Miss Daisy

                                                        











Meet Miss Daisy,:
She is a Singer, VS (Vibrating Shuttle) series machine. The VS series eventually became the model 128, which Singer continued to build until the 1960's.
The decal pattern is called Painted Daisies and it instantly became my favorite one, when I first saw it on her.
Manufactured in 1873, I am coming to think of her the little old lady of the sewing machine world.
At 145 years old, she can still sew!

The Wrinkle 66

This is a 1940's model 66 with the Wrinkle (AKA Godzilla or Crinkle) finish .Apparently they are quite rare. Given that my customer only paid $20 for the machine, I would suspect that she is one happy sewing machine owner.
She asked me to get it going for her which I was happy to do,until I started to clean the exterior. After a lot of research on how to clean the machine, and the finish, I determined that it was not  a shellac finish, but most likely an enamel finish, that had been treated after painting by heating it briefly, to make the top layer of the paint dry faster than the bottom layer. I ended up with a toothbrush and dish soap, scrubbing one little are at a time, then wiping off the the dirty water and repeating the process, for 3 or 4 hours, till I got the whole machine, presentable.
My research on this finish also told me that Singer had made various  models with this finish, intermittently between 1941 and 1953. The general consensus is that it was put on for cosmetic reasons. But I don't think so. I sat there and scrubbed that machine with a tooth brush for 3 hours and left nary a mark on it. It's a very durable finish. I suspect that more likely, it just wasn't popular enough, to warrant putting it on all machines. I think that I know why too.
I noticed that while the foot controller had a Wrinkle finish on it, the balance wheel cover, the wheel, light and motor were regular shiny black finish.That is the way these machines were shipped from the factory.They don't look right with the rest of the head. I think they cheaped out on these parts. The end result is machine that isn't entirely appealing in terms of looks, due to the inconsistencies in the finishes. It's  a subtle effect and it may have been just enough to turn customers off of the Wrinkle finish even though was superior to all the others.
That said, it's still a 66 and it will retain it's good looks for a lot longer than the other sewing machines of the period.

The Blue Bird Fly of Unhappiness

Here is a gorgeous,brand new, shiny, Chinese clone of the a Singer model 15 sewing machine.

It's a piece of Junk.
It's a pretty piece of junk though
There are so many things wrong with it, that even I can't fix it without resorting to machine shop time.
But, it's very pretty....
I ordered this machine as a sample, as I was considering reselling them here in NA. That ain't gonna happen.....
Still, it's very pretty, isn't it?
It's a very badly assembled, poorly machined, non sewing, sewing machine.
Still, it's a very pretty, non sewing, sewing machine.
Sigh.........

Why do I keep on buying these Japanese sewing machines?

There's no money in old Japanese sewing machines. None what so ever. As lovely, sturdy and reliable this green Planet from the 60's or 70's is, it will never be worth more the $39.99 that I paid for it.

I was pondering this very question while standing in the check out at the dollar store this morning, gazing idly at all the junky plastic stuff they have, when the lady standing next to me with a package of hot dog buns shook her head and said "So much stuff!"

It came to me then, in a flash! Green Planet! I have a used green Planet sewing machine. I have environmental street cred! I am saving the world, one old sewing machine at at a time....

Well, it will do, as a  rationalization......But it remains to be seen which one I run out first, rationalizations or room....lol

The Babylock BL097 Serger/overlocker

So, I was standing in the checkout line in Value Village holding up this heavy little Babylock serger, an item that I know absolutely nothing about. Well not  quite, I did know 2 things. First thing I knew is that these little suckers are expensive machines. The second thing I know is that the price tag says say $24.99. Knowing stuff is not always a good thing, sometimes it can lead to conclusions being drawn. Conclusions as in : I can get this thing going, no problem,.... I think.
So, like I said, I'm just waiting there in line, and the lady behind me says to her husband, '' If that was me, I would just take that machine to the sewing machine store and say Helpppp!"  I looked  at her, and asked"Really?" She said "yes, those are real, real hard machines to use! You have to take a course for them".  I told her  "I was just going to find the manual online and get it going". She gave me a pitying look and shook her head sadly, at my foolishness....At which point the line moved on and we parted company.
So, I went home, found the manual, downloaded and read it. I threaded it up as per instructions in the book, shoved some fabric under the presser and hit the pedal. About one and a half seconds later, it spit the fabric perfectly sewn out the other side of the machine.
I've seen this before. Complicated looking things intimidating people, when all they have to do is read the instructions.I've seen it on sewing machines and I've seen it on half a million dollar production machines. I've seen those same machines sit and never get used. I always wonder why?

The Lada 232

For those of old enough or unfortunate enough to have first hand experience with one, the word Lada, (as in the Russian import from the 1970's), is enough to cause a shudder to run through our very souls. Well it turns out that there is a company in Czechoslovakia called Lada that makes quite good sewing machines and has been doing so for decades now.
This one came home with me yesterday, from Value Village, simply because I had no idea what it was. It turned out to be a vintage Lada 232 zigzag. and it appears to be quite a good sewing machine, but we shall see, once I try it out. I quite like it so far, it's built like tank  and has labels on all oiling holes. It look looks like serious heavy duty sewing machine.
Since it only cost $15 and a weighs well over 30 Lbs, I'd say it's a lada machine for the money!

The Ford Deluxe

This blog started out with, among other things, the quest for a hot pink sewing machine. This hot rod pink and cream, Ford Deluxe fits the bill perfectly. I suspect that it's from the 1950's, but I'm not at all sure that it is. It is definitely a Japanese machine, but there is no JA number stamped on it, so there is no way of knowing who built it.
It's a straight stitcher, with a complicated looking stitch length adjustment regulating mechanism, consisting of a knob and window to show the preset length. With the tensioner on the end of the machine and the oscillating hook, it is plainly a dressed up Singer  15 clone.  As such, with out even turning it on and sewing with it, I know that it will be a real work horse of a machine, and able to sew just about anything that I can cram under the pressure foot.
This is also, the only machine that I have seen that has a built in storage compartment under the top cover. And it's pink!
This machine came to me, courtesy of Aleda Johnston, up in Lilloeet.  She knew about my quest for a pink sewing and has a friend Greg, who owned this one. She introduced him to my and blog and convinced him, that should he ever decide to part with it, I should be first on the list.
They brought it down to Surrey, and we spent a pleasant afternoon, talking about sewing machines, motorcycles, quilting and like all transplants to this province, how much better the weather is here than in our home towns.....lol.
Thanks Greg,you can be sure that your machine has found a good a home!
Not for sale!