I did something like it last fall when we went camping and this lady saw it and asked me to do one later this month. When I went camping, I took 4 machines with hand cranks or spinner knobs for kids to 'pet'. Kids spent all day sewing holes in paper bags. When you open them up you get cool design changes. This event will be for adults, too. This will be more extensive I think. I took a Franklin (White) with a spinner knob. I drew an arrow on the wheel. Then I had a Vindex (New Home type) with a spinner knob, a Singer 66 and a 27 both with hand cranks. I put finger guards on them all - we had to rig our own for the Vindex and the Franklin. The kids gravitated toward the Vindex and the Franklin. Then my DGD used a Singer 15 with a hand crank. None of the machines were beautiful but they were raised up from the ashes and made to work. I think I want to print out some before and after pictures to have on hand, too. Since we didn't have tables we had one big table and the machines were in wooden frames. It was very easy to keep an eye on what everybody was doing. The table was big enough to keep elbows out of the neighbor's eye, too. The paper bags were just lunch size bags and worked really well. If you shine a light in there you can see the holes - well, I think so anyway. Kids were in a dark cabin testing them out later in the day.

picture album! great idea!

just leave your sledge hammer home..... LOL

LOL I'm not taking any T&S's so won't need a sledge hammer. It would make a good fun raiser at a quilting show.

What a cool idea, Miriam! Please do take pictures and share with us.

right now I need IDEAS........

could you tape the fw/301 bobbin case in place or keep it with you and put in when someone can watch.

Last Friday night at our regular sew-along, there were four featherweights. Then I told them about my new (old) 127 that I just got. Someone came up with the idea to have some old machines at our quilt show. What a good idea! I know where there is a beautiful treadle machine being used as a table for an electric.

Thanks for the heads up on watching for bobbin snatchers. I guess that can happen anywhere. But the point made about maybe saving an old machine from the trash is a good one.

Great idea Miriam! I'm sure the kids had lots of fun making their designs and trying out the different machines.

How many people will you be showing to? That will most likely determine how many machines you need to bring and whether you divide your audience into small groups. After presenting an intro to the group, you could "tour" them through your zoo with each group beginning at a different "section/station" that has a machine (2 or 3 people per machine) - they could move progressively through from station to station after spending a given amount of time at each. Each station could have a specific task for them to try.

How did you make the finger guards?

finger guards were made out of some wiring connector thingies my husband had in his tool box.

My hands down favourite machine is the Singer "Red Eye". I would love to get my hands on one but they are almost non existent in Northern Ontario, Canada, where I live. Seems much more prominent in Southern Ontario but my chances are slim & none. I'm afraid if I went somewhere that one was part of a display, I would never leave or probably try & squeeze it into my purse & sneak out !!!