So...i guess theres no way to add pics when im posting from my phone so i will try to hijack the laptop later.

Yall are gonna be so jealous!! So. I called a lady about a little green 185k on Craigslist and wow is all i can say. We got to chatting a bit and hit it off right away. Between us we have 10 kids and homeschool them all so we are kindred spirits! Anyway she begins to tell me how she came to have this machine and as i tried.to pick my jaw up off the floor she offers me to come take a look at everything she has.

If anyone has been around dallas ft worth for.more than a decade they know there used to be a sewing machine museum in Arlington. I never got.to see it as it closed right about the time i discovered it. Anyway she went to meet a local repairman to buy a treadle and turns out the heir of the museum owner told him to offer her the whole lot of machines for 400.00 which is what she wanted to buy a headstone for her brother. She is very old and didnt want to deal with trying to sell it all so she bought the lot (and got her treadle).

So. Yesterday i went and helped her move more than 100 machines. Unfortunately they have been sitting in a storage building not climate controlled.for about 12 years and water had leaked in areas but still lots of eye candy and some rare machines. Someone in his family had already taken all the hand cranks and civil war era machines though. I have pics. She has been cleaning all these machines (properly) and.testing what she can. She is having a massive sale this weeni was d. Iwill send details to anyone interested in going to see what she has. Her prices are extremely reasonable.

She let me.pick.out a head to have for helping and she also gave me a gorgeous.davis treadle in cabinet. I was.drooling over it when i saw it come out of the storage unit and i cant believe she offered it to me for free!

Anyway the treadle head i picked was just one i hadnt seen before and i was drawn to her. She is a.parisian. no clue about her but shes pretty, dainty and lighter than my other heads.

The 404 is a straight stitch only machine, just like the 301. I don't have a walking foot or a darning foot. I did find out that the walking foot and darning foot for the 401 won't fit the 301, I used to have them. I've since gifted them to someone who can use them.

How neat! Can't wait to see pictures! I've been seeing ads on CL for a sale this weekend. Wish I were closer. :)

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Also, dang it, the 2nd three-quarter Singer treadle I've seen and I missed it again!! Fess up, did anyone here get that little treadle off CL in Ft. Worth today?? I wanna see it! :) :)

The sale will be in Crowley.
What are you looking for? If she has something you might want I could probably work something out to get it to you.

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I picked this dainty little head with pretty roses on it. It says "Parisian" on the arm. She's smaller than my other heads, and several pounds lighter. The only reason I think she might be made by Davis is because the plate with the serial number is exactly like my NVF plate. I have no idea about her history, age, etc. She does appear to be in working condition. The serial number is L219698. i will post a pic in an album shortly.

I found a free manual for my Singer 237 on there too, it also confirmed my suspicions that it was offered as treadle powered too. Its pictured in the manual.

yes. I'll give that a try...did it ask for model and not serial? I was so tired last night, I wasn't thinking. Sorry.

Hi Jennifer,

It's a Davis L and not typical in many ways for Davis . Note location of bobbin winder tire on inside of hand wheel, stitch length on pillar and the puzzling serial number. I have a 1906 Sears Minnesota catalog with a picture of this model in it as the badged Minnesota C. I believe the L was replaced this year or sooner in favor of the Model M which is almost identical except the stitch length is on the bed and has more familiar bobbin winder driven by belt or outside of hand wheel.

I would have loved to have seen all the odds and ends you helped move around. Two free Davis' in one day sounds like the "nearest thing to heaven" :)

Jon

WOW! I checked out the manual for the Singer 306 - lots of embroidery ideas in the back! I haven't printed it out yet - gotta head to work.

Well, I put the 306 in the box, then clicked the free download and get just a blank page. Nothing comes up. Oh, well. I'll try again later after work.