All Things Sewing

This week has been a blast!  I got some awesome finds at an estate sale, not the least of which was a 1958 Singer 403a.  This one is going to my daughter so she can do some sewing.  (A girl just HAS to be 'creative'!)


 I parked it in 'the room' with my good old reliable 401a, and my Craigslist acquired 500 Rocketeer.  I got the 500 as a back up to my 401a.  They're the same machine mechanically, and I'm always worried that if mine goes out, I'll be LOST.  (I hate to say it.. but I'm reeeaaaally starting to love the look of that thing.  it would be soo ?? sacrilegious ?? to put IT in the cabinet in place of Mom's hand me down, family heirloom 401a..... Wouldn't it???? )  It just has such an awesome vintage, 60s, space age look to it :):)  Not to mention the fact that the 500 didn't have to live through years of accumulated cigarette smoke, like my poor little 401 before I got it.  She's just not as shiny as she once was.:(:(  (I had to use a chemical cleaner when it was given to me over 30 years ago just to get the smoke damage off !)

 So...... Since I has just oiled my old girl the week before, I decided to get serious about refurbishing the other two.  I first managed to pull the slide plate off .. of BOTH of them, and took half the day trying to remember how I had gotten mine back on years ago when I pulled the same stupid stunt on IT!  FINALLY, the internet to the rescue, I found out how to do it.  (I know.. what a dope.. and YAY tiny screwdrivers that can catch the lip of that metal coil underneath the plate!)

The poor little things were so gummy.  It was like having TWO 'Little Engines That Could' coughing and spewing until they got 'up to speed'.  Fortunately, it didn't take long before the familiar sounds of a well oiled machine began to hum.  I just love the sound of these machines.

Meanwhile the lovely, lightweight, pristine Kenmore sits in her box.  I don't want to learn how to sew on an entirely new machine right now, and since I found the 403 to give my daughter, the Kenmore can just be glad it was rescued from Goodwill, and enjoy the sounds of the sewing room.  She DOES have a nice little removable arm for smaller stitching areas (armholes, etc) so I'm sure I'll get around to using it Very soon!!

In the meantime, I need to figure out how to organize my blog a bit.  Perhaps I should make different pages for general topics.  (Sewing, Thrifting, etc.)