Friday, September 23, 2011

Sewing Machine with Koi...it was meant to be

My fish spinning wheel is finally nearing completion and is actually functional for spinning off the spindle.
I'd neglected gravity a bit when I designed it so it wanted to lean backwards. I tried to compensate by adding extra wings on the base, but it still seemed flimsy. I finally gave in and designed a new base which is heavier and so makes it a little more heavy/complicated to pack up the wheel for travel, but it should still be able to be packed up for travel more easily than my saxony wheel. I have some more sanding/finishing to do as well as completing the flyers, but it is finally so close. I'm also thinking of inlaying the new base to match the treadles. Here's a close-up of the inlaid treadles:

At any rate, I've been wanting a treadle sewing machine for a while. I already have a very lovely 1947 Singer sewing machine that Aaron had refurbished for me, and I'm not that much of a seamstress, so I didn't really need another sewing machine, but I did really want one. What if there was an extended blackout?

So I might have been perusing Craigslist once in a while. And I might have happened across an ad for a machine right here in Davis. The couple selling it were very nice and when I went over to their house to check it out, they had a very friendly orange kitty who offered to assist, i.e. sit on my feet. The decals are pretty worn, but they're koi!--matches my koi spinning wheel. And the cabinet is in great shape and is oak which matches Steve's new cabinets, so he agreed the sewing machine can live in the living room. (My room is a little packed.)


Here she is closed:open:
And sewing the hems of some handwoven towels: (I took the towels off the loom ages ago and never finished the edges. It took buying a new sewing machine to finish them.)

Detail of the cabinet carving. Ok so it's a flowery flourish, but doesn't it look like koi?
And look--definitely koi!
The drawers are in good shape with pretty carvings.
And interesting innards:
There are quite a few attachments, and I've been trying to figure out what they are and how to use them. That's quite a step for me since I've never used any alternative feet even on modern machines. I've sewn all my zippers by hand in fear and ignorance of the zipper foot. Here's the box helpfully marked "Attachments"I bought a book on sewing machine attachments, so here's what I think I have:

Ruffler:Tucker:
Quilting guide:

If I'm wrong with any of my labeling, please let me know! And if you have a recommendation for learning how to use them, I'd appreciate references as well. The book I got was not as helpful as I'd like.

2 comments:

Melinda Young Stuart said...

Gorgeous machine! Resembles very closely the ancient Singer on which I learned to sew over 50 years ago. This is not a Singer, but a British model, I think I noticed.

Melinda Young Stuart said...

Resembles the Singer I learned to sew on, eons ago. Beautiful machine. Good for you to find it!