Congratulations! I had my great aunt's old treadle machine and wanted to use the top as an end table. We actually threw out the machine and my husband took off the part of the top that opens and slipcovered the entire top with one flat piece of wood. It looks great and is wonderful as a flat table, but in my old age, I sure wish that we had kept the machine and left the table alone. I now have it in my quilting studio in our new house with an antique two drawer Coats spool chest and a collection of old wooden bobbins on top of it. Above that on the wall, I have a framed collection of old Coats and/or Clarks (when they were still separate companies) advertising cards. One of them is dated 1884. My husband mounted and framed them for me for Christmas last year. I also have an antique wooden ironing board and 6 antique flat irons and an antique child size wooden ironing board and child size flatiron. The other antiques I have in the studio are a collection of darning eggs in a basket and a collection of old red/gold Chinese bobbins, most of which are hand carved. I got those when we lived in Shanghai, China for 3.5 years...very cheap over there and quite decorative. They would have been used for rewinding embroidery floss type thread. Now I am on the lookout for old wooden spools. I guess I am a compulsive collector. I will post some photos of my studio sometime. Enjoy your treadle machine!!
Wendy