July 2022 Colorado Sewing Machine Get-Together - Part 1
 

We're having our mid-summer Colorado get together. We've had a mix of dry sunny days and several cloudy days with rain. Summer is a truly great time to be in Colorado.

We have submissions from a few of our members. We'll start off with Leon.


Leon

Leon, who we call our member-at-large from Kansas, sends us these notes about his activities:

It has been a busy month in Kansas. We have been busy doing demos. We had a weekend at a folk life festival. We spent two Mondays with a kids Pioneer camp and had bunches of kids trying out our Singer 99 hand cranks. We spent a Friday morning with about 20 kids at a local library with other helpers. We had 4 99s and a VS 28. Whew. Next month will be much calmer.

At the folk life festival the potter had a Singer 99 that was gummy. 2 hours later I had it stitching for her. The Pioneer camp was in Abilene. A new VSM friend met us after our gig and had me check out a plastic WHITE for her. I looked it over and made a list of pieces she needed. Then we took one of our hand cranks into the restaurant. (hmm, sounds familiar). She loved using it and asked all sorts of questions. She had said she had found a black Singer along the road and was going to give it to us as a thank you. OK, we went outside and looked into her hatchback.

Nice cabinet. We opened the lid and looked through the dust. Oh could it be? Yes! It was another 99 in a 3/4 cabinet. We told her that she needed to keep it and to bring it back to life. Such a delight. She is well on her way to having her own hand crank now.

If you go to the Facebook page "Merry Cranks" you can see photos and videos of the our events.


James

James sends us these notes about his fairly active month:

I have has quite a month with sewing related collecting. The big catch of course is my Singer 24-80 sewing machine from 1921. It is fully running with some shellac loss but decals are in good shape and the wiring looks safe. The pedal was only made in 1936 and the case appears to be a type 5 featherweight style. It is missing the little cap on top of the needle bar but that does not affect the sewing.

I also collected a Singer Automatic Zigzagger box with four red top cams. The box was marked 301 so it was probably sold along with a Singer 301. It also came with 7 flat cams and a manual for the Singer 328k and 3 different presser feet. A much more modern walking short shank foot was included as well.

I am joining in a shirt sew along so I am sure I will learn a lot about reading patterns, tracing patterns, making adjustments for fitting. I have selected the Men's All Day shirt pattern from Liesl and Co. I have not selected the final fabric yet but have already gathered some muslin for fitting and alteration adjustments as well as sewing thread and tools needed.

James

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to be continued...

July 2022 Colorado Sewing Machine Get-Together - Part 2
 

Courtney

Earlier in the month Courtney sent this:

Dear All,

I mentioned my library quilts and have attached pictures. The first is my honorable mention called "Milk and Quakers." The second is my "Crayola 4X4X4." I made both of these on my Willcox and Gibbs, piecing, quilting and binding. They are about 19-20" square. The last is my "Pythagorean Proof" quilt.

Proof

The green square is inscribed in a larger square with four triangles. The red and orange squares are inside a larger square with four triangles. The large squares are the same size (each side is equal to the short leg plus the long leg of the triangles) so they have the same area. Since each large square has four of the original triangles whatever is left must be equal, thus the green square is equal to the red and orange squares.

Courtney

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to be continued...

July 2022 Colorado Sewing Machine Get-Together - Part 3
 

Later in the month, Courtney followed with these notes:

My experience with sewing machines has been quite varied this month. It started about three weeks ago. It was a HOT (102) Saturday, and my wife and I had gone out for a fast-food lunch. On our way home we stopped at a garage sale. (always dangerous!) They had a 1948 Singer 201 in a no. 42 Art Deco cabinet. They wanted $100 so I kept looking. When I came back, I realized that they were selling everything at half price, so I spent my $50. It is in good shape although I will have to rewire the potted motor. The drawers were full of things:

1) all the attachments and screwdrivers

2) a buttonholer, an additional set of templates and a pair of buttonhole scissors

3) a number of old bobbins, binding tape, safety pins, etc.

4) a large envelope with all the materials for a Singer Sewing Skills class (6 lessons)

5) an old bottle of Singer sewing machine oil. The oil is oxidized but the bottle is in great shape.

6) 12 measure-clip hemmers (new in package) which I think will be useful in quilting.

Next came a Baby Lock Companion 7500 Intel-A-Stitch. It is a computer machine which I usually try to avoid. However, a friend who regularly uses a Singer 237 Fashion Mate which she loves because it just always works, was daydreaming once about the new machines which do automatic buttonholes, fancy stitches and even alphabets at just a touch of a button. This described the Baby Lock 7500 exactly. So, when I found it for only $16, I thought I had to buy it for her. It seems to be working well and I have to admit that making little flowers or spelling my name with just a push of the button is lots of fun. The machine is 30 years old, and I am sure replacement parts are impossible to find but for $16 dollars she can just pitch it when it dies. Finding a manual online was just about impossible but I finally found one for a Brother Compal Opus 845 which is basically the exact same machine.

Finally, an old librarian friend contacted me a year ago to see if I could help her with her mother's machine, a 1949 New Home NLB. I said that we could probably get is going again but did not hear from her until a couple of weeks ago. I was afraid that it would take a complete re-wiring but most of the wiring seemed to be in acceptable condition except the power cord. The power cord had rotted away and become stiff and brittle. Bare wire was showing in a number of places. Unfortunately, the female end was proprietary and is no longer available. I took the old cord home and cut the end off with a couple of inches of the original cord on it and then spliced a new cord on. I should work safely for a time. While I was working on the cord, I noticed I had some newer electrical connectors, which did not look like the original, looked like it might fit. I made up a second cord with the new connector. Since the New Home was a friction drive, I also ordered her a new drive pulley to replace the old flattened one. Now I will have to find a time I can get back down to Castle Rock (93 miles away) to see if my work will bring her mother's old machine back to life.

Hope everyone is having a great summer.

Courtney

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Lastly, Courtney sent this:

I almost forgot. I dropped by the local ARC thrift store Thursday and found two Singer Automatic Zigzaggers and 3 additional sets of cams, all for $15. Both zigzaggers were low shank and will fit my new 201 and my featherweights. I think the additional cams were worth much more than I paid for everything.

Once again, hope you are all enjoying the summer.

Courtney

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John

John got a bit of a surprise while looking at a tech site on the web, which he tells about:

I frequently look over a site called 'The Verge' to follow developments in the tech industry. Being a little youth-challenged, I like to try to keep up with the latest smart phones, computers and processors, gaming and audio/video equipment. I was surprised to see, as I scrolled down the page, an article about sewing patterns. I had to blink and look at whether something had jumped off of Janey's screen and onto mine.

The article described a collection and database of archived sewing patterns, being treated as a reflection of these past technologies. I shared it with Janey and I will here, too. Some may find the collection interesting. It is called the COPA Pattern Archive. This site has been noted before elsewhere on the forum, but I'm mentioning it for those who might not yet have seen it. The web link is:

https://copa.apps.uri.edu/index.php

In Closing

We hope that everyone is having the same good summer that we are having here in Colorado. We will post here again next month. Thanks to our contributing members and to all who read.

August 2022 Colorado Sewing Machine Get-Together - Part 1
 

It's August and time for the final summer posting of the Colorado get together. We have fewer submissions this month, perhaps due to peoples' vacations and late summer activities. Nonetheless, we have a few pictures and notes to post, so we'll start with Dorothy.


Dorothy

At the last meeting, we discussed the various categories of feed mechanisms. While with few exceptions, these are limited to industrial machines, they are still interesting to study and understand. As we've mentioned before, Dorothy sews professionally and has regular availability of several industrial machines that she can tell us about.

Dorothy also took a short video of the walking foot mechanism, but we're not sure how to post the video here directly.

Dorothy writes:

Photos below of Juki with vertical bobbin with dry oil bath.


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Courtney

At our last get together, Courtney had developed a needle plate measuring sticker. He uses clear tape over a printed paper copy. He then wets and removes the paper, leaving the printing on the back of the transparent tape. It can then be applied to the surface of the needle plate. Neat!

Here are Instructions for my needle plate markers and a pdf of the markers I did on a CAD program. I wrote the instructions rather quickly; hope they make sense. I think both attachments will come through. If you have problems let me know.

We are not posting the files here. Any who might have interest in this may contact Courtney or our group directly.

... to be continued

August 2022 Colorado Sewing Machine Get-Together - Part 2
 

Dianne

Dianne has been doing a bit of quilting and also tells us about some interesting templates used for cutting pieces. She writes:

The Hamilton Ross machine got a workout last week, piecing two small 38"� square quilts. They are a simple design of four scrappy 16-patch blocks, framed, then with sashing and border. Nothing at all fancy, but a test for this machine to see how it would manage. It did well, making a neat chain stitch with some occasional slight variation in tension, hardly visible but I was looking closely. The little motor mounted on the back showed no signs of distress, even when punching through several layers of fabric. These were quilted on my Singer 15-91, SID and FM both. A fun project.

A small backroad in the history of quilting is metal templates. My grandmother used to cut cardboard templates, which wore down and after a bit were not true to size and needed to be replaced. I'm sure that was annoying. One of my sisters relates that someone made her linoleum templates for one pattern, and she enjoyed those. So on eBay and Etsy some metal (galvanized steel) templates showed up and I purchased a set for making a flying geese block. They were made by Roy Daniel, of Camden, Maine. The exact time frame is unknown to me, but a note on QB relates contact with Mr. Daniel's grandson, who helped with the project in 1982 - 1984, so 1980s vintage will suffice. These are neatly made templates, intended to be drawn around and then have a seam allowance added. They are backed with sandpaper so they won't slip. I opened and photographed the contents of the package, and then neatly restapled it, having no intention to use the templates, although one certainly could.

Dianne

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John

Last month John had a curiosity about the types of fabric feed mechanisms.

Thank you to all, especially Dorothy, for adding to the knowledge of feed mechanisms. Much appreciated.


In Closing

Thank you to all for reading. We will post here again next month. Wishing everyone a good last month of summer!

September 2022 Colorado Get-Together
 

Time flies- it's time for our first fall posting already.

In Colorado, the heat of July has given way to more moderate temperatures, usually in the eighties. Many afternoons, clouds gather for a while, but we've only had occasional rain, which we need here.

It's back-to-school time and people are returning from vacations. This month we are featuring Courtney, who has had more than one project going.


Courtney

Courtney had a trip to the southern part of our state, to do some teaching about sewing machines. He tells us about this and other things he's been doing over the last month.

My sewing machine adventures this month started with the Scrappy Ladies Quilting Guild in Colorado City. I talked about the history of Featherweight sewing machines. Several of the ladies had Featherweights and I tried to answer their questions as best as possible. I arrived about 9:40 and everything was finished up shortly before Noon. I had a great time and I think the Scrappy Ladies also enjoyed themselves. After lunch, I started home and arrived about 5 PM. Colorado City is a bit over 200 miles from Greeley and on the way home I had forgotten to fill the car and almost ran out of gas! Ah, adventures. I had driven down to Colorado Springs the afternoon before and stayed with some good friends so I didn't have to leave Greeley at 5:30 AM and make the entire trip in one day.

For my talk to the Scrappy Ladies, I had also taken a Willcox and Gibbs hand crank machine. After my presentation, a number of the ladies came up and were fascinated with the idea of a hand crank sewing machine. They had never seen one before. This got me thinking that an interesting future presentation might be on how to use a hand crank sewing machine. I do have two hand cranks, a Singer 201 and a Dutch EFKU. I have bought a couple of cheap hand cranks for little model 99s. They can be had for under $20. Unfortunately, for most machines besides a hand crank you also need a spoked hand wheel which can easily add another $20 to the project. I have a few machines that do have the required spoked wheels but I hate to borrow from them to put on another machine because that is how things get lost. Then the idea that I could perhaps make a required hand wheel out of wood. I had a small piece of 1/2 inch plywood so I cut out 3 circles about 6"� in diameter. (Six inches is about the largest diameter you can use, 5-3/4 inches would give a bit more clearance.) Then I drilled a 13/16 inch center hole. I found that three 3/4" washers would bring the thickness up to about 1" which is just what I needed. When I gave it a try, I found that the bobbin winders on the vintage Singers tended to get in the way. Rather than try to remove the bobbin winders I found that it was easier to remove the belt guard and the bobbin winders together (just one screw). To catch the hand crank tab I drilled a one inch hole about 1/4" deep in the wheel. Unfortunately, the tab did not quite catch the wheel at all times so I glued on a couple of small straight pieces of wood to make a good connection between the crank and wheel. Finally, I traced the lock motion washer on the wooden wheel and drove a small brad so that it would catch on the lock motion washer. I think you can barely see it in the first photo. When I put it all together it worked like a charm. (see attached photos)

Now that I know what I am doing I am going to make some wheels out of 3/4"€� MDF and a spacer out of 1/4" MDF. I can then forget about the washers. The 3/4" MDF is denser and thicker than the plywood I used which will give the wheel more inertia. If I sand the wheels and paint them black I think they will look respectable and work quite well. I think I can make 5 or 6 wheels in a couple of hours in the shop and save myself over $100. The beauty of all of this is that it is quick to set up. All I have to do is remove the motor (one screw) and belt guard (one screw) and replace the original wheel with my homemade one. To turn the machines back into electrics I simply remove the hand crank, replace the original wheel, then replace the belt guard and motor.


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The local Lutheran Church a couple of blocks from my house had their annual garage sale and I found about 4 yards of quilted fabric which I am planning on making some carrying cases for some of my Featherweights. This got me thinking about making a cover for the EFKU hand crank machine that Chris and Cheryl gave me for my talks to 4th graders at History Fest. The machine is quite nice and had a pretty base but no cover. I have been worried that I will get really dusty while waiting for the next history fest. I found an old piece of upholstery fabric, just the right size. I quickly made up a simple cover. It's not fancy but it does seem to work quite well and I am sure my dust worries are over. I have enclosed a couple of pictures.


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Courtney

In Closing

We will post here again next month. Until then please be well and thank you for reading.

October 2022 Colorado Get-Together
 

It's almost October and there is an air of fall here in Colorado. Overnight temperatures are in the forties with day time temperatures in the eighties. Leaves are beginning to turn and many moms are thinking about sewing Halloween costumes for their kids.

We have a few things to present this month, so let's get started.


Dianne

Dianne sends a nice write-up about a Titan machine that she has:

During the last two weeks, this small fiddlebase transverse shuttle Titan machine manufactured by Winselmann in Germany sometime around 1900, was used to sew 36 paper-pieced Economy blocks, 6 inches in size. The top threading was done with old straight-off spools of Dual Duty thread, while the bobbin was threaded with Aurifil to increase its capacity. The machine uses 12x1 needles. Only one foot and one bobbin came with this machine, purchased about a decade ago.

Bobbin winding was a challenge. The bobbin has a hole which must fit on a small pin to get the correct position in the bobbin winder. You seem to need three hands to keep the thread spool steady at starting, keep the thread in the proper guides, and push down to fully engage the small bobbin gear. A small sprung square of metal, enhanced with the titan symbol lifting a treadle, is apparently intended to be held during bobbin winding, as it does push the small gear mostly into contact with the large one. Maybe it is supposed to engage and release when the bobbin is full, which would have been helpful. Actually, without a manual, maybe that is not how it is supposed to work. So holding the area just to the right of where the bobbin is placed on the winder proved to work OK. Once started, the bobbin winds without issues. Threading the shuttle is easy and the shuttle works well except ending a seam with the thread at either end of the bobbin, far away from where the thread is pulled out. Then it sticks a bit and vibrates when pulling the fabric back to cut the threads, and occasionally the thread breaks. Keeping the bobbin tips oiled, and being sure to pull the fabric straight to the back solved this problem.

The machine likes oil, especially on the long glides underneath and on the flywheel. Note there are two oiling holes on the wheel, one toward the machine and one away from it. The lowered, large handwheel is sometimes called Saxony style.

This is a nice little machine. The "boat shuttle" is advanced, compared to the early versions by other makers which just had multiple holes for threading. A metal leaf or flange on the inside towards the tip accepts the thread and guides it to the outside. I did not spot a way to adjust the bobbin thread tension on the shuttle. Adjusting the top thread tension worked fine to obtain a balanced stitch. Using a tweezers makes inserting the bobbin into the shuttle much easier, the bobbin holder on the flat end having a spring. The shuttle drops neatly into place. The bottom thread is captured and pulled up without issues after the shuttle is reinserted. It works best to stop sewing with the takeup lever at its highest point, whence you can start again without needing to hold the threads and there will be no tangled or lumpy threads. This is handy for inside seams in paper piecing, and almost any sewing situation. Nearly all machines seem to work this way. Sometimes removing the shuttle requires a bit of finesse getting it into full left position. A quick pull to the left will then pop it up to be easily removed. The stitch length adjusts appropriately.

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The wood base with lovely inset inch and centimeter grids, is about 9" x 16".

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Note the little titan on the center underside of this machine. Apparently Winselmann called several of their models Titan, making it difficult to find correct manuals and dating information.

The plan is to use and report on one machine each month. It will take several years to make my way through the herd.


Dorothy

Dorothy sent a note about a machine that she has at home. She writes:

Hello!

A month of nothing and the last 3 days!

I may have found the Griest model 10 buttonholer for high shank Necchi which might work on my Juki2010Q shirt maker! Seems to be a rare model as 6 months looking and this the first seen!

I am also trying to identify a Singer Treadle stand I might procure. I can find nothing in Ismacs. It is the one which has Prairie Styling aka Frank Wright. Metal legs. It will live in the shed.

Thanks so much! I will write up next month what I do find out on these subjects.

Dorothy

In a second, later note Dorothy wrote:

Hello!
I retire at the end of this week after 28 years designing for automotive. I look forward to it.

What to do now?

Organize! There is so much in my sewing room that is duplicated (not just sewing machines) and sorting should allow more room to set up and sew. I have been looking at drafting information with enthusiasm as I have not been designing clothing in maybe 10 years.

First up is a costume for my Son for Halloween which is his Birthday. He has requested a character from an Anime that is wearing rather traditional Japanese Hakima and Robes. There will be a white underlayer with a longer Kimono over the top.
I look forward to the meeting!

Dorothy


Courtney

Courtney has been busy with a History Fest. He sends the following notes about his activities over the last month:

I was hoping that I could get a picture of History Fest today but I was just too busy, Sorry! Here is my monthly report:

At last month's Zoom meeting I mentioned I had some veneer that Chris might be able to use. The next weekend Chris and Cheryl were up this way and so they dropped by. We spent most of a Saturday afternoon just talking and solving the World's problems. Great day!

My sewing machine time this month has been spent mostly on getting ready for History Fest. For a week in the spring and a week in the fall the Greeley Museums host History Fest at Centennial Village. It is mostly for 4th graders. They get to see a blacksmith forge a nail, get to scrub clothes on a washboard, and attend a one room schoolhouse. I take a number of vintage and antique sewing machines and talk about how the sewing machine has changed our daily lives. After teaching high school and college for over 50 years, it is fun to talk to real kids again. I have a great time although my voice gets a bit raspy because I am not used to talking all day long like I once was.

A couple of months ago I reported that I had bought a Singer 201-2. I am now working on changing it to a 201-3 so that I can use it with an exterior motor, a treadle or a hand crank. I have a belt guard and bobbin winder from an old Japanese model 15 clone that works fine. I have also found another Japanese zig-zag machine that I think will work. I will give it a try when I get a chance. Perhaps while I have it converted, I will have a chance to work on the potted motor and get it working safely again. I am rather wary to try it without rewiring.

Til next month,

Courtney

Janey was able to find the webpage for the High Plains History Festival at https://greeleymuseums.com/historyfestival/ and probably an older picture of Courtney at https://greeleymuseums.com/wp-conten...t1609-1028.jpg


John

Lastly, John describes a project that he worked on some time ago. He writes:

I thought I might take this opportunity to mention something I did several years ago.

I should begin by saying that I don't sew very much. Janey does that for both of us. With years of experience, she is very accomplished. But I do observe, watch others and read. Sometimes I think I can contribute a gizmo or gadget that will help, sort of in a support role.

Several years ago, I thought to myself that there had to be a better way to hold and work on old sewing machines. Machine heads are heavy, they're unwieldy and are hinged from the bottom, making them very top heavy. Many parts of a sewing machine are very fragile. I've seen bent spool pins. I've seen machines rolled around and propped up. I've seen machines placed on their front or back, in order to access something on the underside.

I thought that an extremely sturdy frame, that the machine could be attached to, might be rotated from a point closer to its center of gravity. I built a workstand for doing just that. As the project progressed, I made interchangeable baseboards to accommodate a wide variety of sewing machines with their different footprints.

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A few other people saw it and wanted one. So I made a few for others, as well. That was a long time ago and I am not intending on making any more of them. But the old thread offers pretty good instructions for anyone wanting to make their own.

The thread is a bit lengthy, since I wrote it step-by-step as things progressed. Anyone with an eye toward being easy on themselves, as well as giving safe and gentle care to these delicate old sewing machines, might find interest in the idea.

The thread may be found at:

https://www.quiltingboard.com/vintag...d-t264914.html

I hope that it's interesting and useful.

John


In Closing

We hope that everyone has a good October. We will post here again next month. Until then, thank you for reading.

I enjoy reading these, and that Titan is a really neat looking machine. Thanks Janey!

Joe, I think it is really sweet, and it does sew very nicely. Olaf has dated it to 1912, based on the serial number of 994667. The firm made their millionth machine in 1913.

Dianne

November 2022 Colorado Get-Together - Part 1
 

We've had an extended fall in Colorado. No city snow to speak of, with overnight temperatures just dipping below freezing. Many trees still have their leaves and we are able to enjoy all the fall colors for even longer.

We have details of the activities of several of our members. So let's get started.


Krystal

We enjoyed the visit from a new person last month. Her name is Krystal. She is an art teacher for elementary aged children and enjoys working with printing patterns onto fabric. She uses carved linoleum blocks to print with and she showed us some of the fabrics she has produced this way. She talked a bit about inks and the need for heat setting of the work.

We welcome Krystal and hope she can join us again.


Dianne

Dianne describes a machine that she has had for a while and recently used. She says:

Late in September a New National machine (purchased in 2013) was pulled out to get some exercise. The machine is a vibrating shuttle handcrank, #965210, without a wood base. The New National machines were made by New Home, and use a 20x1 needle. The metal casting's integral base looks elegant to my eyes. A Janome employee dated the machine to 1889, which is also the date on the manual. The machine was spotted on eBay fifteen minutes before the auction expired, so there wasn't much time to mull over the purchase. I'm glad I jumped on it and quickly made a bid! As received the machine needed significant cleaning and rust removal. The Saxonia-type handwheel is unplated steel, so needed lots of help. Chipped paint is obvious in many places, but the overall look is attractive.

In the photos below you will note it came with lots of feet and other accessories, including a buttonhole scissors made by the Boker (Boeker) company of Germany, which apparently dates back to the 17th Century. Also there are two needle packets from Charles Howard & Co of Brockton, Mass. In the lid of the sturdy cardboard accessories box is a Johnston's Ruffler, a large gizmo that befuddles me. Maybe one day I'll attempt to use it.

The mechanism under the bed is very simple... but then everything about this machine is very simple, allowing it to be offered as a less expensive model. Is there a name for the flat coiled spring with the long extension on the face plate? This works very nicely and must have been far less expensive to manufacture than more common tension systems. Some other New Home machines have this spring, as does Ward's Arm and Platform. The leaf tension on top of the arm is another simple but effective solution. Of course, the operator must reach up and pull some thread to the left, through the leaf apparatus to provide thread at the end of a seam, as raising the foot doesn't release the tension. This is not a big deal, and after you've done it a few times it becomes routine. It is interesting that this less expensive and simple machine was so well accessorized.

The New National is easily adjusted to make nice stitches, and was used to sew paper-pieced Economy (square in a square in a square) blocks. Soon I'll have enough of these blocks to make a scrappy quilt pieced on several of these lovely old machines.

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... to be continued

November 2022 Colorado Get-Together - Part 2
 

Dorothy

Dorothy, our only sewing professional, has recently retired from her job. She describes some of the things that she is doing with her time.

Hello!
Halloween is here already! Best statement about that is from A Quilter's Corner with "It is erie in Erie"...

I have done nothing with a treadle base other than references to Mr Singer's middle name "Merritt" (Thanks Janey!) which has lead to India where it seems they make machines branded with Merritt.

I have used the buttonholer! The buttonholer is a Greist #10 designed for Necchi SuperNova (high shank) machines. The SuperNova comes with a buttonholer cam that makes square buttonholes. You need to control the length of the hole, it is not automatic.

The button holer is being used on a machine it was not designed for, but Yes! It works! It is offset by at least 1/16" too far to the right & is not centered in the attachment. This is something that can be remedied by removal of material from the attachment to the bar. There is enough material.

I have attached photos of a button hole in the machine showing how "off center" it is. The other photo is of (top left) a single pass at setting 4. The lower right is a double pass. Started at width 4 and a second pass at width 2 which makes a very nice button hole.

Buttonholes were added to a shirt for me. Next is a shirt started a while back but stubbornness indicated I should wait for this set up to complete.

Then again - Men's shirt buttons are not sold like they used to be & I was stumped not wanting milky white or black buttons for a fabric brown moose on green back ground. Finally found brown buttons which will better suit. I can not find the green ones bought at Colorado Fabrics closing. Sigh.

May you have a Grand rest of the week! Talk on Saturday!

Dorothy

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Leon

Leon, our member at large from Kansas, is anticipating the acquisition of a machine. Leon recounts a story going back into his distant past. He writes:

It always good to be nice to former friends (and sometimes girlfriends).

Way back in 1969 I dated a young girl. We have kept in touch over the years through many stages of life. She made me an offer on a Henry Stewart VS treadle. It has some provenance. She is the third owner of it after her parents. But here are her words.

"The house on River was built and owned by J.D. Shower and his wife. My dad befriended her when he moved to Independence in 1945. When she was no longer able to care for herself, her son came from somewhere out east and took her home with him. He did not want any of the furnishings so we "inherited" a lot of stuff. (Including the VSM l,f)

I saw that house they bought so long ago when I saw her in 1969 but had no interest in sewing machines so I had to wait nearly 53 years to hear about the machine.

Here are some pictures of the machine. I am so eager to go pick it up and be it's latest caretaker.

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Leon adds the following possibly relevant story:

Fun story from ISMACS close to the right time anyway. Who knows?

https://ismacs.net/stuart/stuart.html

... to be continued

November 2022 Colorado Get-Together - Part 3
 

Courtney

Courtney and his wife Connie have been busy over the last month. He recounts their activities:

Dear All,

With Connie being a famous SF writer, we go to 3 or 4 SF conventions a year. The weekend of Oct 20-23 was MileHiCon in Denver. I had volunteered to do a kid's program of sewing with hand crank machines. That meant that I could no longer procrastinate and had to get to the shop the make some hand-wheels I could use with hand cranks. I had experimented a couple of months ago, so it was time to actually make some. This time I used some 3/4 inch mdf and it worked out great. I didn't have time to paint them black, but I think they still looked acceptable and worked well. See picture.

The hand crank machines were ready to go BUT somehow, I had been left off of the kids' program so a number of adults showed up expecting me to talk give a formal talk about sewing machines. A friend had brought her mother's old Featherweight for me to service so that meant that I would at least have two machines to display, my homemade hand-crank and the Featherweight. BUT, another friend had come across a 19th century machine and had decided to buy it for me. She is from Santa Fe and brought it with her and gave it to me. It looks like a Singer 12 but I don't think it is official. Nowhere can I find Simanco or Singer. The shuttle is a boat shuttle but has a tension spring, so I think it is probably a European copy but built to a high standard. It still looks very nice and seems to work well. The case is a bit worn but I think I can refinish it and it will look nice. All in all, a great 19th century machine.

Nearly everyone knows I like sewing machines, so another friend showed up with a vintage Kenmore 158-504. It is not pristine but did come with a table and chair. She said she had tried to give it away a couple of times, but no one ever showed up to take it away, so I was going to have to take it. At least all of this happened before my presentation so now I was going to have 4 machines to display.

Just as I was setting up for my talk a fellow showed up with a Willcox and Gibbs glass tension machine. He said that he had bought it in England 30 years ago for about 5 pounds and was never going to use it and asked if I could. I quickly accepted the machine. It needs to be cleaned up a bit but seems to turn freely and be in good working condition. The very first W&G machines were glass tension machines starting in the late 1850's but in 1876 W&G introduced their automatic machines which became quite popular. At first glance I could only see 5 serial numbers which would have placed it in the early 1860s. but after I got it home, I was able to find a 6th serial number placing it about 20-25 years later but definitely a 19th century machine. All in all, I ended up with 5 machines ranging from mid to late 19th century to mid to late 20th century to demonstrate while I talked about the history of sewing machines. I think the talk went well and I came home with 3 new (to me) sewing machines!

This coming month I will have to get my homemade hand-wheels painted, clean up the model 12 and W&G machines, and work on the model 12 case. Sounds like fun.

Courtney

PS I have worked on the W&G since I wrote this letter. It was missing a needle screw, but I was able to dig one up. I think the machine was used commercially because it was VERY dirty. It is still not clean, but it is much better than it was. I put in a needle, adjusted the tension and gave it a try. It sews! The hand wheel was drilled for a crank handle, so I put on a cute red one. And quickly made a base for it. I still need to put a finish on one end of the base but the whole thing is starting to look quite nice.

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As a last minute followup Courtney sent a note and additional picture:

Just a quick picture of the little W&G with needle and needle nut, hand crank, and base. It still needs a lot of cleaning but I think it is rather cute looking.

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In Closing

Our thanks to the members who shared their varied activities with us. And thank you for reading. We will post here again next month.

December 2022 Colorado Sewing Machine Get-Together
 

With Christmas fast approaching, at the North Pole, Santa and his elves are stitching up a storm on their many varied sewing machines.

Meanwhile, here in Colorado, we have cold temperatures, a fresh dusting of snow, people putting up Christmas decorations and it's again time for another Colorado sewing machine get-together.

We have a variety of topics to offer from our members, along with some pictures, so let's begin our post.


Leon

Leon, who is our member-at-large from the state of Kansas, sends a picture of one of his machines on display at a museum.

FYI this is my Wilcox and Gibbs on display at a Museum


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Courtney

As a followup to last month's meeting, Courtney sent a note to Dianne about the bobbin winder tire for her Little Worker machine.

Sorry to take so long to respond. I think you need a new bobbin tire. The bobbin wheel is a bit bigger than a normal bobbin wheel but with a bit of work, you can get a regular bobbin tire to fit. I have enclosed a picture of my "Little Worker" bobbin winder. I believe when I originally received my machine it had a rotten normal bobbin tire. I replaced it with a normal tire. I have just ordered a couple of Singer Model 12 bobbin winder tires for my new transverse machine. I tried one on the "Little Worker" and it seemed to work well. I would be glad to send you the extra one if you would like. I have never seen a bobbin tire like in your photograph. I agree, I don't think there is any way to disengage the mechanism while winding the bobbin.

Courtney

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Dorothy

Dorothy, who retired last month from her professional sewing job, is turning her attention to personal sewing projects that she has been wanting to do. She writes:

Hello!
Yes to Saturday and hope I am not scattered.

I have a sewing project that is going to need help and experimenting. There are 2 stitch lines on a patch that does not get folded under. The straight stitch at 1/8" from raw edge and that edge is curling UP showing white. (A Marcy Tilton knit shirt.) There are a variety of unusual steps mostly to reduce bulk which may not have a finished effect I like. We will see.

The fabric is a 4 way extreme stretch that I hope to sew decorative stitches on my Supernova Necchi. Currently, that is not working out. The decorative stitch is gathering the fabric producing bunching in between threads. Sews on woven "Just Fine". More work is needed on the basic tension and then I will start working with stabilizers. Easiest will probably be tissue paper. Not sure I want to pick tissue out of a pattern stitch. Thinking wash away stabilizer will be an easier solution. One of the quilting stores should have that product.
Until Saturday!

Dorothy


James

James sends the following note about his activities over the last month.

I finally got started in making my second bedroom into my sewing room/museum/ and possible guest room. I did have to rent a storage unit to hold stuff that has accumulated in the 20 plus years I have been at my small location. Most of it is likely stuff that I will donate like books and such. There also a huge number of rocks I had collected over the years. My sister came by to help me clean while I took the entire week off from work. I did move my two working treadles into the living room/dining room space once I cleared out enough space. One is a National Two Spool and the other a Wilcox and Gibbs.

I have an antique barrister stackable bookcase with plain glass fronts that I hope to use to display a few of my sewing machines in the second bedroom. It is a Globe-Wernicke with 5 shelves with the rarer standing legged base in golden sawed quartered oak with brass oxidized trimmings. The room has a nice wall at an angle that will be perfect for pattern matching while designing and making quilts. Also handy for displaying quilts in zoom meetings once I figure out how to hang them! I have three electric tables that will go into the room as well as the multi top treadle that I still need to make the tops for. Also multiple heads with some cases.

James


Thanh

Thanh has been traveling and sends us some pictures of interest from his trip.

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. I'm flying back to Denver this Saturday so I'll miss the meeting again. Here's my short update for November:

I've been traveling the whole month so no major acquisitions. However, I did manage to find another round eyelet button hole cam in an antique shop. It came with a Singer slant shank buttonholer which included all 10 Singer cams.

I was in Europe for first half of November and visited a couple of museums in the Czech Republic. One museum was someone's private collection of vintage cars and household items. We got to see some sewing machine brands you don't find very often in the USA such as a Bagat 706 Visnja, Lada and Bynov.

The other was an applied arts museum in Brno which had a couple of Minerva Boskovice machines on display. Minerva Boskovice had its beginnings in Austria and slowly moved operations to Czech. It was nationalized after WWII and included in the national enterprise MILA based in Opava. In 1950, the company became independent again and gradually became the largest sewing machine manufacturer for households in Czechoslovakia. After 1968 the manufacturing program reoriented only to industrial machines and since 2001, Minerva Boskovice has been the main manufacturer of industrial sewing machines for the group Durkopp Adler.

Other than that just looking forward to getting back home and working on an Elna Supermatic that's waiting on my bench.

Best

Thanh

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In Closing

We hope that everyone has a warm and enjoyable holiday season and a happy and prosperous new year!

We will post here again next month. Thank you to our contributors for sharing and to our followers for reading.

January 2023 Colorado Sewing Machine Get-Together - Part 1
 

Here we are with the first posting of the Colorado get-together for the new year 2023. We want to wish everyone reading this the very best for an interesting and prosperous coming year.

This past December, as with much of the country, winter arrived in earnest. One day in particular offered us both high and low temperatures well below zero degrees. After that, a temperature of 20 degrees F seems almost moderate. It's a perspective thing.

In our new year's posting we have pictures and comments from some of our members. So let's get started.


Cheryl & Chris

Cheryl and Chris tell us about a cute little machine they have, which needed some wiring replacement work:

Chris did some electrical work on this little Dynamic that Emily picked up back in 2017. It's not the best for sewing, but she likes it.

When the daughter brought this machine home, the wiring was in very bad shape. It was in the kind of shape that would start a fire, burn the house down and then trip the breaker. Seriously, there were bare wires coming out of motor and the insulation was perished on large chunks of the rest of the wires. So, ALL the wire had to be replaced.

The outlet that is used for the "light" and "motor" connections was the first point attack. Of course, this part was not made to be serviced so the manufacturer graciously ground down the screw heads on the back to prevent access. (Sorry, really should have taken pictures.) With a little persuasion, the back came off. Apparently, the OEM really didn't want anyone servicing this, because inside the assembly the wires were riveted to the contact strips. But with the aid of some hardware from my "collection" the old wire was replaced with brand new wire. Screws, with heads, replaced the ground off old screws that held back plate on and all was right with the world.

Next up was replacing the naked wiring to the motor. The motor casing was removed, the old wires unsoldered and new, clothed wires were soldered in their place. The strain-relief on the motor casing was a bit of a tight fit owing to the thicker insulation on the new wires (bulkier clothes for the winter?). However, since the new motor wire had a modern pre-molded polarized plug on the end (can you say "repurposed extension cord"?) a bit of filing was needed so the plug would fit into the "light"/"motor" connector, which was NOT polarized. (Yet another reason to keep a mill file around.)

The foot controller was the easiest part of the three to rewire. The bottom plate slides off, the wires are well dressed and screwed into place. So that was a pleasant surprise.

C & C

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to be continued

January 2023 Colorado Sewing Machine Get-Together - Part 2
 

Dorothy

Last month, Dorothy was considering work with some very stretchy fabric. Janey suggested a product called "PerfectSew" as a possible method of stiffening the fabric. Dorothy responded:

Thank you Janey!

The PerfectSew worked well enough that a lovely edging was made without fabric distortion. I did Not take a photo of the actual edge- I thought I did, but no.

I did attach the woven stitch sampling to get the one I chose ( on right). The knit sample shows different with a smaller loop and more distance between. I think it looks good.

I will have a full report for Jan. Thanks again for the PerfectSew idea!

Dorothy

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Hello

Dec is over and it went fast! May the new year be a good one!

Hem stitching has come up in some conversations and it is puzzling me. Hem stitching is a form of cut & drawn work, with information so far indicating "It is excellent for hems". (Source a Butterick sewing book from 1921). There are illustrations of hem stitch & drawn work but no definitive definition, must be lots of assumed knowledge of the day. Confusion really comes in with modern machine "Hemstitch" done with a wing needle and program which is not drawn work, even if delightfully pretty.

I did decorative stitching on the knit garment. It was really helped by the Perfect Sew Janey suggested. Not perfect (compared to the Necchi stitch guide) but has the interest wanted! Variation from the stitch guide is most likely due to needing a good under carriage oiling. Another thing to get to as the lift mechanism wedges and requires extra effort to lift. Sigh.

I look forward to Saturday!

Dorothy


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Courtney

Courtney has had a busy time. He shares this, as well as a little about his Christmas:

My sewing machine adventures have been quite interesting for the past couple of months. In my November report I mentioned that I had been given three sewing machines at a recent Science Fiction Convention, a Kenmore from the late 1960s, a Willcox and Gibbs from about 1885, and a transverse shuttle machine in great shape that resembled a Singer model 12.

I got the Willcox and Gibbs cleaned up and adjusted so now it sews. It is kind of interesting in that it is not the automatic model but an original glass tension model. I haven't had time to work on the Kenmore but I don't think it will cause much of a problem to get running. It's the transverse shuttle machine that has taken up most of my time. After Janey and John put the notes up on Victorian Sweatshop, Olaf from Norway commented on the picture and identified the machine as a Stoewer machine and said that he could tell me the date of manufacture if I could provide him with the serial number. I quickly responded and he said the machine was made in 1904. He also sent directions on how to wind a bobbin. I now had a name I could search for online. Although the Stoewer Company was the second oldest sewing machine company in Germany, I had trouble finding much about my machine. I did find some very old Stoewer literature online, but the major difficulty was that is was in an old German script. I don't read German but I do have a quilting buddy, Jill, who was a German major in college and has spent some time in Germany. We met for coffee and crepes. She had some difficulty with the old script, but I was able to get nearly all my questions answered. There was one small part on threading the bobbin she was unsure about, so she sent it to a friend in Switzerland to confirm her translation. Wow, this machine has sure given me a feeling for how small the world has become and how international!

While we were still at the little restaurant, Jill pulled out her grandmother's sewing machine. It was a little model 20. It has a very interesting story that I hope to tell you next month. The talk with Jill about her grandmother's Singer model 20 got me thinking that I had a couple of girl's machines in the basement. One of the machines was a Singer Sewhandy from the 50s. a newer model 20. It was not in nearly as nice a condition as Jill's grandmother's machine although it was probably 10 to 20 years younger. Many of the moving parts had gotten rusty, particularly the tension mechanism. I got out the Evaporust, cleaned and adjusted the machine. It now sews okay but I think I still need to do some tension work. The other machine was an old motorized Betsy Ross that had a bad motor and the machine itself was frozen tight. However, the Betsy Ross had no rust, so I sprayed some WD40 on all the moving parts and let it set for some time on top of the furnace. The combination of heat and WD40 did the trick and as soon as it started to move, I oiled it up. Both machines were missing the knob for the hand crank. Fortunately, I had purchased a gross of little red knobs on eBay several years ago so both machines now have little red knobs. Although the Singer needs a bit more work the Betsy Ross is sewing very well. (The four-patch pillow in the picture was done on the Stoewer hand crank.)

Santa Claus was nice to me this year. I have been a good boy all year, I promise. My big present was a folding Gorilla Cart. Now I will be able to wheel around 3 machines at once instead of having to carry each one individually.) The picture shows the rest of my stash in the bottom of the Gorilla Cart. The stash includes a moda layer cake, a fat quarter bundle, and some bulldog fabric! I also got a stitch guide for setting the width of seams and a couple of the antique sewing machine trading cards, one Singer and one New Home. I got a slew of quilting books for inspiration. Connie gave me a reprint of how to use attachments with old Singer model 27 machines. We still have the #27 machine her grandmother sewed Connie's wedding dress on. (Connie's grandmother inherited the machine from her grandmother, so it originally was Connie's great great grandmother's machine!) Finally, a good friend gave me a 1929 copy of the White Schools of Costume Design Handbook. With the following note attached:

Quote:
"I remember my mom first teaching me to sew on a White sewing machine. Most likely this White Handbook came with it. I thought you might like to have it. Note that true to the time that she would have gotten it she signed her name as Mrs. Harry Olson and not as Sylvia Olson.

When I was about 13 she bought the Singer Featherweight which is part of my collection of four machines. I will never catch up with you. Ha! Carol"

(PS Carol is now 85)

Hope everyone else had a great Holiday Season. Best Wishes,

Courtney

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In Closing

May the new year bring good fortune to everyone! We will post here again next month to share the activities of our members. Thank you for reading.

February 2023 Colorado Sewing Machine Get-Together - Part 1
 

One of the nice things about Colorado weather is the wide variety that we experience here. As with much of the country, we have had weather that will make us glad when spring and summer finally arrive. While not as severe as in many other parts of the country, we still have had notably cold weather for here, along with snow that's not going away very quickly.

We have several contributions from our members this month, so lets take a look at what they have offered.


Dorothy

Dorothy sent the following note. She says:

Hello!

I must confess that I have done very little with sewing machines or sewing.

I have signed up for another year of Murder mystery quilt with the theme this year Murder of the Viking. The color theme is Jewel tones. The first months fabric has been cut -- Rotary cutter blades seem to always be dull. A square ruler has decided to live somewhere else. The different styles of rulers are interesting with grip around the entire outer perimeter of various thickness which do help to keep the fabric from siding under the ruler. I got an ergo cutter upon recommendation for ease of use. Piecing will start tomorrow on the Necchi Supernova because it is in a nice table.

Hope all are doing well in these Freezing temperatures.

Dorothy


Dianne

Dianne sends a nice write-up about what she has been working on. Dianne almost always has some kind of quilt work to show each month, that we are always impressed with. She writes:

This past month I have been occasionally sewing with a handcranked Jones Vibra, # 504049, from about 1935. This machine was manufactured near the end of the Jones Family CS run, and is a beautiful thing! The decals were called "The Turquoise" and were used on machines labeled Jones and badged machines sold by several companies, as Jones would badge machines for any company that purchased 100 or more, according to articles online. This particular variation, without a company name, was designed for J.G. Graves Ltd. Of Sheffield, a large mail order company.

The Jones Family CS was produced from 1893 onwards with few changes. Mine will stitch in reverse, while Courtney's will not. The large screw on the top of the arm is a distinctive way to identify one, whatever it may be named or how it is decorated. It is a simple, straightforward vibrating shuttle machine, well-designed and easy to operate. It uses DBx1 needles. The top threading is thoughtfully engineered so the only time the thread must be put through an opening is when it reaches the needle. Those of us over a certain age appreciate this, and it makes threading quick and easy. The bobbin winds without issues. The mechanism, seen when oiling underneath, is as simple as possible. Simple equals durable. Considering its long manufacturing run, and that over 600,000 were produced, this was a popular and successful machine.

The only troubling thing with my Vibra is the bobbin winder tire. It is cracking, and replacement will be necessary soon. Replacements sold as "Large" tires, 32x19mm, do not look like they will fit - too small. Conflicting information online about the correct size might be because Jones apparently changed their bobbin winders over time. Courtney has been helpful as we emailed about this issue. One source sells a winder tire said to work, but will not ship to the US. Several sellers give no dimensions for their tires. If anyone knows for sure what is needed for a Jones of this era, and where to obtain such, that information would be much appreciated! I have ordered tires, but they could be too large. The diameter of the right side of the hub (?) of the winder is about 27mm, as is the one on Courtney's Jones Family machine.

Jones also made a somewhat larger, Medium CS machine. It's shuttle is actually slightly smaller than the Family machine's shuttle; I know this because I have one, purchased as a backup for the Vibra but found to be different. Now, it might be like buying a car to match the hubcap found on the side of the road ...

Dianne

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to be continued...

February 2023 Colorado Sewing Machine Get-Together - Part 2
 

Courtney

Last month I wrote about my adventures learning about the 1904 Stoewer hand crank I was given recently. The only Stoewer instructions I could find were for an 1879 Stoewer machine which was also a copy of a Singer model 12 machine. To read those instructions I had to talk a quilting buddy, Jill, into translating for me. Jill also brought her grandmothers sewing machine to show me. It was a little Singer model 20. I was really surprised, so I asked her to send me a bit more information about it. The following is what she wrote:

I called my mom and asked her about the little Singer that was her mom's again. Here are the details. My grandma, Loretta Cogswell McClure was born in 1915. She lived with her husband John McClure around the Fort Collins area. The machine was given to her by her neighbor who was a wife of a dentist in the Navy. The neighbor couple lived in many different countries, mostly Europe, during the husband time in service. This was the sewing machine she had during their travels. She used this machine to sew clothes and curtains and to mend. She gave the machine to my grandma when they moved away from the Fort Collins area sometime in the fifties. My grandma didn't use it too long until she got a bigger machine but she always kept the little Singer. She enjoyed it very much. My grandma had five kids. Her husband, a farmer, later owned the John Deere dealership in Fort Collins.

Also, I am adding some "before" photos. I spent the day cleaning and polishing her up. I tried sewing with her but the take-up hook on the bottom is not catching the thread so I guess we will have to go get some more coffee soon and you can tell me what needs to be fixed. She really moves smoothly now though. It so exciting!�

I have included the before and after pictures and a couple of others. She has it nice and shiny now and I have since met with her and she has it sewing well now. I had heard of girls taking their little model 20s to college but this is the first I have heard of a military wife taking it from base to base. Wow!

My other sewing machine related news is of my new Jones Family CS hand crank. I saw it this for sale in Aurora just a few blocks from where I grew up. Connie and I drove down to pick it up a few Sundays ago. The woman I bought it from said that it was her grandmothers and that her grandmother was born in 1900. It is a Queen Alexandria model from 1903 so either her grandmother bought it used or her grandmother inherited it from her mother. Whatever, it is in nice shape; the only flaw is that most of the plating on the hand wheel has come off. It hadn't been used in some time so it needed oiling and a couple of things needed a bit of kerosene to loosen things up. Everything is now working well. It sews very smoothly and is nice to use. I haven't used it on a project yet but I hope to give it a try out when I am finished with the cowboy sougan (sugan, soogan) on which I am presently working. The case is solid but the finish could use a bit of touching up. I have always wanted a Jones machine because my grandmother was Ida Mae Jones (No relation to the company. Interestingly, the woman I bought it from was a Singer.) I have found out that King Edward the VII was married to Alexandria. Jones had had a long relationship with Alexandria and before Queen Victoria died, Jones liked to advertise that they supplied machines to Princess Alexandria. After Victoria died, and her son Edward became King, they could say they supplied machines to Queen Alexandria.

Hope everyone has had a great January. I sure hope that things warm up soon. I am getting really tired of the cold weather.

Courtney


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to be continued...

February 2023 Colorado Sewing Machine Get-Together - Part 3
 

Cheryl & Chris

Chris continued his work on a machine that he was re-wiring last month. He did some additional work on the old and worn carrying case, that I'm sure everyone will agree produced a stunning improvement. He tells us:

When last we left our Dynamic, the electrical had been redone, making it safe for actual use.

Next up was making the case look half as good as the machine head (because, as you can see in the first three picture, it wasn't close).

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The plan:

Strip off the old covering (looks like textured wall paper)
Sand the box smooth
Apply filler - so it's actually smooth
Apply a layer of shellac for a consistent surface
Wrap the whole thing in self-stick vinyl wall paper

The reality:
Stripping off the old covering was easy. You can see the result in picture 4. That wood screams "cover me up!"

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to be continued...

February 2023 Colorado Sewing Machine Get-Together - Part 4
 

But then I had to remove the handle (which was broken and needed to be replaced) and the latches. These were all rivetted onto the wooden case. They were not nice rivets either, they splayed out into the wood and then were hammered back onto the wood. Honestly, I surprised I was able to get them out as cleanly as I did (and it wasn't clean). No pictures of that mess.

Before sanding things needed to be reglued, but nothing unexpected (at least it didn't fall apart). Sanding and filling were uneventful, which you can see in pictures 5, 6 and 7.

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to be continued...

February 2023 Colorado Sewing Machine Get-Together - Part 5
 

Then a couple coats of shellac were applied so that there would be a smooth, consistent surface for the vinyl. (Sorry, forgot to take pictures of the shellac job. Which is a shame, it looked half-way decent.)

Next came applying the self-stick vinyl wall paper. The choices for the vinyl were cheap and way too expensive. We went cheap. That may have impacted the results.

First attempt... starts out good. Nice and smooth. Oops there's a wrinkle. Got that out, good. Keep going, arrg more wrinkles, <explictive> they're not coming out. Hmmm, that looks horrid, pull it off, try again.

Second attempt... Okay good, made it further. Looking good. Correct that wrinkle. Straighten it out here. Rats! More wrinkles. (at this point I'm starting to laugh at myself). Vinyl stretches. Thin vinyl stretches really easily. Cheap vinyl is really thin. Off it comes.

Time for "Plan B" - I grabbed a can of spray drywall texture (which everyone has on their shelf) and textured the outside of the case and base. Then, after letting that dry, I gave it a nice coat of satin black enamel paint. That looked, if I say so myself, pretty darn good. Put a new handle on the top (yea Ace Hardware) and remounted the latches (I re-enforced the existing holes and used brass screws - not horrid rivets). Now the machine was ready for its glamour shots - pictures 8 thru 12.

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Then Cheryl applied oil to all the places that need oil on a sewing machine and made it sew. Which was straight forward, EXCEPT for the part where the face plate did NOT fit square on the body, so the tension release didn't engage when the foot was raised. (This may explain why the machine looked so good - it was hardly used because, well, it didn't work quite right.) Shimming the face plate fixed the problem, but eeech! We advised the owner (our younger daughter) about the 'shim'. But she said the machine was for show, not sew.


In Closing

We owe the ability to post here to the efforts of our members. They not only do some amazing work on these machines, but take pictures and offer written explanations of their work. We are proud to show this work, in assembling monthly reports about the contributions of our members.

We will post here again next month. Thank you for your interest and attention.

March 2023 Colorado Sewing Machine Get-Together - Part 1
 

February brought Colorado quite a variety of weather, from overnight lows of -14F with a daytime high of 7 in Denver to much more pleasant days reaching 60 degrees. I must say, we prefer the latter. Other parts of the state got even colder. But spring is just around the corner.

We have project notes from Dianne, Courtney and Dorothy this month. So let's get started.


Dianne

Dianne tells us about a Vibra machine she has and her Singer 128, along with some ideas for quilting. She writes:

Hi Everyone,

About the middle of the month I set aside the Vibra, which still needs a new bobbin winder tire, and pulled out my Singer 128. This machine is a hand crank model, AB648502 from 1927 according to my records. This is one of the first vintage machines I purchased, way back in 2009. It was chosen for February because it uses standard feet - well, standard for my 15-91 (1952) which is the usual machine I use. Some half-square triangle blocks were the next project in line, and a machine that could use a quarter-inch foot was desirable.

A needlebar page shows the 128 being manufactured from 1916 to 1952 in Elizabethport and the 128K from 1912 to 1962 in Kilbowie. Over 4 million were made, so the model was well represented. One difference between the very similar 127 and 128 models is the shuttle carrier and shuttle. The manufacture of these two very similar models overlapped, with the 127 being produced to 1941 at Elizabethport and the 127K until 1939 at Kilbowie, producing over two and half million of them. That said, Singer made many more Model 66s - 8,906,297! That is a lot of sewing machines. But even that pales to the number of Model 15 and its variants, over 26 million machines.

My machine has the La Vencedora decal set, used from the beginning of production of this model to 1960. Was something else placed on those last few machines produced in Kilbowie, or is this information incorrect? That would be interesting to find out. The decals on my machine are fairly intact, despite the fact she seems to have been well used. The crank turns incredibly easily, and will continue turning for several stitches if you let go while in motion. There are no notable problems with this machine, but it does like smaller, older-style spools of thread rather than the newer and larger crosswound type. The upper thread will sometimes break if using those, but never did using smaller spools. It might be the angle the thread approaches the first guide or inconsistent pull off the spool that causes the breakage. Anyway, that problem was easily solved and the HSTs are almost all stitched into 16 patch blocks of various designs and sizes.

The size difference of the HSTs was due to having on hand a tall stack of scrappy 3 1/2" squares. Wanting to make some 3" finished HSTs, a line was drawn diagonally to stitch along; but not wanting to waste close to half the fabric, another line 1/2" away was drawn and also stitched. Cutting between the stitchings produces two half-square units. The 3" finish ones have been used with very little trimming needed; the smaller cut-off squares needed trimming, but that can easily be done to make 2 1/2"� squares. So, ending up with 8" finish and 12" finish 16 square blocks, I will border the smaller ones up to 12" finish and alternate the two sizes in a quilt. This will separate each block from its neighbors and should make an interesting quilt.

Dianne

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Courtney

Courtney tells us a bit about his activities and sewing interests this month, including stumbling upon a buttonholer. He tells us:

Dear All,

My report this month will be short but that is appropriate because February is short. Actually, February weather has seemed to last forever this year. Hopefully, Spring will be here shortly. A week or so ago we had a PCCP (Post-Christmas Christmas Party). A good friend had been in the hospital and recovering from a fall so we had to keep putting a Christmas celebration off several times. I raked in a bunch of loot, all sewing. I got a jelly roll and two charm packs, a couple of fun quilting activity books and a JoAnn gift card! Although, I have not done much concerning sewing machines this month, I have been working on a couple of quilts. After I finished my cowboy sougan (sugan, soogan, or whatever), I started on another quilt, which is about half pieced now.

My one sewing machine activity occurred quite by accident. While wandering through my local thrift shop I noticed a "YS Star" YS-4455 industrial buttonholer. I do have a couple of semi-industrial machines that use high shank feet and a couple of older domestic machines that also use a high shank feet. I have not had a chance to try it out yet but everything was in the box and ready to go. This style of buttonholer has been around since the 1890s. In fact, this one looks almost identical to a "Famous" buttonholer from the 1930s. (I have a "Famous" down in the basement but could not find it). I did take a picture of the "YS Star" and a pre-war, pre-cam Singer buttonholer. Both the Star and Singer work nearly identical but the Singer did move things around a bit. During the pandemic one of my daughter's friends was given a Featherweght and so she decided to take up sewing. It included an early Singer buttonholer so I sent her information on its use as well as a couple of YouTube videos on its use. The nice thing about these buttonholers is that unlike the cam type of buttonholers, they can sew custom buttonholes. You can adjust the width of the zig-zag on the sides (bight), the length, and the cutting width (space between the two parallel sides.) It is amazing what they can do with a straight stitch sewing machine. Buttonholers are quite amazing machines themselves(and cute)!

Courtney

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to be continued...

March 2023 Colorado Sewing Machine Get-Together - Part 2
 

Dorothy

Dorothy sent us the following notes of the last month and some associated pictures. She says:

Hello!

Feb passed quickly as any 28 day month.

I did find a Griest treasure in an accessory kit consisting of all the plastic cams for the buttonholer! It includes an eyelet templete. Not sure the difference between a cam and template, but the box calls them templates!

There other activity predates the sewing machine, requiring a repair to a pair of shoes my daughter bought from Poshmark, A used item site. She purchased a pair of Haflinger wool clogs with the stitching letting loose. Roughly 5 hours of needle & pliers "by hand" completed the repair. (I do confess to the feeling it took 7 hours to thread the 3 ply thread into a too small needle which was easy to manipulate inside the shoe.) The repair was rather successful. The photo shows the area across the instep where the stitching let loose and after stitching. Stitching had also let loose around the foot opening which was stitched again and the rear tab was glued and stitched back into place. A small pair of jewellers needle nose pliers were employed. I got a lunch in payment.

It elicited a comment from my daughter that she should learn how to do these repairs herself as her Dad & I will stop doing them at some point.

Looking forward to Saturday!

Dorothy

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In Closing

Thanks to Dianne, Courtney and Dorothy for sharing their interests with us this month. We will post here again next month. Until then, thank you for reading.

April 2023 Colorado Sewing Machine Get-Together - Part 1
 

They say, 'In like a lion, out like a lamb.' Colorado has been experiencing warmer temperatures, with winter occasionally spitting out short bursts of light snow and cold weather. Buds are forming, hopefully not too soon. And birds have begun their pretty and distinctive springtime songs. What a variety of weather we are fortunate enough to have here!

This month we have write-ups from Dianne and Courtney. We'll begin with Dianne.

Dianne

Dianne has been featuring a different machine from her nice collection each month. This month she tells us about a machine called a Hexagon. She writes:

This month's adventure in antique sewing happened using a Hexagon sewing machine. It was made by the Standard Sewing Machine Co. of Cleveland, Ohio in the 1920s. It seems they were sold mostly or exclusively in Europe. Mine has a serial number of X12306 and its decals and overall finish are not anywhere near pristine, but it is quite attractive. The small, disintegrating manual is dated 1919. There was, at least in name, a Hexagon Sewing Machine Company Ltd. (as printed on the manual) but it is accepted that Standard made the machine. Standard was taken over by Frederick Osann (maker of Sewhandy machines) in 1928, and then by Singer in 1934. This machine is also badged Harris #5 and Nelson's #61. The battering ram or tank-like look created by the metal on the sides of the left end of the machine are distinctive. There is a hexagonal metal piece on top, and the stitch length area has an oversized metal covering. Many parts of the sewing machine are interchangeable with the Singer 128.

Shortly after cleaning up and oiling the machine, a problem developed with the stitching. There were occasional loops on the bottom - not the consistent looping caused by tension problems. The shuttle was suspected, and replacing it with the shuttle from a Singer 128 solved the problem immediately. Lucky guess.

Of course, with a machine badged Hexagon, one must sew hexagons! I settled for simple pieced half hexagons cut from leftover 2-1/2" strips. A template made by Westalee efficiently cut the pieces, having a handle and corners to snip off, making aligning the angled pieces a cinch. It took quite a few pieces to put together this 41 x 62 inch flimsy. The rows were pieced on the Hexagon, but the assembly of the rows was accomplished on a Singer 15-91. Sewing all those rows on a handcrank machine simply wasn't in the stars.

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to be continued ...

April 2023 Colorado Sewing Machine Get-Together - Part 2
 

Courtney

Courtney, who lives in northern Colorado, tells us about the machines that he has worked on over the last month. He sent us the following pictures and notes:

Dear All,

During our Zoom call last month, I mentioned that I had just been given a 1942 Singer 201. It was in the last batch manufactured before the Singer factories switched over war work. I am sure that whoever bought the machine was very happy (and lucky) because sewing machines were hard to come by during World War II. The machine was not in great cosmetic shape and was missing the dust guard up by the spool pin and the machine ran very slowly. The case also had some problems in that it was missing a handle and one of the hinges was missing. I gave her a good lubrication and cut a circle out of card stock to cover the lubrication holes near the spool pin (I also put a large spool pin cover my daughter had crocheted over the area to also keep any dust from getting inside the machine.) When I looked at the control pedal, I found that it was actually for 220V rather than 110V. I replaced it with a 110V control and was really surprised. I think this is the smoothest and most responsive machine I have ever had.

I started thinking about looking at my other Singer 201s. The first machine I ever purchased was a 1948 Singer 201-2. The machine runs and sews very well but there is a quiet knock in the bobbin area. I have searched and searched for the knock and simply cannot find it. I purchased a 1947 Singer 201-3 in Portales, NM a few years ago. I have converted it to a 201-1 hand crank with an original Singer hand crank and spoked wheel. I was surprised to find such a machine in Portales, since nearly all-American machines were 201-2 machines with potted motors. This machine was made in Great Britain and Portales in not a major sewing machine hub. My third machine is a 1937 201-2 that is rather unusual. It has a potted motor, but it appears to have been drilled so the potted motor can be removed, and a 201-3 belt guard and bobbin winder can be attached to turn the machine into a 201-3 (or -1 or -4.) The only difference between 201-1s, 201-3s and 201-4s is whether they are treadle, external motor, or hand crank machines. I have included a picture of my converted 201-2 machine, and you can see it still has the built in light and the wires for the light sticking out at the back of the machine. I have also included a picture of the external motor I now have on the machine. I have always been interested in why the potted motor machine (-2) was almost ubiquitous here in the US and why the other models (-1,-3,-4) were so popular overseas.

After working on the 201s I got to thinking it would be nice to have one of the aluminum bodied 201s made in England after the war, but Colorado is a very long way from England. Then I remembered that the 201 in the US was basically replaced by the 404 which has an aluminum body. So down to the basement I went and brought up my two 404s. I cleaned and lubricated both machines and they also run very nicely (although I think the 201 is much smoother and quieter.) While working on the 404s I noticed they were not exactly the same. In the picture I have removed the top plate on each machine. The machine with the lowest serial number (AN023722 right) has a different internal casting than the machine with the higher serial number (AN126894 left) even though the serial numbers on both machines are reasonably close. The machine with the higher serial number has a casting which goes all the way from front to back for more support than the other machine. The other major difference is the drip plate. The machine with the lower serial number has a drip plate similar to a Featherweight or 301. It is a metal plate with a felt pad which screws on the bottom of the machine. The machine with a higher serial number has replaced the metal plate with a plastic cover which covers the entire bottom. Both of these differences can be seen in the photo. I don't know but perhaps the difference is how the machine was sold. If it was sold in a cabinet, it might be like the low numbered machine and if it was sold as a portable then perhaps it came similar to the higher numbered machine.

Until next month,

Courtney

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In Closing

Thank you to our members Dianne and Courtney for their offerings this month. We will post here again next month. Until then, thank you for reading.

May 2023 Colorado Sewing Machine Get-Together Part 1
 

Spring has fully arrived in Colorado. In Denver, overnights are 30s and 40s, with daytimes in the 60s and 70s. Very pleasant with everything blooming. Age brings a little more appreciation for springtime with each passing year.

We have show-and-tell to offer from our members this month, so let's get started. We'll begin with Thanh.

Thanh

Thanh made a shirt for an interesting upcoming class which he shows us, as well as some of his machine interests. He writes:

I haven't made a SM purchase in awhile which is a good thing because I just don't have the space. However, I'm a sucker for Necchi's especially inexpensive ones and bought a Necchi 523 at an online estate sale. The case handle is broken but other than that, it only needed some light cleaning and oiling. I typically use a BU Mira as my go to machine and will see how this one compares.

Other than the one purchase, Lara and I are preparing for an art workshop coming up in Sewanee TN. Shakerag Workshops are held each June consisting of two week-long sessions with about 10 workshops each session. Different artists across many media such as ceramics, photography, textile, dying, collage, woodworking come to teach and lecture about their art. It's hosted at a high school, we stay on campus all week long and swim in the reservoir after class. It's like summer camp for adults. We're taking a class taught by Katherine Tilton called the Artful Shirt and I included a photo from the Shakerag website to give you a sense of the class.

In preparation for the class, I practiced making a Japanese Happi as one of my ideas for a shirt, thinking about fabrics and colors/patterns, and most importantly deciding which machine to take to class. After purchasing the Necchi 523, I remembered a Necchi 522 Lycia that I bought about a year ago. This is my second Lycia (did I mention I'm a sucker for Necchi's?). However, I never got around to fixing the stitch length worm gear which is notorious for cracking in these models. On my first Lycia, I removed the worm gear to epoxy it and remembered how tricky that was to put back together even with instructions from a Necchi Facebook group member. For this one, I decided to epoxy the gear in place and it turned out to be much easier and faster. I'm happy with the results and decided the Lycia will come with me to Shakerag: it sews well, has a free arm and extension table, and isn't that heavy with the cover. I also have a high-shank button holer I can bring along. That's it for now. I'll be sure to take pictures at the workshop and report out in July.
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Dorothy

Dorothy has had more time for what she likes to do since retiring a while back. She continues to be an asset to our group, with the experience of sewing professionally for many years. She writes:

Hello!

Months pass very quickly.

I attended a "How to make a Woman's Victorian blouse from a Mens shirt" class. Rather fun and interesting. The Lady leading the class came up with this method and is very kind to share her knowledge. Unfortunately, during stitching a sleeve together, the belt broke (internal motor so I HOPE that is the issue) on my Kenmore 1060. The 1060 is light weight enough to carry to events. Sigh.

Friday, I go to a function dedicated to sewing with Featherweights. It will be my first adventure with this group. Introduced by a woman who has purchased the hand crank for featherweight machines. I hope to take photos. I do not know if she has a machine set up with a hand crank on it.

Dorothy

... to be continued

May 2023 Colorado Sewing Machine Get-Together Part 2
 

Courtney

Courtney has been busy, as he tells us in his report this month.

This month has mostly been a trip back into time to the 1970s for me. I finished piecing and basting my "States of Matter" quilt and thought I would do the quilting a bit different than usual. For the solid portion and the border, I thought I would use straight line quilting. For the liquid portion, I thought I would use a serpentine stitch and for the gas portion a multi-step zigzag. Since I usually use just a straight stitch machine, I did not foresee the problems I would have. Most zigzag machines do not have a serpentine and a multi-step zigzag, They only have one or the other. While perusing the web I saw an Elna which had both. In 1978, Connie bought an Elna Air Electronic SP which she now keeps for backup in a far corner of the closet. I pulled it out and yes indeed it did have all three stitches. However, Connie and I have been married a very long time and to make it longer I thought I better not use it on one of my projects. But then I remembered I have an Elna Air SU made about 1979 or 1980. When I checked, the SU only had the serpentine stitch, but the SU will make a wide variety of stitches by inserting cams. I have a few of the Elna cams and did find a multi-step zigzag. I started in cleaning up the SU and even made a special base that would fit the cutout for my sewing machine table. Things came to a screeching halt when I found I could not set the bottom tension. The machine had been sitting too long and the screw was too firmly tightened. Then I remembered I also have an Elna Star SU which takes the same cams. I pulled it out, checked that it was making a good stitch, and then cleaned it up. It did a great job. I had forgotten how smooth and easy the Elnas are to work with. What a joy to sew on

Just as I finished quilting my quilt, some friends in New Mexico said that they were cleaning out a storage shed and came across an old dirty machine. The sent me a picture and asked if I wanted it free of charge. I of course said yes. Connie and Cordelia, our daughter, were just leaving on a road trip down to New Mexico (Cordelia called it the pig tour because of the frequent stops for junk food.) They picked it up and brought it back to Colorado. It was a dirty old Bernina 830 record from about 1972. It was just the machine and foot control, no case or feet. Our friends had wiped off much of the dirt and I cleaned off some more. The inside of the machine was quite clean and even though the machine was quite stiff, with a bit of lubrication, the machine was soon running and sounding like a Bernina. The 1970s was about the time companies started to use plastic on their machines. On the back of the Bernina is a decorative bit of plastic which also holds the spool pins. The internal mechanism which allows the spool pins to move up and down was broken. I have an old Bernina 831 which is missing a motor, so I switched back panels so that I had a machine on which everything worked. I dug up an old Bernina fiberboard case and some Bernina 530 feet. The only important thing I did not have was the sewing platform it originally came with. I went to the shop and found so old plastic and cut a small table that slips around the machine. The legs are made from old pill bottles which were just the right size. They make for legs that easily clip on and off. I think I is looking rather nice now.

This last week was history fest at Centennial village here in Greeley. Twice a year in the Spring and Fall, fourth graders come and learn how things used to be. They get to see a blacksmith forge a nail. The kids get to taste beans from a real chuck wagon and have a lesson in a one room schoolhouse. I take a number of my antique sewing machines and talk about how we used to get clothes before Walmart. I pass around squares and have the kids sign their names. I then make a quilt with the squares. The theme for the quilt this week was dinosaurs. A triceratops skull (named Pops) found in Weld county has just been returned from the Denver Museum where it was studied and refurbished. Pops just went back on display at the county administration building a couple of weeks ago. The quilts usually have themes from a 100 to 150 years ago but this time we are going back millions of years ago! During the week we have about 2500 fourth graders. I think the kids enjoy themselves, I know I have a great time.

Until next month,

Courtney

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Dianne

Dianne didn't have anything to present this month, but sent along the following note:

Hi,

Crazy & busy month, so I have nothing to report about. I should be home on the 6th. Maybe.

Dianne


In Closing

We enjoy posting the work of our varied members as their generous contributions allow. We want to thank them for their effort. And thank you for reading.

June 2023 Colorado Sewing Machine Get-Together
 

Colorado has seen a very temperate beginning of summer, with 80s being reached only a time or two. Earlier in the month we got four or five inches of rain lasting for several days. That is more than the normal average for the entire month of May. Needless to say it made everything very green. We were fortunate to have lilacs this year, at their best about the 8th of May, avoiding the common Colorado late freeze that can sometimes catch them by surprise.

This month we have reports from James and Courtney. We'll begin with James.


James

James has made a recent acquisition, taking some pictures of it that he shares with us:

After a bit of a sewing machine hiatus, I could not resist getting this motorized Willcox and Gibbs chainstitch. The outside of the case looks really nice with several missing copper/brass corner braces. I may try getting modern brass corner braces of the correct size and use a Dremel to cut out enough material to match the original corner braces and age them.

As you can see it still retains most of the original pasted instruction sheet on the underside of the lid. It also came with the original instruction manual that is in pretty bad shape but it has all the pages. A black Willcox and Gibbs attachment tin manufactured by Greist was included. I do not think it is complete but contains quite a few attachments including a handmade needle threader made to hook the thread while threading the machine. There is apparently an extra grease lube screw with a spring included.

The machine itself dates from 1907 according to the serial numbers published and dated in the spreadsheet. The decals are in good shape with some pitting of the japanning here and there. The hand wheel moves smoothly and the needle and feed move just fine. Despite the wiring being in decent shape, the motor does not run when plugged directly into the outlet. The pedal is in good shape but I am not sure if it works since I can not test it against that motor. I plan to test it on my stand-alone Hamilton Beach motor.

James

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Courtney

Courtney did a little traveling over the last month. He tells us of his interesting experiences and finds. He writes:

A couple of weeks ago Connie and I went on a short road trip vacation. We took US Highway 36 across Kansas and ended up in Hamilton, MO. Highway 36 was great. No traffic, especially no big trucks, and a really good and smooth road. Next time we go East we will probably take 36 again and stay away from I-70 or I-80. Why Hamilton Missouri, you might ask. Well Hamilton is the home of the Missouri Star Quilt Company of YouTube fame.

Hamilton has become a quilters mecca. Missouri Star appears to have taken over nearly half the downtown area. One whole block, both at street level and up on second floor, are quilt shops. They also have most of the shops in the block across the street and a block down. Instead of everything all together they have a bunch of different shops, a Batik shop, a florals shop, a shop with licensed fabrics, and several others. It's great just to walk around and see all the different fabrics. For the guys not interested in fabric they have a lounge with easy chairs and TVs. Connie spent most of her time in the lounge explaining that she's not the quilter, her husband is. We spent the first night of our trip in Seneca, KS and drove the 2 hours on the Hamilton the next day. Our first day there was just looking around but the second day we had to get out the wallet and spend some money. After going through Hamilton one last time, we started home and spent the night in Marysville, KS where we visited the Pony Express stating and stables. Great Fun!

Besides the quilt shops in Hamilton there is also a quilt museum in an old high school. They have a fine display of modern and antique quilts. In the museum they also have a nice collection of antique and vintage sewing machines. They are still working on the sewing machine displays but they have a wonderful collection of toy sewing machines. A whole room dedicated just to toy machines. While going through the room with all the toys I spotted and unusual machine. It was a bit bigger than a Singer model 20 Sewhandy but not much. I am sure that is why it was in the toy room. It was a Singer model 76-1. I had never seen or heard of one before. That night in our motel, I looked online for info about the 76. The next day, besides spending money in the quilt shops, we went back to the museum, and they let me closely look it over. I could not see a "stationary" needle but could see a number of very small gears that could gather the cloth as the handle was cranked. At least I have something to think about and look into. I still can't quite figure out how it worked.

We spent the first night of our trip in Seneca, KS and drove the 2 hours on the Hamilton the next day. Our first day there was just looking around but the second day we had to get out the wallet and spend some money and visit the museum a second time. After going through Hamilton one last time, we started home and spent the night in Marysville, KS where we visited the original Pony Express station and stables still there. Then back to Greeley and pick up the dog. Great Fun all the way!

Sorry, I can't be with you on the Zoom call this month. Sew Downtown, our local quilt shop, has been so nice to me over the years. so that when they asked me to do a program on mathematics in quilting, I could not say no. It has inspired me to work on a quilt that I will show off next month.

Have a great June.

Courtney

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In Closing
We want to offer thanks to our members who give us pictures and notes about their work to post here. And to our readers, thank you for reading.

July 2023 Colorado Sewing Machine Get-Together
 

The month of June has brought Colorado an unusually wet season, breaking the previous record for moisture set in the 1880s. Denver hit the first official 90 degree high temperature on June 27. These factors have given us lush lawns and gardens.

We have a little more abbreviated presentation this month, with several of our members doing 4th of July and mid-summer activities. We did however receive notes from Courtney, Dorothy and Thanh. We'll start with Courtney.


Courtney

Courtney, one of our members who lives in northern Colorado, sent a few notes about his activities:

Dear All,

Sewing machines have been a bit slow around here this month. I did acquire an EverSewn Celine for $46 that I have been playing with off and on. It is a modern computer-based machine. Since it has all the bells and whistles and I generally work on vintage and antique machines, I thought it would give me some experience with modern machines. I do have the home manual and the repair manual for the machine. Boy, do I like the ruggedness of the older machines.

One of the highlights of the month was getting to see and talk to Dorothy in person! There was a big shop hop here in northern Colorado, so I met her at the local quilting store, and we walked over and had lunch nearby. Lunch was OK but the conversation was the GREAT! I didn't participate in the shop hop because I have been working hard trying to finish some other quilts. I think I will have some to show on Saturday.

An old teacher friend ran across some of the Pathe movie shorts and sent me links:

From about 1934: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8iRmYlpKHE

From about 1960: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paX-gwtSTIM

Unfortunately, Pathe was more into entertainment than accuracy. The following are much better:

The History Guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3144SpUGbng

The Secret Life of Sewing Machines: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lwI4TSKM3Y

Oh, I almost forgot. I have been asked to do a Featherweight Maintenance class on July 29, at the Quilters Corner in Erie, CO. I think the last time I taught the class was 8 or 9 years ago, so I am pretty excited.

Courtney


Dorothy

Dorothy, our member having the most experience with commercial sewing, also sent notes about what she's been doing:

Hello!
These months sure fly by fast!

I participated in the NoCo Shop Hop, for 5 of the participating 11 shops. All the shops I visited have Wonderful fabrics and are unique. I have to admit driving has lost some thrill and I stopped. I will order the other blocks after the first of July.

A Good part of one day was meeting Courtney in Greeley! Talked sewing machines over lunch. Great time!

Not much for my own collecting, but I am living vicariously through a friend who is setting up a 15-90 into a treadle cabinet. There is also one of the Chinese shoe patching machines getting close to final set up.for use sewing emblem. patches onto shirts. The Patcher is interesting in its absolute simplicity, no finishing touches other than the green color. It is advised that YOU do fine sanding to smooth out the bobbin area and surrounding areas for smooth sewing! I wonder about the first sewing machines and how much hand finishing was done at the factory to produce functional machines the lady could use!

Looking forward to Saturday!

Dorothy


Thanh

Thanh has been busy with some interesting workshops, which he tells us about.

Greetings,

I hope everyone's summer is off to a good start.

I had been looking forward to Shakerag workshops since I registered at the beginning of the year and boy, it didn't disappoint. What a wonderful week! It's so inspiring to be among talented instructors, participants and staff members who all come together to create a community for one week up in the mountains of Tennessee. It's my happy place.

I took the Artful Shirt class with Katherine Tilton who is such a fun teacher with a great sense of humor. She spent the week showing us her approach to designing her own shirts, how to combine patterns/fabrics, and some construction techniques. What I really liked about her approach is that she allowed each student to build on their own creative direction. At the end of the week, each of us created 1-3 pieces that really reflected our own sense of style.

I spent most of the week making a Japanese happi. I chose the happi because the pattern contains simple, mostly rectangular shapes which gave me a blank canvas to use. I came with some ideas and vision of what I might do, but my final piece was very different from what I had imagined. I altered the pattern for fit and used a hand-woven Japanese cotton for the body and sleeve, adding different fabrics for the collar and sleeve bands. I also appliqued and hand stitched some shapes onto one side of the front panel.

I created a short-sleeve, button down shirt for my second piece. I had sewn this pattern before, but this time I explored cutting up the pattern to combine different fabrics. I attached a picture which shows some of the class' work on the white board. My shirt is blue with large white dots and a gold placket. As you can see, I didn't get a chance to finish the shirt during class but did add the collar over the weekend.

For those who are curious, I sewed on the Necchi Lycia which was a joy to use. Lara, who took the class with me, used her Featherweight. She does a lot of piecing on it and takes that machine to her sewing group each week. It's become her favorite machine. I know because she's told me that "You can never have too many Featherweights".

While the workshop is done for this year, you make many connections with wonderful people. On our way back to Colorado, we stopped in Paducah Kentucky to visit a classmate. We only had a chance to stay a couple of hours before continuing our drive home. We had lunch and visited the charming downtown but we plan to visit the National Quilt museum the next time we're passing through.

One of this year's Shakerag instructors, Ana Maria Hernando is based in CO. She has a new project called Making a Mountain starting on July 14 at the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder. Participants can sign up in advance to help sew the piece together and she's asked Lara if she could borrow a couple of our sewing machines for people to use at the project. https://thedairy.org/making-a-mountain/

Looking ahead, the 2024 Shakerag Workshop lineup looks to be even more interesting for fiber arts:

Paula Kovarik | @yelowbrickstudio - Art Quilts (BTW, Paula has two pieces currently on display at the 39th Annual New Legacies: Contemporary Art Quilts exhibit up in Fort Collins)

Adrianna Aguirre | @threadtheorydesigns - Menswear Sewing

Arounna Khounnoraj | @bookhou - Stitching/Printing Embroidery

and for all the knitters out there, Shakerag holds a 3 or 4 day knitting camp to kick off the summer sessions. Next year's knitting weekend showcases "Knitting Getaway" with Ann and Kay of Modern Daily Knitting

That's all from Shakerag. I may report on the Dairy Arts exhibit next month if I get a chance to participate.

Thanh

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In Closing

We appreciate not only the contributions of our members, but to the regular readership we have as well. Thanks to everyone.

Have a safe and enjoyable 4th of July.

August 2023 Colorado Sewing Machine Get-Together - Part 1
 

Late summer in Colorado has seen the disappearance of our unusually wet start to summer and has given way to the typically hot weather that one would expect, perhaps even unusually warm this year.

For our August posting, we have notes and pictures from several of our members. We'll start with James.

James

James tells us about a recent acquisition that he made:

After a bit of time without any new acquisitions, I noticed a nicely priced Elna Grasshopper with a case on eBay at a buy it now price. It did not come with any accessories but I had purchased another caseless Elna Grasshopper that included an original tray with many accessories several years ago. The only real issue with the recent purchase is that the light housing is broken. I have not tested to see if the bulb socket still works since it did not come with a bulb. Even if it does not work, I have six of the original Jansco LED lights from IKEA that will be perfect. (The lights were for a macrophotography shooting project hence the number of lamps!) The little gaskets that help hold the sewing machine to the case are a bit crumbled in spots because of age. I am thinking I can use backer rod to reinforce the crumbling gaskets.

This machine dates from May 1952 and runs more smoothly than my prior Grasshopper. I will be placing the accessory tray with feet and the speed reducer gear with the case so it will be mostly complete except for the oil cans which I do not have. In any case I now have an example of a case that I can try to duplicate with some other material for the caseless Elna.

James

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... to be continued

August 2023 Colorado Sewing Machine Get-Together - Part 2
 

Courtney

Courtney tells us about an interesting machine that he got, as well as a workshop for Featherweights he is putting on in northern Colorado:

This month has been busy in a number of areas. I obtained a new (for me) machine. It is an Elna Elnita ZZ. It is from about 1980. It is much like an Elna Lotus but does not have the fold out (?)petals. I did have to give it a good oiling as it ran nicely but did not zigzag. A bit of time spent on lubricating the zigzag area got it back to sewing nicely. It also needed a bit of tension adjustment both upper and lower. It only sews a straight stitch and a zigzag but is smooth and a very nifty machine. The Elnita did not have a cover so when I was at a garage sale a couple of weeks ago I picked up some very pretty pillow covers (2 for a dollar) and made a couple of attractive dust covers, one for the Elnita and one for my Lotus. (see picture). At only 11 pounds it still has a reasonable harp space of 6.25 inches so it would be the ideal machine to take to Thanh's summer camp!

Our downtown library has just reopened in a new building. It is very large and nice. It also has maker spaces where you can weave, sew, do woodworking, and use a 3D printer and a Laser cutter. I spent some time working on my Drunkards Path template. Fortunately an ex-student of mine was working at the library to help me get my design from CAD to Adobe Illustrator so the Laser would take it. It will cut a number of materials. I chose wood because it was easy and available, although I may return and have some cut out of plastic. I originally designed the 4" template to cut 5" charm squares with a minimum of waste. From a 42 piece charm pack I can get 42 drunkards path squares which are 4.5 inches pieced or 4 inches finished. The picture shows some 5" charm squares and one cut from my templates. It also shows the amount of waste after the cutting.(see picture) Of course the templates can be used with fabric squares larger that 5 inches as long as you want a 4 inch radius. While I was at it I also designed 6 inch radius templates and 8 inch radius templates and had them all laser cut at the same time.

Finally, I have been spending a lot of time trying to get ready for the Featherweight Maintenance class (now two classes) at A Quilter's Corner in Erie. On Saturday the 29th I had a full class of 10. Attendees lived from Ft. Collins to Erie with a majority from the Longmont area. The Class was supposed to run from 10 to 12:30 but we went about a half hour over (I tend to talk too much.) I had taught a couple of similar classes about 7 or 8 years ago before the pandemic. The machines everyone brought to this class seemed to be in much better condition. The gears were not packed with some strange red grease, all of the screws were reasonably easy undo, none of the belts needed replacing, and the electrical cords were not dried and scary. It was a great group and lots of fun. My biggest concern was motor lubricant. I am not convinced that the white Singer lubricant now available is good for the motor. My informal poll of you guys came back evenly distributed between Sew Retro grease from the Featherweight Shop and Nova Montgomery's motor lubricant. I ordered both but the Sew Retro grease has not arrived yet so we used Nova's motor lubricant. I don't know if one is that much better than the other but I am sure either is much better than the white stuff from Singer. I plan on doing a couple of experiments myself. All in all, I think things went well and I am looking forward to the next class in a couple of weeks on the 13th.

Have a great month,

Courtney

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Thanh

Thanh sent us the following note about his activities over the last month:

A short report this month.

In the middle of July, we went to the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder to participate in Anna Maria's art exhibit. During our session there were four of us plus the artist sewing long strands of ruffle onto nylon straps. After one of us finished a strand, we all cheered as the sewist threw the strand into the pile in the middle. The final exhibit is the mountain of sewn material piled up in the gallery over the two week sessions plus a timelapse video of all the participants is available on the Dairy Arts website. You can see me on the Elna Grasshopper and my wife on her Featherweight. Overall, it was a fun experience to meet new people and to help with the exhibit.

Other than that, I did pick up a Bernette Funlock 09DCC coverstitch machine to start experimenting with knits and other stretchy fabrics.

Oh, and I started reading The Road to Roswell. Maybe a book review will be in next month's report.


Dorothy

Dorothy says she has been away from sewing recently. In her words:

Hello!

I have looked at my sewing machine. Other than that? Nothing.

Tuesday starts the International Bra Sewing Bee and I am in a sew along with fit emphasis. Should be able to see a variety of fits and corrections!

Have a Great August!

Dorothy

In Closing

It is always a pleasure to post the activities of our multi-talented members. We want to thank the people who read what we post, as well.

September 2023 Colorado Sewing Machine Get-Together
 

I have some sad news to share this month. John peacefully and unexpectedly passed away this month. As I have mentioned before John was the one that would collect the notes and pictures from the group and then write a short introduction. I will try to continue in his footsteps.

The kids are headed back to school, so fall must be around the corner. Denver, however, is headed into several 90 degree days.

Leon and Dianne have contributed this month.

Leon

Leon, our member at large from Kansas, hasn't been heard from for a bit. He has added some machines and vintage sewing related items.

I have not been devoid of machines in my absence though.
But last things first: Marketplace advertised a Boye Needle shuttle and bobbin display case. thought to be from after WWi and before the depression. Mine now it is partially loaded and has given us one shuttle. Much more exploring to do. Heads on the next post.
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heads
I had ignored this 101 at an antique shop for months, till I finally figured out what it was. It was filthy underbed and I have cleaned it, but not oiled it. The VS2 was so rusty it took me two weeks to get a full revolution. Two more weeks to get the presser bar freed up. It sews now.

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... to be continued

September 2023 Colorado Sewing Machine Get-Together - Part 2
 

Dianne

Dianne, who wasn't actively looking for another machine, tells of the one that has recently joined her herd.

The Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden, CO has a “garage sale” of donated fabric, notions and such every August. This year I was looking for camel colored fabrics, which I define as medium golden-brown. There wasn’t much of that around, despite heaps of fabric, but some lighter golden pieces and other interesting chunks jumped into my shopping bag. There are usually a few sewing machines also, and looking at them was interesting. No photos (no camera) but a very old Singer treadle, and a White of the large 30s or so chunky style were there, and this aluminum Bel Air Bantam. It was too cute to pass up, despite a sad base in need of work or replacement. It is B5359112A, although there are likely not records for these post-WWII machines made in Japan during the 1950s. An aluminum Singer 99 has been on my radar for years, but they seem to be awfully rare, so this will have to do. The machine was dusted off, oiled, and sewed - until a hiding wad of thread stopped it cold. The problem was found, in the bobbin area, and she is back to sewing. The machine has been rewired sometime in the last 70 years, and what is probably a replacement foot controller added.

Research on this machine has not happened yet, except one reference says it was actually made by the Consolidated Sewing Machine Company, and that there was no such entity as the Bel Air Sewing Machine Company. Consolidated still makes machines, badged Consew. Those I have seen in advertisements. At least, that is what appeared in a quick search online.

Obviously some work needs to be done, including mitigation of a few small spots of aluminum disease, but that will not happen until winter arrives. Shown below, she is sitting on a Free treadle, the one with peacock decals!
Dianne

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In Closing

I'd like to thank Leon and Dianne for their contributions. Also, thank you for those who follow these monthly postings. See you next month.

[QUOTE=OurWorkbench;8614871]I have some sad news to share this month. John peacefully and unexpectedly passed away this month. As I have mentioned before John was the one that would collect the notes and pictures from the group and then write a short introduction. I will try to continue in his footsteps.

Janey, I am so very sorry to hear this. I have always enjoyed your monthly "column." I know you'll be able to keep going. Joe

Ah ya'll. I used to live in Colorado! back in Texas now though.

Colorado get together
 

I might be interested

Colorado get together
 

That sounds fun. I might be interesred.

I am in TX but will be in Colorado Denver/Fort Collins area on Sep 15-17

Thank you, for your interest. We have only had two in person get-togethers since March of 2020. We have collected emails and pictures to post each month. If you are still interested, please PM me.

What antique or vintage machines do you have?

October 2023 Colorado Sewing Machine Get-Together Part 1
 

Well the leaves are starting to turn colors and some are starting to fall, so it must be fall. Denver had many 80 plus degree days the last week of September and into October.

This month we received notes from a new member and a couple of travelers. So lets get started.

Loraine

We have added a new member to our group. Loraine took the Featherweight class that Courtney had the end of July. She sent the following note and pictures of a treadle she recently got.

Here are 3 photos of an antique treadle machine I recently acquired and which I hope to make functional before the end of this year. It sews when we hand-turn the wheel & we anticipate sewing success when it is once again connected to its treadle cable.

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Thanh

Thanh tells us of his getting a couple of machines and of his travels that included being able to see an antique industrial Bradbury machine.

I have a short update for September which includes a couple acquisitions.

I had picked up another featherweight earlier in the month which will be the last one unless I see a super deal on another one. It needs a lot of cleaning and the case is in bad shape but it turns freely.

I also bought an Elna Lotus SP through an online auction. I’ve had my eye out for one for some time and was happy to have won this one at a good price. It sews well and came with original accessories except the seam ripper and lube tube. The only quirk is that the hand wheel sometimes needs a little manual turn to engage. I suspect it’s the friction pulley not quite catching the hand wheel and will look to buy a replacement soon.

I also went to England this month but I was in London on the last Saturday of the month and missed the Sewing Machine museum by one week. However, I did spot an A1 Repairer made by Bradbury & Co. at the maritime museum in Falmouth. These machines were manufactured for boot repair but this machine was modified for sailmaking.

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Courtney

Courtney was able to get a namesake machine.

Dear All,

It doesn’t feel as if I have spent much time on sewing machines this month but when I look back quite a lot has happened. An old friend, who coached gymnastics with me many years ago, is teaching her eleven-year-old granddaughter how to sew. Her granddaughter is named Stella and towards the end of the month I came across an Elna Stella TSP in very nice condition in its original box. I couldn’t pass up the chance to give Stella a Stella for Christmas! I only needed to oil it, it was starting to be a bit stiff, now it is running very smooth.

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to be continued...

October 2023 Colorado Sewing Machine Get-Together Part 2
 

Courtney

Courtney continued to tell of his travels.

The Stella arrived while my wife, daughter, and I were in England during the first two weeks of the month. I did not do much playing with sewing machines while I was there but did visit the London Sewing Machine Museum on the first Saturday of the month. It is only open one afternoon a month! I had been there before about 6 or 7 years ago. The first time we visited we met the fellow who owned the museum, and we were about the only visitors all day long. This time there were several people waiting for it to open and the museum remained quite busy all afternoon. The museum has displays of both domestic and industrial machines. The largest machine had to be about 6 feet tall and 6 feet long and I would guess weighed nearly a ton. The domestics included the usual Singers, Jones, and Moldacots as would be expected along with a number of other brands I was not familiar with. Here in Colorado everything is pretty much a Singer or New Home, but in England there was a much broader variety of machines. The highlights of the collection are a machine given to Queen Victoria’s daughter for her wedding. It was a Wheeler and Wilson side stitcher design made under license by Frister and Rossmann. It had silver plated stitching arms and even royal crests on the spools. Perhaps the most historic of the machines was an original Thimonnier sewing machine from the 1830’s. It included the (wooden) machine as well as Timonnier’s original had written instructions. It apparently was purchased by a firm in South America but after a few years was walled up in a small room during when the building was repurposed and left there for over 150 years. When it was discovered about 15 years ago there was lots of interest in the only remaining Timonnier machine as most of the rest had been destroyed in his factory. The museum paid £55,000 for the machine (a lot of money!) There was one of the Kimbel and Morton lion machines, which looks like a lion sculpture but opens out into a sewing machine. I was also very jealous that they had a couple of Ward Arm and Platform machines as they are the machines I would most like to have.

Finally ,they had a machine that looked very familiar. Earlier this summer while visiting a quilting museum in Hamilton Missouri I came across a machine I had never seen before, a Singer model 76. The Museum also had an identical looking machine, but it wasn’t a Singer. Both machines are running stitch machines which push fabric onto a stationary needle. There were several different running stitch machines, but these particular machines were apparently patented about 1880 by J. Heberling. Singer must have bought out Heberling or something as the two machines look identical, but the Singer was much later from the 1920’s. I can’t seem to get an idea of how they worked but at least I know more about them now.

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After I returned from England, I got a call from A Quilter’s Corner in Erie asking if I could do a couple more of the Featherweight Maintenance workshops. We set them up for October 15th and November 11th. I have been quite shocked with the number of women who have been interested in these workshops. About 8 years ago, I did a couple of classes here in Greeley, but these will be the third and fourth workshops in Erie. I think perhaps because Erie is closer to the Denver metropolitan area the number of Featherweight owners is much larger. I mostly just talk about how to oil and lubricate the Featherweights and how to keep them in good shape. I charge $25 which is about what it costs me for all the supplies and handouts. I don’t try and make money just have a good time.

I finally ended the month with a week at Greeley Museum’s History Fest. We have about 2000 fourth graders come through and they get to watch a blacksmith in action, wind rope, and eat beans from a real chuck wagon. I take down a car full of sewing machines and talk about the early days of sewing machines. I also have the kids sign quilt squares and I make a quilt for each History Fest. This time the quilt theme was Yellowstone National Park which was 150 years old last year. I am still trying to catch up after not having History Fest in 2020 and 2021. I am just starting on some interesting new projects, but I will talk about them next month.

Enjoy the fall!

Courtney

P.S. I got a quilt accepted for display at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum’s men’s show starting in January!

In Closing

Thank you, Loraine, Thanh and Courtney for the contributions to this months post and thank you to our readers. See you next month.