Colorado get-together?
 

Hi everyone,
I know there are at least three of us on this board who live in Colorado, but I'm sure there are more than that. Is there any interest in a Centennial State get-together sometime? It can just be something simple like coffee or lunch, or we can do a mini-retreat, like one overnight at a hotel somewhere and time to sew together (if your machine isn't portable, I can bring an extra Featherweight).
I'm open to ideas! I have the last week of October off (I'm a teacher, and it's fall break), so the last weekend (23rd-25th) would be good.
Let me know, either by replying here or sending me a private message.
Ila :)

I'm a little far away to attend but I do know the couple we've had here were successes.
If anyone is able to make it, it'll be worth your while to go. I've made some good friends attending these get-togethers.
Rodney

Thank you, Ila, for suggesting this. Sounds like fun to be able to meet some "like minded" people. I know I have seen several that have posted on vintage forum from Colorado (but could be on the other side of the mountains). I did an advanced search and found that there are 313 that have listed Colorado and 36 that list Denver as their location. Of course, there are many that don't post anywhere on the Quilting Board and probably a lot that don't give their location.

Let Ila know you would be interested and ideas for maybe a future "get together" if you can't make it this time.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

I'm not familiar with Colorado - so which side of the mountains are you talking about? I might be interested on one on "my" side of the mountains. (OK - the side towards South Dakota).

I know I am on the wrong side of those mountains. Sounds like fun.

me too, drat...

Hey, Ila maybe we can have another "get together" next summer to coincide with Steve's annual cross country trip. (Steve, I did get that right that it was to be an annual trip?)

Cathy, I think, so far it is mainly what is considered the "front range" of Colorado which would include what is east of the mountains including Loveland, Longmont, Denver, Castle Rock, Colorado Springs etc.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

Sounds good to me.
Watching for more details.

Yepper! We will be leaving the Bay Area on Saturday May 21st and be on the road for two weeks. If the event was June 3rd we would have the time to participate and then start scooting home Saturday so I can get to work on Monday the 6th

:) This is a great idea, Ila! Please keep the discussion going. We've been unavailable quite a bit lately, but doing this on that weekend might work.

Steve, it would be grand to schedule another gathering when you could attend on June 3.

Dianne in Colorado (SW of Denver area)

I think this is a great idea and would love to come. Couldn't make it in Oct, as my daughter bruised her spinal cord, had surgery in June, but looking at a long recovery and is currently living with us due to her limitations. I will keep an eye open for further news on this. I live in F. C.

Hi everyone! Sorry I've been sort of out of the loop for a few days. I love the idea of setting up a get-together for next summer. Early June would work great for me -- this year, school gets out right before Memorial Day weekend. Macybaby, we'd love to have you come down! I think this is going to be a short getting-to-know-each-other event, so you'd have to decide if you want to travel down here for that.
Hopefully we'll get to know each other and can think about a sewing/quilting mini-retreat!
Ila

June sounds excellent, and I'm looking forward to meeting more of the local and not-so-local machine fanatics!

Dianne in Colorado

Well I am not really a "machine fanatic" at least not in the vintage
kind.
But I Do love my 2 Brother combo machines, would love to meet
some of the people from here.

Well of course! Brother 'combo' machines??? What are they combinations of? I've not run into that before.

Combination sewing AND embroidery. It can do BOTH.

My older machine is a Brother Innov-Is 1000 with the
largest hoop being 5x7.

My newest machine (got it in 2011) is a Brother Innov-Is 1500D
the "D" means that it is a Disney machine and comes preloaded
with MANY Disney designs. The largest hoop size for this machine
is a 6x10.

Cool machines! The Disney designs are very cute and popular. I'm impressed with how well machine embroidered designs hold up.....one sweatshirt of mine is nearly threadbare, but the eagle looks almost brand new.

Dianne in Colorado

They hold up great as long as you do not have a cat that likes to climb up onto your shoulder. I have to take a hand sewing needle to my T-shirt again and tuck in a lot of embroidery threads that were picked loose by a back claw.

Any more info on this?

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

It would be neat if you held this after the Row by Row starts - then I'd have a lot of fun visiting all the quilt shops on the route!

and maybe pick up that library cabinet in Colo.....

Oh- someone would need to pick it up now and store it for me LOL!!

And maybe if someone for CA shows up, I could bring a Singer 12 too ...

For the June 3rd one, you betcha!!!

Okay, everyone -- how about this Saturday, Oct. 24th, for a quick get-to-know-each-other at the Starbucks off I-25 and state 52 in Longmont/Frederick? Sewing machines optional! I might bring my 1934 Featherweight in the hopes that someone (Janey or Mr. Janey?) can diagnose the cause of its odd sound, but mostly I just want to meet you all! We vintage sewing machine addicts need company.
I'm sorry it took so long for me to try to pick a place and day. Work has been crazy, as always. I thought that area might be a good halfway point for those of us in Denver and Fort Collins.
How about 11 a.m.?
It's all flexible, so chime in if the day or time isn't great for you.
Ila :)

Sadly I will not be able to attend, have to take my car
up to my brother (in Thornton) for some brake repairs again).

Sounds good. Have you been there before?

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

Hi Janey and John,
I haven't been to that particular Starbucks before, but I checked the street view on Google Maps and it's a standalone store, not a little section in a Starbucks, so I thought that would work. It's right off the freeway, too.
Ila

Surely there are more than a few of us in the front range that have posted in this forum. Hopefully, more will respond and let "us" know that they will be coming or comment/suggestion about getting together at a later date/place, if not this time.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

If other plans don't change, I will be there! Possibly with a Guhl & Harbeck chain stitch, which may or may not be sewing.

Dianne in Colorado

Good news! Two of my sewing machine friends will also be able to come, Christine and Susan. We've gotten together on several occasions to sew with our old machines. We're really looking forward to this gathering.

Dianne

Great!!! Will they bring a machine, too? We're looking forward to seeing the "Guhl & Harbeck chain stitch, which may or may not be sewing." AND meeting 'like minded' enthusiasts.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

The Guhl & Harbeck is stitching, at least for the moment! My husband cobbled together a spool pin, (rather complex, with a spacer, spring, and cap) and then readjusted it, and now all is well. Promise not to laugh when you see it. Actually, only the nut on the top looks significantly different from old drawings of these machines.

Dianne

Dianne - Shoot me a picture of the assembly. If I do not already have a more "period correct" part, I may be able to fab one up.

Gull & Harbeck details
 

Steve,

The spool pin consists of a metal tube, with a threaded part inside which extends out the top. There is a brass part which fits on top of the spool, then a spring, and then a knurled nut. The part atop the spool is a little too tall, and the shape off, but not bad. The spring is a shortened Singer spool pin spring, nice and light. The problem is the threading on the knurled nut does not match the threading on the spool pin, and unthreads itself when you turn the machine. So, in use, it needs the extra nut on top to keep it from spinning off.

Dan is very inventive in coming up with solutions, and these parts are from a box he keeps of things scavenged here and there. Bear in mind, this started as a wood dowel and two washers on top of the spool. Something is needed to keep the spool from hopping with each stitch, making for loose stitches, and a simple spool felt could not do the job. That explains why old drawings show these features.

These are the first photos I loaded into and adjusted on my new computer. Challenging, and I've no idea how the picture of the machine got that interesting shadowed effect in the background. Will figure it out eventually.

The gist of this is I'm not unhappy with the way this looks as a display piece (without the nut) and finding parts that match up exactly is probably next to impossible. If you have suggestions, they would be appreciated, and if you know of sources for odd little parts with threading like used in 1890s Germany, that would be stupendous!

Dianne

My fingers messed up the heading......and it doesn't seem to be editable. Sigh. It is, of course, Guhl and Harbeck.

Looks good, and I see why you dislike the nut on top. What I would do in this case it to verify the thread and pitch of the threads and make a new lock nut in brass.

If you can tell me the thread info and the diameter of the existing brass knurled nut, I could make or find one pretty easy. I would consider a brass acorn nut as well.

Edit: Also I am curious about the angle of the thread entering the upper tension. I know of no machines designed to have that type of offset. I wonder if it should be in a different sequence of assembly (brass waisted part on the bottom. I will do some research to see what an all original looks like.

Edit 2: OK, that was quick.... I would suggest that the spring should go Above the tension disks. that would lower the tension. If you put the brass waisted part under the spool the alignment would be better.

Moving the spring under the tension disks - where it sits atop the thicker part of the pin - it now looks correct, with the thread lining up as in the drawings. Did I ever mention that I'm not terribly mechanical?

Really looking forward to tomorrow!

Dianne

Great fun!!! hopefully many more
 

I've read about the Row by Row but not familiar with the time frame. Will it be able to coincide with the June 3rd 2016 or will it be later?

Got home a little bit ago.

The Guhl & Harbeck is sure cute and sews a great stitch. I forgot to ask if maybe could use thicker thread. I'm not sure I answered correctly, but I think that the hole in the front of where the needle goes is so thought one could thread cording (maybe crochet thread) through and stitch it on. BTW does any one know the correct pronunciation of Guhl? Does it rhyme with rule or pronounced like gull?

Ila brought her Featherweight. We couldn't hear the unusual sound if there was one. Maybe the oil had marinated to where it needed to be or we just couldn't hear above the background sounds.

Sorry there weren't more of "us" but we surely enjoyed it and had nice weather, too.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

It was so much fun to meet some other vintage machine addicts! Loved seeing the little chain stitcher. My sullen, impatient teen-ager liked it enough to say that she might be interested in learning to sew if I buy a similar machine.
I doubt those are easy to find, or inexpensive... we'll see.
Let's try again for November. Maybe the weekend of the 14th-15th? That's in three weeks. The weekend after that is right before Thanksgiving. It's fine for me, but might be harder for others.
Wish I could have stayed longer,
Ila

It was great fun meeting fellow sewing machine fanatics, and hearing stories about their machines and adventures. The little G & H was carefully examined, and we enjoyed Ila's featherweight, as well as Janey & John's Singer pinkers. Susan and I had never seen one 'in person' before and thought they resembled pencil sharpeners more than anything else!

Anyone who missed the gathering today and would like to be included in emails planning future meetings should pm me, and we will be sure you get the information needed.

This will be the start of something grand!

Dianne