When Alice was here we put up some insulation in the dutch barn to help insulate the floor of my sewing loft. We had to move a bunch of stuff around just to get room to work ! Yes, there were at least 5 sewing machine cabinets in the barn. I deposited two at Steven's rental house in his garage there. I would have taken three but there wasn't room in the car. The treadle irons were in pieces in the barn. Time to finish that project.
I had company, briefly. I guess the pitch of Steven's old Makita electric drill was too much for them to stay close by.
I love this old Sears work table. I have had it for over 20 years. Steven hates it. He is a real carpenter with real tools. I love it because I can stabilize my work. Steven has wanted to throw it away for YEARS. I think that I finally acquiesced; luckily he didn't toss it. I dug it out of the trash shed. It is the perfect tool for this job.
I had started stripping this piece back when. I vowed to finish this weekend. It took HOURS to strip the old paint and dirt from these irons.
Once I was finished (I thought) with the wire brushing, I scrubbed it with some degreaser. What a filthy mess. Finally, I took a break. I had to go fetch some primer for it. While I was in Cooperstown I stopped downtown (foolish me, on the last day of the season!) to pick up a bottle of wine. I like Pioneer Wine and Liquors. It is a small business and the sweet young man is friends with Betsy's kids. I figure I will give him the business. So I asked for some suggestions. He offered a red wine with "An unusual nose, and I am not going to tell you what it is. It's complicated. There are some berries and a hint of chocolate."
I had no idea that wine had a nose.
It's tasty, for sure. I had some with dinner.
Oh, yes. I did get these irons ready for prime time. Almost down to the bare metal. I declare it finished. I just have too many other things to do.... Tomorrow I will work on the other side and the foot pedal.
Wow that is really beautiful! In my basement somewhere is my grandmother's Singer treadle. Now I am inspired to go take it out , I never have done anything for it except move it around. Ah, day after Labor Day the kids go back to school. Can't wait!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous! Things just aren't made like they used to be. Good for you for bringing life back to a functional piece of art!
ReplyDeleteI've cleaned up some irons so I can really appreciate your inspiring efforts. But I've finally made up my mind not to do the same on the painted set. The Red Eye machine is good and I already have a taker for it so it's going as is. This is the third treadle to pass through me and I'm finding it quite difficult - maybe that's why I don't want to strip the white paint.
ReplyDeleteI do enjoy your pictures!
Lillian