Two weeks ago I decided it was time to take seriously the "real" number of SMs I need around here. The decision was one of those "I need to lighten the herd," followed by "OMG ... where do I start!"
The decision-making process, for me anyway, is akin to standing at the edge of a forest and trying to decide which tree in the middle of it goes to the woodpile first.
My wife is the quilter and I am the one with the out-of-control hobby of finding machines and working on them so they sew again.
My wife's all-time favorite is her 1936 featherweight, so I know that one stays. I also have three treadles here that are for my wife and two daughters. There are two more treadles that I would like to keep for me, a badged Delaware and a badged Pennsylvania. I grew up in PA and now live in DE.
The hard part is looking at all these machines -- somewhere around 100 -- and[forcing] myself to let go. Yesterday was spent digging through my garage. I found a Singer 201 and a 15-91.
I also found a white and a Necchi Supernova. I think I can part with these machines, but there are many more to go before I head to the main stash in the basement... sigh.
If I were to make a suggestion to anyone who has been bitten by the old sewing machine bug it would be to get some salve on that bite before it spreads, else you are doomed to these beauties multiplying almost unabated!
P.S. Our goal is to move back to PA after our youngest graduates from college in 1-1/2 years. Can't take tons of SMs with me!
My favorite machine is, without a doubt, a singer 401A and the Singer 500. I did find out that it is much easier to do paper piecing on the FW -- wife made me try it -- than on the big guys!