 tax form. So I'm weird. Deal with it.

Something else has consumed my time lately... a car.

Not just any car, mind you. On the contrary, this is something you don't see every day. A 1966 Plymouth Sport Fury.

Ok, so maybe I should have changed pants for the photo... Just don't tell my wife I'm publishing a photo with "those pants" in it. The pants have since gone to that great pants fantasy land in the sky, much to my wife's delight. But I digress (I seem to do that a lot).

Merry Christmas! German Hand Crank

We sewing machine nuts are usually easy to buy for at Christmas time. Anything sewing machine related is fair game for the giver. This Christmas my wife gave me a cute hand crank sewing machine from the late 1800s/early 1900s. I can't pin down a more precise date because the sewing machine has no maker's name on it. It looks to be German but I'll need to do more digging in order to find out who made it.

What says 1950s more than a PINK sewing machine?

I have no clue as to the distributor of this sewing machine, only that it was made in Japan. It appears either someone took the badge off the front or it never had one. I would guess someone just removed it, or it fell off. It could have been a Brother, Remington or Morse, or any number of other branded machines from the era.

In any event, here it is in all its glory.

BelAir Bantam Model 33

I broke out of my comfort zone when buying this next little guy. It was more than I usually pay at a thrift store but I just couldn't pass it up (and how many previous times have I heard that statement in my brain?).

Green without envy - 1958 Singer 185K

I presume sewing machines don't have feelings, like being envious of other machines around them that might be getting more hands-on time. So it is with this little green guy. He's (I'll just make the assumption that it is a he) content being green without having an envious piece of cast iron in his extremely heavy little body.

More Sewing Machine Window Dressing

First, to make things perfectly clear, I'm not the window dressing. I realized after publishing this that it was a strange title for having me in the first photo. Focus here, it's the machines, not me.

This is quite something. Two stores with sewing machines in the windows in two weeks (see previous blog entry). We happened to be in San Francisco a few days ago and found this: