Nina and Bonnie run the Quilt Zoo in Worcester NY. It has a lovely selection of fabric. But more importantly, it has a great class room. On Fridays, Nina and Bonnie open the classroom to sewists who want to hang out and get help with projects. I drove over, intending to just drop in for a bit. Instead I drove back home, picked up a machine and went back. We had a blast. It is just so much more fun to sew with others.
While there, I picked up a machine for service. Barb told me she had an old Kenmore. My eyes lit up. She went upstairs to fetch it and came back with a Singer.
"I know it hasn't been run in this century." She proclaimed.
"Oh, we just had one of these in the shop. The gears in that machine were cracked. I will check it out and if the gears are good, I will clean it all up for you. It isn't a Kenmore but it will be serviceable for you."
My intent was to delve into it tomorrow morning. Instead, I couldn't resist. I wanted to check out those plastic gears.
The needle bar area is pretty clean but there are some plastic parts. The light is also in the way. I think I can work around it.
To be sure, I did not get a warm and fuzzy feeling when I saw this machine in the first place. I can guarantee that there will be no SMROs either as I work on this machine. Just the same, I think that it will be OK for her. She is just beginning to sew and is using a computerized Brother embroidery machine now.
It looked like this one.
http://www.brother-usa.com/homesewing/ModelDetail.aspx?ProductID=SE270D#.UyOXVF6sPjF
This Singer is simpler and, as Nina suggested, would be good to use for piecing. That way Barb can save the Brother for Embroidery. (Frankly I think the Singer is better looking than the Brother. But that is like saying Winston Churchill is better looking than W. C. Fields)
I don't know, I think maybe Fields looks better than Churchill. And I was loving the Kenmore's better than Singer's until I got my 201-2 all fixed up. This week I brought home a Singer 128 and have fiddled still not enough with the tension spring up top, and last running saw some little sparking and smoking out of the motor. I have thrown the coffin lid back over it and shoved it back under a table for the time being. Godzilla Beast it is being, time out for you!
ReplyDeleteSo it sounds like we'll know where to find you out partying on Friday nights now.
ReplyDeleteSounds nice to have a store that handy.
Roger
"Kenmore" is a cutie, and he can sing and dance, too!
ReplyDeleteYes. Yes he can. He is after all, An American in Paris.
DeleteI have a Singer Merritt 4530. I think it was made in the late 1980s. It's got adjustable needle position and a nice selection of utility stitches. I use mine for classes. I think it's a nice machine.
ReplyDeleteHi Elizabeth, I have been working on a Singer Stylist with the nylon gear that feeds the bottom belt. It looks sort of like your Singer 5808C (the big yellow one on the right). I believe this big nylon gear is causing the belt's stop-n-go problem. I want to take it off for further inspection but I can't figure out how to remove it. I see the one on your machine has screw but mine doesn't have a screw of anything to hold it down. I have already removed the metal gear on the left and taken off the belt but the big nylon gear refused to budge. I tried to yank on it but it wouldn't give. Do you have any suggestions?
ReplyDeleteHI Alice. I do have a suggestion. It does not involve rescuing this machine. I would not even try to fix it. Sorry.
DeleteOh LOL. I didn't know you disliked Stylist that much. It's a rescue so it won't hurt me one way or the other. Just want to give it a second chance. :-)
DeletePlease, what year was singer 5808c made?
ReplyDelete