New Year's Resolution: Use It Or Lose It!

I made a resolution at the beginning of the year pertaining to my sewing machine hoarding collecting. The reason I collect old sewing machines is because I am fascinated with the history behind home sewing. And, since I don't collect any rare or out of the ordinary machines, I want to actively sew on the machines I collect. Therefore, my resolution is to take inventory of all the machines in my collection and decide if I am going to keep (and sew) on each machine, or make the decision to get rid of it.

Before I answer that question that's on the tip of your tongue - which is, "How many machines do you have?" well, I really don't know! I started out with close to 20 machines, but have sold or donated I think 7 machines recently that were either duplicates of machines I already had, or machines that just weren't my style. And I brought home two more machines last year that both need repair. Oh, and I just got rid of another one over the weekend, too! See? This makes it kind of hard to keep track!

Anyway, I digress. Here is the first machine in my inventory. If you've been following me the last couple of months you've already seen my Singer 1901 15 Class custom.


This machine is in GREAT working order and has already made its public sewing debut! I'm taking this machine with me to the Snack Wrapper Wallet crafting events, it is perfect for people of all ages with no sewing experience to use for stitching up a quick craft. There's no doubt in  my mind that this machine will see lots of action this year, so the only thing needed is to keep her cleaned and oiled, and to give her a nice cover.

So, following along my normal tradition of sewing on Superbowl Saturday, I used the evening to sew, and whipped up a cover for the Sews-it-all special.


The outside is black vinyl, and follows the same mailbox shape that the original antique wooden covers had. I made the sides a bit longer with holes for the carrying handles.


I used a thick poly batting in the middle and lined the case with something a little different. Looks pretty psychedelic and groovy in there, yes?


So there you have it, machine number 1 in my collection - in tip-top shape and ready for a year of sewing. Next on my Use It Or Lose It list, a 1919 Singer model 128!

Comments

Colby said…
I just bought my first antique machine this weekend! It's a 1904 Singer 27. I just have to replace the belt and get a shuttle and bobbin for it but it works perfectly! Where do you source your parts?

Erika's Top Trending Posts: