Need Help
 

My wife of 51 years passed 7 weeks ago.
She was an avid quilter, and I need some help in finding homes for her quilting and sewing machines, equipment and supplies.
Some specific questions:
1. She has at least 2 pristine featherweight 221s, a 1939 and a 1953. I want to keep one and sell the other. Assuming comparable condition, which should i keep? Are the values comparable.
2. She also has a Bernina 1630 Inspiration Plus and a Bernina Virtuosa 160 with dozens of feet and other attachments for each. She also has a Singer CG 590 CG. Can someone tell me what each of these machines are especially for -- what type of sewing? Which is more heavy duty? Which is easiest to use and simplest to operate?
3. I don't sew, but need to learn the basics so if I need to patch some jeans, make a pool cover, or do some other project that has a sewing component i will need a machine to use. Which of the above machines should I keep, or should I just rely on one of the featherweights for my sewing needs whatever they may be?
4. She also has a HandyQuilter Sweet 16 with 10 ft table and frame. I have it listed in ebay. Is this the best place to sell it?
5. Though not machine related, any suggestions for what I do with a dozen rotary cutters, blades (many new in the package,) several dozen associated rotary cutter rulers, a dozen pairs of high end scissors - some new, 200 packaged quilting projects she bought at various quilting shows, an 8 ft bookshelf of quilting books, a similar shelf of quilting magazines, 10 big totes of quilting fabric, plus other related stuff to numerous to mention.
I am at a loss here and would really appreciate some input. I am in San Antonio, Texas.

Another question -- are the feet and attachments for the two Berninas interchangeable? Otherwise, I need to figure out which extras go with which machine.

Bill so sorry for your loss, my sister just sold the 221 FW I gave her for $400. that is about what they are going for now, good luck is selling what you do not want to keep.

I'm very sorry for your loss, Bill
Welcome to the board.

Longarm University is a good place to list the sweet 16 with the table You can place an ad at this link: (scroll down just a bit)

https://www.longarmuniversity.com/MachinesForSale.html

I have a Bernina Virtuosa 160, and it has been a workhorse. However, I bent the presser bar when trying to sew through too many layers of denim. I was able to get it fixed, but I would not suggest using that particular machine for heavy duty sewing.

Also, It uses an older version of Bernina presser feet. The older versions are still easily available to buy online.
This link shows the difference between the old (#12 on the left in the picture) and the new (#12c on the right)
This comment is about Bernina only Other machines have different feet completely.

https://www.bernina.com/en-US/Home-United-States

If there is a quilting guild or a senior center near you, they can help you sort through the things you don't want to keep and make sure everything gets a good home.

edit:
I found this quilt guild in San Antonio They may not be open yet, but maybe they can still help if you contact them:
http://www.sanantonioquilt.org/

Also - not all of the "old" style feet are interchangeable.

I have a Bernina 1006and an old Bernina 530-2 - the Bernina 530-2 willl use the feet that the 1008 can use - but the 1006 will not use the style that came with the 530-2.

I have thought that a part-time occupation for someone could be to be a liquidator for sewing/quilting enthusiasts.

Thank you for your helpful input.

Here at. Oklahoma City there is a women's prison and the women there are learning to sew. If you have such a place any where near you you could donate the machines and all the other stuff to their program. Our group here started with quilting, then stopped for a while to make masks, and are back at the quilting now. Just an idea if there is anything. Or maybe a children's home that would want to start a sewing program for the children.

First of all I am so sorry for your loss. 51 years is a long time and you are to be congratulated. Mindless gave you some very good suggestions for your area. You will get through all of this a bit at a time. I am so unfamiliar with TX. I love my FW and it may be a good basic machine for you to use. They are work horses. I have heard of people sewing canvas with them. Always remember to thread the needle from right to left where most machine thread the eye of the needle from left to right. Take care of yourself and drop in here anytime.

I also offer my condolences.

This article may be helpful about the Bernina feet.

https://weallsew.com/bernina-feet-old-and-new/

I'm sorry for your loss. I lost my spouse of 29 years this spring. I decided that I didn't want to deal with a lot of the stuff, so I boxed it up and donated a bunch of it to the Salvation army. I sold some stuff. I gave away things that friends would use. I'm still waiting for his children to come collect the family stuff. There are still things to deal with. I finally decided it doesn't have to happen immediately.

Some suggestions:

Fabric and started quilts - consider Project LInus, which provides quilts/blankets to children picked up by Child Protective services. Many of these children have nothing, as they are rescued with just the clothes on their backs. A quilt of their own could be very important.

Sewing machines - They are really expensive to pack and ship. The machines you mention are very desirable. Consider posting on a local venue, such as OfferUp or Craigslist. If you are particularly inclined to the added work and expense, you would probably get more for them on Ebay. For an estimate of what they are worth, look on Ebay for your model numbers and compare the condition of your machine to the ones offered. Be aware that only the auction results are what people actually paid. The results from "best offer" are not the actual amount paid, so those numbers are irrelevant. You already have a suggestion for the long arm.

"Assorted Stuff" like rulers, cutters, mats: Those could be donated to a quilt guild or to other groups as suggested above. Another option would be to sell them on groups.io. Groups.io (most used to be on yahoo groups, which significantly cut their services last year, so many migrated to goups.io) a list of different groups that have something in common and form a mailing list type group. I'm the member of a group that sells sewing items (I've neither bought or sold anything at this point.) as well as some other groups related to sewing and sewing machines. This particular group is called sewitsforsale. It's not a commercial venture. It's for people selling their own products and there is no charge to post or to sell, but there are very specific rules to follow in your posts. You have to join groups.io and then join the individual group that interests you. On sewitsforsale, I've seen fabric posted, sewing machines, machine accessories, videos, patterns, books and most anything related to sewing. It seems to work very well and it seems that most things sell.

Good luck. It's a whole new world of being alone. The Corona virus has made it a little more difficult. I'm sure glad I have my dogs.

bkay