SMAD is the acronym for sewing machine acquisition disorder. I caught it from Betsy. I really want to infect some other people in my circle, but so far most of them are immune. Sometimes I worry about it. My mother, I know, worries about it. She told me"You are almost 60 years old...You have enough sewing machines to work on for the rest of your life...." She may be right. But you know, I cannot help myself. I had stopped for a bit and then in the past seven days I purchased 5 more machines.
I did not intend to get that many.
Betsy made me get the Kenmore 158.960. No one made me get that 221 from the Northern Catskills. I really really wanted that poor 301 with the "peanut butter" encrusted needle and presser bars. The Monty Ward looks lovely, though I admit I have not even inspected her. The Kenmore from Pete's Place needs some parts (bobbin case and bobbin) but I bet it will be fine.
Now that I have these machines, when will I work on the 201s? And when will I set up the web page for vintage sewing machine magic? When will I sew? When will poor Frannie get her hair cut?
Is there cause for worry? Only if you are a poor disheveled poodle
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| Francine Daphne |
I understand your addiction. Take on NO GUILT! Move at your own speed, and enjoy them!
ReplyDeleteFinally! A name for my disorder......SMAD ha ha ha
ReplyDeleteI'm commenting 2 years later... but I think I'm in the early stages of SMAD. I only just (re)started sewing about 6 weeks ago after not having touched a sewing machine for over 30 years. My first purchase (6 weeks ago) was a Kenmore 158.16012 off of CraigsList. I cleaned it up (was in pretty decent shape to begin with) and have already made a few garments with it. I'm in love. My second acquisition was a couple of weeks later, a Singer Touch and Sew 620 from the late 60s, also a CraigsList purchase. Nowhere near the solid quality of my Kenmore--the nylon gears have disintegrated over time, and hubby and I are in the process of replacing the 2 gears underneath the bobbin case. Not sure we really know what we're doing, and if we have to retime anything, we're in deep doo-doo, but the machine won't work otherwise and we figured it's a good way to learn.
ReplyDeleteMy most recent purchase, just yesterday, is a sumptuous Singer Model 66 Redeye with a serial number date of 1910. Was frozen solid when I got it home, but with a dousing of WD40 for a couple of hours and a subsequent oiling, the mechanism turns now like a glowing-hot knife through butter. I can't wait to get it fully restored so I can use it to sew. I'm hooked!!!
Sue in PA
Sue, there are likely instructions on line re: how to change those gears! I bet it can't be hard. Oh and I am glad that you used SM oil after the Water Displacement Formula 40. Whew
DeleteThanks, Elizabeth, I'll do some online digging. If the instructions are out there, I'll find them. And oh yes, I know that WD40 is not a lubricant--learned that years ago while doing maintenance on my stable of bicycles. But with its penetrating qualities, it really got into the gummed up frozen parts on the 66 pretty quickly (quite honestly, I was surprised it worked as well as it did and as fast!) The SM oil is definitely getting into all the tight spots--the hand wheel turns with ease, and the whole mechanism is so quiet. Now, I just have to decide if I want this in a treadle setup or with a hand crank.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I'm enjoying reading your blog! :-)
Not only did I find some new projects, but blogs! There are a bunch I have never “met”.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the mention on the twirling skirt!