Our bee also does group projects. When I first joined, the group had already chosen fabrics for a full/queen sized raffle quilt, so the first few meetings I attended were spent ironing fabric and cutting pieces. When it came time to sew, I was introduced to our machines, but was quickly disappointed to find that one, a very cool, very sleek looking Singer 99K (in cabinet), had a broken belt.
The other was a shade of green somewhere between pea and avocado, and was an all metal, heavy beast of a machine (called Dressmaker) with wood grain accents. It could power on, but wouldn't run.
I don't know why these machines held such a fascination for me, but I was immediately hooked, and just had to get them running again. I took some pictures, took the broken belt home with me, did some internet research, and was easily able to get the 99k running again with a new belt. With that first small success came mounds of satisfaction at having made a crippled machine useful again.
I was sure I could duplicate this success, and though I was still such a recent addition to the group, the kind ladies I quilt with allowed me to take the Dressmaker E-199 home for the week. One new belt later, the machine still wouldn't run, and not only would it not run, but I noticed the motor smoking. Uh-oh. After many hours of scouring sewing machine manuals sites, since the model number turned up nothing in Google searches, I found a manual, and the section on maintenance and oiling points. (Ah-ha!) And I was pleasantly surprised to be able to easily obtain sewing machine oil at my local sewing and vac shop. (Was I a newbie or what?) Just one drop of oil per point, and I could feel the machine getting looser and looser with every turn of the hand wheel. And imagine my delight when I plugged the machine back in and it actually sewed!
That was more than a year ago, and since then I have accumulated a few vintage machines of my own. The first was a beautiful teal colored Viscount. Looking more 50's era car than sewing machine with it's chrome knobs and detailing, it needed nothing more than a light oiling and new spool pins. Most of the machines I come across, however, need a bit more work to get them back in shape. Digging into the innards of a dried out, or gooped up machine, and trying to find the key to making it work again has become like a treasure hunt. And I'm almost disappointed if I get one that's already in working order, and only needs a drop or two of oil.
Despite the fact that I have restored a few fairly complicated cases to working order, I don't consider myself an expert by any means. However, I do have a lot to share, from vintage machines and their features, to vintage attachments and how to use them. And lets not forget sewing and quilting in general, which I also do a ton of. I hope you will find the information and stories I share here over the coming months to be both useful and enjoyable.
