Have you ever looked at a machine and just wanted to cry? Then when the poor things owners opened their mouths you want to shoot them?
I went to the outdoor "fair" today to help my wife break down and load up. She had told me of a lady who was sewing her crafts with a treadle machine so being curious I just had to go look.
The machine was a 20s vintage Singer Mdl 15 in a sawed off treadle base. Some one had literally used a saw to cut the ends of the top off where the drawers were attached. That wasn't too bad because it made for a really compact treadle set up, and it only cost her $10.00.
What made me want to cry was the machine. ALL the decals were silvered. The machine sewed OK, very quiet, but oh did it look like crap. OK, It's like nearly 90 years old so beings I'm more interested in how it's sewing I didn't say anything. But then the ladies DH had to open his mouth and spilled the beans.
He had used 409 to scrub the machine with because it was dirty and needed cleaning.
He seemed almost proud that he'd ruined the finish on the machine. Bragging that the decals were nice when he stared, but that 409 and decals don't agree with each other.
I bit my tongue and didn't say anything until he bragged how they had two other machines that he used two whole bottles of 409 just to get them to move because they were all gunked up. I told them to just use oil and cotton balls, but they wouldn't hear me.
I looked at the lady as she was sewing and she never shut her mouth. Mouth open and ears closed. She mentioned she had trouble with the tension. She didn't have it threaded right so I tried to help. She never shut up. Never heard a word I said. Then she told me she always leaves it threaded because she can't remember how to do it. DUH ..... Where's her sign?
I finally excused myself and went back to helping my wife to load up.
I hate people like them, so damn stupid they brag about it. That was several hours ago and it still bugs me.
Someday I'll learn to ignore peoples idiosyncrasies. Until then, where's my bottle of Excedrin?
Joe