Love your blocks...quite a bit of WOW factor! I'm really anxious to hear which machine you most prefer and why? I've got a 27 and a 15 and a 66...I'm wondering which one I ought to work on first...they all need some TLC, but none are "frozen" so I'm sure there's hope for all...my handcrank taught me the value of deep cleaning, oiling, and patience! I love the old Singers...my FW is the only one I actually sew on now. Thanks for posting..great quilt and great topic!

Goodness ladies, thank you so much for your comments. Honestly, using a treadle, once you get the hang of the action, is not a lot different from an electric machine.

Also it's incredibly relaxing! If you have a treadle, give it a try. For piecing you don't need a lot of fancy do-dads, just a good straight stitch. The stitching these machines do is just beautiful.

omak - I would love to do FMQ on a treadle, but am not sure about the technique. I believe that you need to have a certain speed to FMQ successfully.

The feed dogs on some treadles drop, but not on mine. There is a way to cover them, but I'm not sure how. (hence the need for some help). The major problem I can foresee, is that the bobbins don't hold a lot of thread, and for the 27, I only have one tiny bobbin.

Hi bobbinwinder. I love, love, love the stitches from my 27, it is just gorgeous! It treadles with a cute clickity-click. It has a tiny shuttle bobbin, which is annoying, although bobbin winding on a treadle is fun. I don't think this old dear had been used for quilte a while before I got hold of it and I managed to stretch the belt to the point where I was hand cranking! It's awaiting a new belt.

I think, for practical reasons, I prefer the 15. It takes a regular 15x needle and uses a round bobbin which are pretty easy to find. The stitching is very nice but I did have a lot of tension problems with it. I could get it stitching well for a while, then the tension would come loose, creating birds nests.

I don't have a 66 (yet), so can't give an opinion. I did do one of the blocks on a hand crank, but went back to the treadles as I haven't quite got the knack of one-handed sewing yet.

FMQ with a treadle could be a challenge, but, if you can darn with it, then FMQ is an option.
However, I have tried covering feed dogs one time with a hint I had read somewhere -- tape a recipe card over the feed dogs, remove the foot ...
well, the card and tape interferes with the movement and dodging the needle without some sort of foot is a bit more dicey than my little heart cares to handle! <g>

Just had to tell you, I bought a Singer Treadle today - off Craig's List. It is a Singer 115 (about 1924 - 1930 I think).
It is a little stiff but everything works and it comes with it's original manual.

WAY TO GO! This is all so exciting!

Your quilt is lovely!!! Your machines are beautiful too. Great job!!

Excellent! Enjoy your machine.

I believe there is a specific feed dog cover you can buy. Also a darning or applique foot would be needed. Sadly, these are highly sort after by Featherweight owners (not sure why cause it would be difficult to FMQ on a FW) and the prices are sky high, if you can find one.