BoJangles

Grant, WOW that comparison is really an eye opener! I have been trying the different stitches on my 260, which is also an automatic version, and I find it pretty complicated to use. I really loved using the 360 for FM. I tried the 260 for FM, but couldn't get the same quality stitches because of the way I had the machine set! It took me a while to figure out what I had set wrong - so many dials! I was trying to finish a Patchability and decided to just go with my Singer 503a, Rocketeer! That machine is really easy to use. I never did figure out how to get a blind or blanket stitch with the Pfaff 260, even though, the book shows the blind stitch? I will play some more when I am not pushed to get something done!

Again thank you for the photos comparing the automatic to the non-automatic! We are all learning all the time. We have just ventured into the Pfaff world - at least I have jumped in with both feet! It is very interesting to learn about these vintage machines!

Nancy (BoJangles is that black horse in my Avator)

nanna-up-north

Trish, good luck on your surgery. We'll have to communicate while we recover. My doctor wants to let this heal without surgery. I'm praying that works. We'll only be able to drool over all the pretty machines and once we're able to sew again, we'll be super busy. At least that's the way it works for me....I know from past experience.

grant15clone

...THAT wasn't my first thought when I popped the cover the first time.... lol.

grant15clone

I'll just talk to the horse AND you at the same time then. lol. Be careful, I think that the stitch wheels might not be interchangeable on Pfaff's and possibly mislabeled And,... may have misled you, me, and others in the process. I'm still doing research on that. Yes! Quite a difference between the auto and non auto. Still wrapping my head around Pfaff's too. But this black non auto is SO sweet, quiet, and so well behaved, I just am having a hard time thinking about letting it go. I have promised it to a friend though and I know that I'm going to have to let it go soon makes me sad in a way.

chris_quilts

My other thought was "I want one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" regarding the 230. I do want one and continue to look for one although not sure why given the amount of other machines I have. The hunt is part of the fun, though.

miriam

I love a good hunt and I love to fix them - any more then I'm ready for another one...
I have just gotten around to the Kenmore machines. And I have a good bunch of them - no two alike... I about went crazy with one yesterday AND I'm not sure which Kenmore it was... they all look somewhat alike... I'm still not sure how all the controls work and I can't find a manual that matches anything I have on the Sear's website. grrr

BoJangles

Chris you know I have a lot of machines. I only had 4 Pfaff's until recently, now I have 8 - and I want more. I have had a Pfaff set up on the kitchen counter for a couple months - one or the other of my recent Pfaffs. I have been using them, playing with them, trying to get to know the machines, and yes they are a little complicated at first! Well, today I put the Pfaff away and got out the Rocketeer to finish a project. I can't believe the difference in these machines. I have always loved the Rocketeer, but it can't even be compared to a Pfaff. Those Pfaffs run so strong, so quiet, so smooth. The 301 and the Rocketeer sound so loud compared to the Pfaff. Even DH commented on the 'new' loud tinny noise coming out of the machine I am using now. He got so used to the Pfaff's, which are very quiet running. I still love my 'other' machines, but I am very rapidly becoming a Pfaff collector! Once, you get a vintage Pfaff you will be hooked. The one really big issue, though, is the weight! They all weigh over 40 lbs! Probably why they are so quiet running!

There is a 332 for sale here I have been watching, but it looks just like my 230 so I have not gone after it. Yet!

Nancy

jennb

Wow. I still have more than 20 pages to catch up on so i'll do that later. I've been sick and so has half my family, plus I got the pleasure of having a wisdom tooth get infected and then removed. Its been 3 weeks now and part of my chin and cheek are still without feeling. I've been told it can take up to a year to restore full feeling. I'm not a happy camper about that.

Well, my contractor came out today to give bids on the remodel/restore of my second building that is to be my studio. Hopefully it won't take as long to do the re-fi as it did to close, and by this spring I can be moving into my studio in earnest.

pinkCastleDH

Nancy - I almost wish you hadn't said that. One of my big gripes is noise, it's been a problem for me for years. So the Pfaffs are super quiet, eh? How about ultra quiet treadles?

chris_quilts

Nancy; I love my 301s so am not too overly anxious to get one but I do keep on looking. I know the Pfaffs are heavy suckers but so are some of the other older vintage/antique ladies and gents. The reality is that the herd needs thinning before too much more acquisition takes place because I am running out of room. I do have a release plan but it will take some time which I currently have very little of free due to work requirements. Thank you for the information about the Pfaffs. I keep hoping to stumble across one where the owner doesn't know what he/she has and is selling dirt cheap.
Chris