Teacup

A month ago at an antique mall I fell in love with a cute Singer 99 in a bentwood case. She was made in Scotland and was in near-perfect condition: the decals were great, she showed very little wear, she had the book and several feet and attachments, the bentwood case had only one flaw (on the back), and to top it off she was a centennial 1951 model. So I got her. I paid $99. I know you can sometimes find them cheaper but since she was in such great shape I thought it was worth it. Last night DH and I got her cleaned and well oiled. He replaced the cord on the foot pedal that had some damage and she started right up, even the light bulb worked. The belt and all other parts seem to be perfect. She runs GREAT! I have not yet tried to sew, but will try in a while to see how she goes and what the tension is doing.

I named her Miss Lily after my 4-year-old granddaughter. Lily is quite small for her age but is delightful, strong and determined (strong-willed :-) ) and runs non-stop. Since this is a cute but very powerful 3/4-size machine, I thought the name was fitting.

I lay responsibility for this purchase on Billy and others of you here on the QB for fueling this new interest. I have DH working on getting my mother's Singer 201-2 running (it's not in as good condition), and I picked up a 15-91 that needs a ton of work and will be a future project. I want to FMQ on them. I don't intend to keep collecting machines, maybe just a Red Eye 66 with great decals just for the decorative value. Since DH has collected antique telephones for year, I told him this is my turn.

A question: Miss Lily's decals are in such good shape. Since I want to use this machine, is there something I should do to protect them? Some type of polish or any other suggestions? I hate to see them get worn.