miriam

When I bought out that OSMGs stuff there was a bag of nails - some had been trimmed, some not...
There was also a bag of fish hooks. Some had the hook part trimmed then the rest of the hook bent and some had not - I think he was making thread guides for the Singer 66 out of the fish hooks. Fish hook probably a penny and a hook probably a lot more - same with the nails - nail a penny, tension pin - probably a lot more.

redmadder

The springs I received were flimsy compared to the originals. Its also possible my 201 has a tension assembly from a 66 or 99. The springs seem large for the finned spindle. So this time I ordered takeup springs for the 66 as well.

I'm sure there is a nice little 66 or 99 in my future, would just like to get everyone working properly before September when I get my 14' X 22' studio back and room to set them all up. We are talking about a 301, a 201, 15-91 and a 1941 15 and a FW. Maybe I'll put those 185s to work as well.

Why everyone decided to get wounded at the same time is a mystery. Since I've not been sewing as much this late winter and spring, its not from overuse.

I have adopted a housing project for homeless families and will be making a lot of 60" X 80" quilts.

KenmoreRulesAll

We need a page dedicated to Grant's Rants. That was awesome. Man, this site is overwhelming me with info. And Grant's monologue is as good a time as any to say that although I'm late to the Singer party, I'm beginning to make up for lost time. I used to look at these black Singers and ask why anyone would buy them. I've really changed in, oh, the last 6 months. I purchased a 201-2 recently, a 15-90 (that needs a new motor housing and lamp collar):

[ATTACH=CONFIG]479035[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]479037[/ATTACH]

And yesterday a 15-91:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]479040[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]479041[/ATTACH]

I never thought much of these Singers (66, 99, 201, 15, 128, etc.) because they all look so similar and I had never actually sewn on them, run their motors and heard them, appreciated their combination of strength and lightness, how the cloth is so maneuverable, and how a perfect top stitch is such a basic, necessary element of all clothing. I still love a great zig-zag but these straight-stitch machines are winning me over.

I used to think vintage machines were cool merely because like cars, I associate their looks with the eras in which they were built. Here's one of the first I ever purchased (about 1.5 years ago):

[ATTACH=CONFIG]479043[/ATTACH]

I bought this (White Model 674 'Fair Lady') because it reminds me of a '60s Cadillac. As long as it could lay down a straight and zig-zag stitch without complaining, I was happy. (It turns out to be an excellent machine in every way.) Now I'm buying those old black, dull Singers and can't wait until my next bargain. I used to laugh at them when I passed them up in thrift stores (How expensive was my ignorance...?) and now I can't believe people are letting these go for less than $50. I opened the 201-2's table today, turned on the power, and practiced sewing diagonal lines in a diamond pattern. What a pleasure.

LoisM

Great post, KenmoreRulesAll. I never tire of hearing stories about how people came to love Singers and, of course, I love the photos that accompany the stories.

LoisM

I owned a Kenmore just like this and GAVE it away a few years ago when I bought my Janome. I wish I had held on to it.

KenmoreRulesAll

Lois, thanks very much and knowing how great these 1960s and '70s Kenmores are and especially one as good as the 158.1756, I just can't believe people give these away. It just blows my mind. But it's good news, too, because they're there for the taking. I would bet you could find another same or similar machine very, very inexpensively. And it's strange that we not only have the same Kenmore in common but this is the very first sewing machine I ever purchased:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]479044[/ATTACH]

I bought the White (pictured in the above post) shortly after. The Janome is a good machine but the sewing experience isn't the same. I like that I can put stitch sequences and exact stitch characteristics into main memory and I can recall exact stitch settings rather than use a lever to guess, the auto-thread cutting is great, needle threader, up/down, stop, and reverse buttons right above the needle bar, etc. But it's as if the soul has been engineered out of the sewing process. I don't have much experience on modern machines (and not much more on vintage) but feeling the weight of a vintage machine's parts interacting with the thread and cloth is a tactile sensation I just don't get from the Janome. And they don't sound at all alike. It's strangely artificial and 'distant', where the motor whirrs rather than hums. Were I presented with 2 lines of zig-zag stitches in the same size on the same cloth with the same thread, one stitched with a vintage Kenmore and one with the Janome, would I be able to tell the difference? Does it matter? It does if I'm doing the sewing.

Great to hear from another Kenmore fan!

LoisM

My Janome is a little older than yours. It's a 4800QC. I really like mine though I'm looking forward to piecing my next quilt on either my FW or 15-90.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]479125[/ATTACH]

KenmoreRulesAll

Nice. When I was looking for my first machine, Janome was the name that kept coming up again and again. They're very smooth and even their low-end machines are considered good, if reviews are to be trusted.

I'm not sure what my next one will be but I made a commitment to myself that if I buy another machine, I have to get rid of one. It will probably be an industrial. Perhaps a Pfaff 138 or the semi-industrial Bernina 950. Heck, I might even get a treadle. Or a hand crank...

SteveH

one of the best descriptions that I have heard yet. Awesome!

KenmoreRulesAll

Hey, Steve -- ty!