Have you considered Grass Valley?

https://sacramento.craigslist.org/atq/5259734169.html


I keep telling myself I don't need any more machines.


I don't need any more machines.

I don't.

A good read. I skipped over that ad because it said Featherweights. Sad to say though that is a Domestic 153 not a White 77. It does not have the beautiful sharp edged eight sided shape but is all rounded.

I read this thread again and I did get a Pink Atlas :)
Now I want a black 301. I have a tan one. It does not make any
sense lol it never ends. I also want a turquoise straight stitcher.

I don't know if it's my ultimate machine, but the next one I want is a 401. My collection is still small enough that I am not up to the expensive ones yet!
I would really like an aluminum 99k but I will likely settle for a Sewmor 303.

I am getting my wish but it comes at a high cost. My grandpa had a Singer treadle - there was some talk that he worked at the Newark triangle shirtwaist factory at some point. He would have been about 13 or 14 around the time of the fire. There was a fire in the Newark factory from what I read. People didn't talk much about things back then. He was supposed to have been a "tailor" using that treadle. By the time we came along it was after he had been in WWI and no signs of him ever sewing. My Aunt took over the machine. She made us Halloween costumes, slip covers and some clothing on it. I played on it as a kid. It started my interest in sewing. My aunt and I talked about it and she said it was mine when she passed. She passed yesterday at 89. Her son who I am close to told me when he called to tell me that the machine is mine. But I have to arrange to get it shipped from NJ to our house in Georgia once we move there. So wishes come true but sometimes with an emotional cost. I will give it a good home and use it and try to figure out where it will go when I pass. Not to a dump I hope!!

Wow. That treadle machine is a very valuable piece of your history. I hope that you get it moved safely to your home, and are able to sew on it, adding yet another generation that has benefited from it.

CD in Oklahoma

Thanks CD. I've been thinking about that machine for a very long time. My Aunt lived in a tiny apartment attached to her son's house and whenever I went there I would look at it but only really the cover for it (that she made on it which I will wash and keep) and there was never enough room to open it up. So many memories.

sympathy extended
 

So sorry to hear of your loss. It is great that the machine will go to someone who appreciates vintage/antique sewing machines in the family.

You say that the machine was covered? Was it quilted cover or embroidered? I've seen some images from a vintage Herrschners catalog that had embroidered "sewing machine covers" that look like they may have been for White treadle sewing machines. I saw a kit in a thrift store, while I was unemployed, and didn't get it.

Sure don't envy any move, let alone out of state. We will be looking forward to pictures of your machine and I would be interested in a picture of the cover.

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

I can understand that.

I have my Grandmother’s 1906 White VSIII Treadle sewing machine. She got it used as a wedding gift in 1928, and used it until she bought a new 1959 Singer 404 portable with folding table (I have those too). Those are the only two sewing machines that she ever had in her lifetime (that I know of). She gave the White treadle to me and my wife in 1982. My wife sewed on a small Wards machine at that time, but I had no interest in sewing machines. The treadle served as a what-not table through the years, being moved with us from one house to another, and holding everything from televisions to hamster cages, usually in a back room.

One year in the mid-90s while Grandma was visiting, she and my wife got it cleared off and tried to sew with it, just for fun. They couldn’t make it sew, and I remember so clearly the embarrassment and frustration that my Grandma had at that time. She just could not understand why she couldn’t show my wife how it worked!!! She got so stressed-out about it, that my wife and I finally had to convinced her that something must have gotten knocked out of whack while we were dragging it all over the place in two states, and that it probably would need to be looked at by a repairman to fix whatever we had done to it. She begrudgingly gave up.

Fast forward a decade, after Grandma had passed on and I had gotten enthused about vintage sewing machines, when I took a look at it to see what was wrong. The only thing that I could find wrong, was that it had a 15x1 common needle in it instead of the 20x1 needle that it needed. I put the correct needle in it and it sewed like a champ. Golly, I wish I would have known that back in the 90s!

Grandma’s White VSIII treadle now has a prominent position in our sewing/living room as the guest of honor, and always will have. My wife and I have both sewn on it and it works great. It’s got some bumps and bruises on it, but it still looks mighty good to us! Still, when I look at it, it brings back memories. Even the unpleasant ones....

CD in Oklahoma

thanks. It is just a piece of fabric that covers the top and the sides are gathered to the top piece and it goes to the floor. Purple-ish. Nothing special except she made it. My aunt sewed but didn't quilt.

i loved reading that story. Nice machine.

I missed this one before. Congrats Steve!
I'm surprised they cloned such a specialized machine. Or maybe that's why it was a good one to copy?
Rodney

I love reading stories about family sewing machines. I have such a strong connection to my grandmother through sewing, it gives me warm fuzzies to hear similar stories in other families.

I am not so sure there are any more must-haves for me. I never did get my hands on the Adler 189A but I think I might just have enough for now. :) Ooooh maybe a 201k. I would have a hard time walking away if I found one of those nearby. I think I need to put energy into sewing on my machines now and sorting my collection by which ones are my favorites!