Originally Posted by Jingleberry
I know a lot of people still use treadles, it is mind boggling to me with all the great electric machines offered today. To each their own.
For what you pay for a really nice electronic do everything machine I can buy a dozen or more REALLY REALLY nice treadle machines. And in ten or so years after all of the consumables wear out like the motherboards and electronics, all that you will have left is a parts machine at the best. Meanwhile mine are still going and hopefully gained value and are worth more than I paid.
Also if they ever need work I can do what ever needs to be done to them without any problems. The newer ones you have to take to the "Doctor" and you spend several hundred dollars fixing it if you are lucky. (And with that money I can buy a few more nice treadle machines. :D )
I will be the first to admit that all the bells and whistles are neat to have, but mostly I can buy attachments that can do the same things.
For me using a treadle is very relaxing and therapeutic. It is like the world stopped and I stepped back in time and I am actually living a part of history while working on a quilt. But the thing I like the most about doing a quilt on a treadle is the look you get after you hand it over and tell them that it was made on a 100yo machine. For the recipient it seems to make the quilt more special, and the fact that they can actually hold a piece of Folk History in their hands.
To me that is the best part about making a quilt.......
Billy