My treadle story: I was killing time till it was time to take my car in for new tires. I noticed a couple of garage sales in my neighborhood (I hate garage sales because I already have lots of "stuff"). I stopped at one and asked the woman if she had any sewing stuff for sale. She had a machine I wasn't interested in so I asked her if she had an old featherweight by any chance. The garage sale across the street had an old machine, she told me. Sure enough, a treadle in good condition, and they only wanted $50 for it. It even works.