Vintage Singer

Last weekend was pretty busy. It all started earlier in the week when I found a Singer 301 on Craigslist in a nearby city.

Let me back up a bit. It stared a couple years ago when my 25+ year old Viking died and couldn’t be repaired. What is it with us and our sewing machines?! They’re like a spouse or a beloved child. I was a bit heartbroken over losing her. (As a matter of fact she’s still sitting on my sewing room floor…I’ve GPT to say good bye to her!)

But all that led me to an interest in vintage Singers, most of which are older than I am and still running. If they need repaired, you can still get most of their parts and repair them yourself. I love that. No more saying goodbye to a beloved friend.

In all my blogosphere stalking it seemed the machines I was most interested in was the Singer 221 and the 301, in that order.

Now, I’ve replaced my Viking with a perfectly wonderful Bernina, so I don’t NEED another machine! So I set myself a limit. I knew I would have a hard time finding the 221 within my price range, but since it was a luxury item for me, I wouldn’t allow myself to fudge on my max price.

So fast forward to earlier last week… I find the 301, in what I mistakenly thought was a cabinet, for a good price. In emailing back and forth and making arrangements to pick up, I stated my interest in the 221 and the owner had two and WAS WILLING TO SELL ME ONE! I was so excited. And the price she offered me was EXACTLY my max price I had allowed myself. Talk about fate.

I was finally able to pull her out and put her through her paces on Sunday. She is so sweet! I’m thinking of names for her, but haven’t settled on one yet.

Photos of the Singer 301 are yet to come. I haven’t had a chance to pull it out yet. My daughter gifted me with a new grandson last week and it has kept us pretty busy. She and her awesome husband have a 15 month old son as well and he is fascinated with his new brother. Too sweet.

This has been a busy weekend. Too busy for one post.

Friday, I drove 90 miles (with a migraine!) to pick up a Singer 301 and this baby…

More on that in my next post. (I’m so excited to have found her!)

I finished putting up insulation in an aluminum shed that I hope to convert to a sewing room. (Has anyone done that? and were you successful in controlling the damp??)

I kept my grandson most of the day Saturday :-D.

Some quilting detail on the back of the quilt.

I FINALLY finished quilting my Dick and Jane that I stared so long ago. You can actually see some of the original posts here and here. Now for a label and the binding, and I’m DONE! I will be glad to get this off my table.

The interesting thing about this quilt for me is the difference in the quilting done at the start and at the end. I can really see the improvement in my quilting. I still have a lot of work to do mind you, but still, I’m proud to have finished it. This is an 80″ x 80″ quilt. She was something to handle, let me tell you.