A little sewing before breakfast

I turned a piece of quilt as you go patchwork 

into a Singer Featherweight cover/bag this morning.

It protects the bed of the machine while in the case

and doubles as a thread bag while you're sewing.

This little gem belongs to a friend.

It doesn't have a case or attachments

and the shiny clear coat is worn off.

But after a bit of oil and lube and a new needle,

it makes a beautiful stitch.

I'm linking up to The Needle and Thread Network.

Featherweights on my work table

I've got four Singer Featherweights on my table today -- three 221s and one 222K.

One  221 belongs to a friend,
 another  221 was rescued by my 18-year-old son,
and the other two are mine.

I'm cleaning and oiling and lubing them assembly-line fashion.

They are all older machines from the 1940s and 1950s

and they all make a beautiful stitch

even if some of the machines look a little rough.

Proud Featherweight mama!

Yesterday I became the foster mama to this tired Singer Featherweight 221.

The photo above shows it in process of being cleaned, oiled, and lubed.

My 18-year-old son was volunteering at a nearby church camp,

 working in the maintenance shop,

 when he spotted a familiar looking black box.

He looked inside, and recognized it as a FW.

The camp manager said it belonged to his mother, 

and he was going to throw it out.

My son, bless his heart, suggested he check with me first 

as to the value of this machine.

Last year, he sewed a quilt top on a Singer FW,

which is why he recognized this one.

Here is the rescue at right, oiled and waxed,

beside my other 221,

which my neighbour gave me.

The foster FW will not live with me

and I'm still negotiating terms.

It makes a beautiful stitch

despite being beat up and scratched

and missing a few amenities.

The foot pedal needs rewiring

and the latches on the case are broken.

I'm so proud of my son for saving this FW from the garbage!

Update: The owner of this machine agreed to donate it

to Mennonite Central Committee

as a prize for their upcoming quilt show.

If you're in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

from May 22 to 24,

stop by and buy a ticket to win it!

The owner was pleased his mom's machine will have a new life

and so am I!

A quilter and sewer in the making

Recently I had the fun of sewing with a 10-year-old girl.

She wanted to make a bag for her bracelet-making supplies,

 and green is her favourite colour.

So we found some upholstery weight fabric, set up the Featherweight in its table

and started cutting and sewing.

I figured out the bag proportions, and M. did most of the sewing.

We did all of it on the FW except for the last seam, 

where I attached the lining to the bag on my Juki, which handled all those layers just fine.

M. spent less than three hours with me,

and by the time her parents came to pick her up,

the bag was done and we were halfway through Mary Poppins on DVD.

This is not quite Mary's carpet bag, but close.

We put in a big pocket from an old curtain

 for her plastic divided container with the rubber bands

and her two looms fit in the main compartment.

And the strap is long enough to go over her shoulder,

but not so long it drags on the ground,

even though it looks like it here.

I think it's superfragelisticexpialidocious!

I'm linking up with The Needle and Thread Network.

New on the sewing table

Last week, a Featherweight 221 (top) came to live at my house.

My neighbour offered it to me when she saw me carrying 

my 222K from the car to the house after a sewing day.

We made plans for me to come by and see the machine,

but for one reason or another, that meeting only happened last week.

Now I'm the proud owner of this 1948 221 Singer Featherweight.

It's in lovely shape, with only a few scratches.

It had lived in its case for 40 straight years,

but sewed a beautiful seam right out of the box.

I dusted and oiled it yesterday and it runs fine,

although it's a bit noisy.

Here's the Egyptian scroll faceplate.

My 222K (at left) has the striated face plate

The 222K has a free arm and the feed dogs can be lowered.

Here's the machines side by side, with the 222K at left.

It is slightly taller.

At right on the bottom is the accessories tray for the 221.

It came only with one foot, and a few bobbins,

but I already have several boxes of  Singer attachments,

so I'm fine with that.

Here's the difference in the cases.

The 222K is slightly taller than the 221.

Did I mention how much I paid?

My neighbour wouldn't take any money,

since she says she didn't pay for it.

She's happy to have found a good home for her mother's machine,

and I'm happy to give it a good home.

I'm linking up with Judy's Design Wall Mondays.

Instead of having something new on the design wall,

this week I have something new on the sewing table.

I'm also linking up with Stitch by Stitch's Anything Goes Mondays.