She's HERE!

The treadle came today!

My friend came to pick me up, and we went to her house to look at it.
It was tucked away in the corner of the gallery (they live in a
converted barn - very beautiful mediaeval structure converted to
interesting house with mezzanine in the living room!), and had been
gathering dust there for years.

Let me describe her:

Brown painted oval section tubular metal legs with touch of rust!
Cast metal treadle and flywheel
Wooden table top with 4 small drawers, each with round wooden knobs and
a circular moulding that looks a bit Art Nouveau; there are oval ones on
each end.
Small 'secret compartment' bit that flaps down at the front, revealing 3
small compartments
Plain wooden table top (badly marked, but recoverable), that flaps open
Machine head very plain 15-88 type with chrome face plate and inspection
cover at the rear. Decals quite worn, black Japanned finish shows signs
of having been damp at some point - there's a slight 'bloom' to parts of
it, like a black grape! I'm sure I can find out how to improve this!

The poor old thing is very grubby, even though I have dusted it to bits
already! I oiled her and turned her over, and removed several hard
wodges of oily lint (fossilized!) from the bobbin case and under the
stitch plate, and she works fine as far as I can tell without threading
her up. Once I have a belt, I shall do some serious cleaning to the
machine head, grease the bits that need it, and oil whatever looks like
it might soak up a little more oil, and set her to work.

I asked DH if he'd teach me to use the sander so I could sand the table
and varnish it, and he said no! It would be quicker to do it himself!
I will have to ask him how I can sort out the rust on the legs
tomorrow...

I will take pix of the head and the table as I sort them out, and I will
do some tomorrow of the state she's in now. It looks much worse than it
is because of the dirt and the top looking like it has spent several
years under slightly incontinent houseplants!

From information I have gleaned so far, I know that she was built
between 1936 and 1948, in St Johns, Canada. Cathy's grandmother, the
original owner, lived in both Canada and Trinidad before settling back
home in Lancashire (whence Cathy hales), so this would fit fine.
Unfortunately, while the manual and attachments have all come down to
me, the original bill of sale has not. It has a JB serial number, and
Singer tells me that this series does not have complete records, so
there may be no more to glean from them. Alan Quinn's site leads me to
think that a date of 1940 would be closer to narrowing it down, but we
may never know for sure.

The box of attachments contains a ruffler, a tucker, a bias binder, an
adjustable hemmer, and a rolled hem foot, and a screw-in seam guide!
Treasure indeed! These all look exactly the same as the ones I have for
Spinning Jenny, that came from my mother's 1950's machine, so I have no
doubt that we can make them work. They are in their original dark green
cardboard box ('slightly foxed' as the book people might put it!).

To get it here, we had to pack it into Cathy's car. To get it down the
stairs, I took the machine head out of the table, and we carried the
table down. It wasn't going in whole, so we up ended it onto the table
top, not worrying about the odd scratch because of the present condition
of the top anyway, and unscrewed the legs! The legs/treadle mechanism
fitted in the boot, the table fitted in along the folded down split fold
back seat, and the machine head went into the passenger foot well. We
piled in on top, and brought it here, where I cleaned it as much as I
could for now, and put the table back together. I left the screws out
for now, as it will all have to come to bits again for restoration, but
the machine head is back in place. We had to cut the old belt to get it
all to bits, but this is no problem as it was dead anyway, and new belt
can be had from Wilf by the mile.

So, while DH is slightly annoyed at the use of space in the dining room,
*I* am a happy bunny tonight!

I also lost 3 lbs at Weight Watchers, so am doubly happy! Specially as
the only exercise this week has been one 3 mile walk, a shopping trip
with James to buy school shirts and PJs, and today's sewing machine
shaped weight lifting!
--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

she sounds beautiful! You tell your DH that he's a living doll for sanding
and varnishing for you and, b.t.w. - congrats on losing 3 pounds! I like
that kind of weight lifting!

--
Lady Cynthia, Royal Musicmaker

http://photos.yahoo.com/cbet_99
http://www.one-eleven.net/~music/
Remember, once you get over the hill,
you'll begin to pick up speed.

"Kate Dicey" wrote in message
...
The treadle came today!

My friend came to pick me up, and we went to her house to look at it.
It was tucked away in the corner of the gallery (they live in a
converted barn - very beautiful mediaeval structure converted to
interesting house with mezzanine in the living room!), and had been
gathering dust there for years.

Let me describe her:

Brown painted oval section tubular metal legs with touch of rust!
Cast metal treadle and flywheel
Wooden table top with 4 small drawers, each with round wooden knobs and
a circular moulding that looks a bit Art Nouveau; there are oval ones on
each end.
Small 'secret compartment' bit that flaps down at the front, revealing 3
small compartments
Plain wooden table top (badly marked, but recoverable), that flaps open
Machine head very plain 15-88 type with chrome face plate and inspection
cover at the rear. Decals quite worn, black Japanned finish shows signs
of having been damp at some point - there's a slight 'bloom' to parts of
it, like a black grape! I'm sure I can find out how to improve this!

The poor old thing is very grubby, even though I have dusted it to bits
already! I oiled her and turned her over, and removed several hard
wodges of oily lint (fossilized!) from the bobbin case and under the
stitch plate, and she works fine as far as I can tell without threading
her up. Once I have a belt, I shall do some serious cleaning to the
machine head, grease the bits that need it, and oil whatever looks like
it might soak up a little more oil, and set her to work.

I asked DH if he'd teach me to use the sander so I could sand the table
and varnish it, and he said no! It would be quicker to do it himself!
I will have to ask him how I can sort out the rust on the legs
tomorrow...

I will take pix of the head and the table as I sort them out, and I will
do some tomorrow of the state she's in now. It looks much worse than it
is because of the dirt and the top looking like it has spent several
years under slightly incontinent houseplants!

From information I have gleaned so far, I know that she was built
between 1936 and 1948, in St Johns, Canada. Cathy's grandmother, the
original owner, lived in both Canada and Trinidad before settling back
home in Lancashire (whence Cathy hales), so this would fit fine.
Unfortunately, while the manual and attachments have all come down to
me, the original bill of sale has not. It has a JB serial number, and
Singer tells me that this series does not have complete records, so
there may be no more to glean from them. Alan Quinn's site leads me to
think that a date of 1940 would be closer to narrowing it down, but we
may never know for sure.

The box of attachments contains a ruffler, a tucker, a bias binder, an
adjustable hemmer, and a rolled hem foot, and a screw-in seam guide!
Treasure indeed! These all look exactly the same as the ones I have for
Spinning Jenny, that came from my mother's 1950's machine, so I have no
doubt that we can make them work. They are in their original dark green
cardboard box ('slightly foxed' as the book people might put it!).

To get it here, we had to pack it into Cathy's car. To get it down the
stairs, I took the machine head out of the table, and we carried the
table down. It wasn't going in whole, so we up ended it onto the table
top, not worrying about the odd scratch because of the present condition
of the top anyway, and unscrewed the legs! The legs/treadle mechanism
fitted in the boot, the table fitted in along the folded down split fold
back seat, and the machine head went into the passenger foot well. We
piled in on top, and brought it here, where I cleaned it as much as I
could for now, and put the table back together. I left the screws out
for now, as it will all have to come to bits again for restoration, but
the machine head is back in place. We had to cut the old belt to get it
all to bits, but this is no problem as it was dead anyway, and new belt
can be had from Wilf by the mile.

So, while DH is slightly annoyed at the use of space in the dining room,
*I* am a happy bunny tonight!

I also lost 3 lbs at Weight Watchers, so am doubly happy! Specially as
the only exercise this week has been one 3 mile walk, a shopping trip
with James to buy school shirts and PJs, and today's sewing machine
shaped weight lifting!
--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

That sounds delightful. I want a treadle. WAHHHHH! I can hardly wait
for the pics, though. Thanks for sharing, Kate.

Kate Dicey wrote:

The treadle came today!

My friend came to pick me up, and we went to her house to look at it.
It was tucked away in the corner of the gallery (they live in a
converted barn - very beautiful mediaeval structure converted to
interesting house with mezzanine in the living room!), and had been
gathering dust there for years.

Let me describe her:

Brown painted oval section tubular metal legs with touch of rust!
Cast metal treadle and flywheel
Wooden table top with 4 small drawers, each with round wooden knobs and
a circular moulding that looks a bit Art Nouveau; there are oval ones on
each end.
Small 'secret compartment' bit that flaps down at the front, revealing 3
small compartments
Plain wooden table top (badly marked, but recoverable), that flaps open
Machine head very plain 15-88 type with chrome face plate and inspection
cover at the rear. Decals quite worn, black Japanned finish shows signs
of having been damp at some point - there's a slight 'bloom' to parts of
it, like a black grape! I'm sure I can find out how to improve this!

The poor old thing is very grubby, even though I have dusted it to bits
already! I oiled her and turned her over, and removed several hard
wodges of oily lint (fossilized!) from the bobbin case and under the
stitch plate, and she works fine as far as I can tell without threading
her up. Once I have a belt, I shall do some serious cleaning to the
machine head, grease the bits that need it, and oil whatever looks like
it might soak up a little more oil, and set her to work.

I asked DH if he'd teach me to use the sander so I could sand the table
and varnish it, and he said no! It would be quicker to do it himself!
I will have to ask him how I can sort out the rust on the legs
tomorrow...

I will take pix of the head and the table as I sort them out, and I will
do some tomorrow of the state she's in now. It looks much worse than it
is because of the dirt and the top looking like it has spent several
years under slightly incontinent houseplants!

From information I have gleaned so far, I know that she was built
between 1936 and 1948, in St Johns, Canada. Cathy's grandmother, the
original owner, lived in both Canada and Trinidad before settling back
home in Lancashire (whence Cathy hales), so this would fit fine.
Unfortunately, while the manual and attachments have all come down to
me, the original bill of sale has not. It has a JB serial number, and
Singer tells me that this series does not have complete records, so
there may be no more to glean from them. Alan Quinn's site leads me to
think that a date of 1940 would be closer to narrowing it down, but we
may never know for sure.

The box of attachments contains a ruffler, a tucker, a bias binder, an
adjustable hemmer, and a rolled hem foot, and a screw-in seam guide!
Treasure indeed! These all look exactly the same as the ones I have for
Spinning Jenny, that came from my mother's 1950's machine, so I have no
doubt that we can make them work. They are in their original dark green
cardboard box ('slightly foxed' as the book people might put it!).

To get it here, we had to pack it into Cathy's car. To get it down the
stairs, I took the machine head out of the table, and we carried the
table down. It wasn't going in whole, so we up ended it onto the table
top, not worrying about the odd scratch because of the present condition
of the top anyway, and unscrewed the legs! The legs/treadle mechanism
fitted in the boot, the table fitted in along the folded down split fold
back seat, and the machine head went into the passenger foot well. We
piled in on top, and brought it here, where I cleaned it as much as I
could for now, and put the table back together. I left the screws out
for now, as it will all have to come to bits again for restoration, but
the machine head is back in place. We had to cut the old belt to get it
all to bits, but this is no problem as it was dead anyway, and new belt
can be had from Wilf by the mile.

So, while DH is slightly annoyed at the use of space in the dining room,
*I* am a happy bunny tonight!

I also lost 3 lbs at Weight Watchers, so am doubly happy! Specially as
the only exercise this week has been one 3 mile walk, a shopping trip
with James to buy school shirts and PJs, and today's sewing machine
shaped weight lifting!
--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

--
TerriLee Bishop
(opinions are wholly owned by the author and don't represent anything)
;-)
my real email is tlbishop at earthlink dot net

Kate, this is too funny! DH is 'annoyed' at the lost space but he won't
let you sand it : )
Just give him one HUGE Hug from me will you please.
He's priceless
Butterfly (he HAS to hug you back tho)

Musicmaker wrote:
she sounds beautiful! You tell your DH that he's a living doll for sanding
and varnishing for you and, b.t.w. - congrats on losing 3 pounds! I like
that kind of weight lifting!

--
Lady Cynthia, Royal Musicmaker

http://photos.yahoo.com/cbet_99
http://www.one-eleven.net/~music/
Remember, once you get over the hill,
you'll begin to pick up speed.

"Kate Dicey" wrote in message
...

The treadle came today!

My friend came to pick me up, and we went to her house to look at it.
It was tucked away in the corner of the gallery (they live in a
converted barn - very beautiful mediaeval structure converted to
interesting house with mezzanine in the living room!), and had been
gathering dust there for years.

Let me describe her:

Brown painted oval section tubular metal legs with touch of rust!
Cast metal treadle and flywheel
Wooden table top with 4 small drawers, each with round wooden knobs and
a circular moulding that looks a bit Art Nouveau; there are oval ones on
each end.
Small 'secret compartment' bit that flaps down at the front, revealing 3
small compartments
Plain wooden table top (badly marked, but recoverable), that flaps open
Machine head very plain 15-88 type with chrome face plate and inspection
cover at the rear. Decals quite worn, black Japanned finish shows signs
of having been damp at some point - there's a slight 'bloom' to parts of
it, like a black grape! I'm sure I can find out how to improve this!

The poor old thing is very grubby, even though I have dusted it to bits
already! I oiled her and turned her over, and removed several hard
wodges of oily lint (fossilized!) from the bobbin case and under the
stitch plate, and she works fine as far as I can tell without threading
her up. Once I have a belt, I shall do some serious cleaning to the
machine head, grease the bits that need it, and oil whatever looks like
it might soak up a little more oil, and set her to work.

I asked DH if he'd teach me to use the sander so I could sand the table
and varnish it, and he said no! It would be quicker to do it himself!
I will have to ask him how I can sort out the rust on the legs
tomorrow...

I will take pix of the head and the table as I sort them out, and I will
do some tomorrow of the state she's in now. It looks much worse than it
is because of the dirt and the top looking like it has spent several
years under slightly incontinent houseplants!

From information I have gleaned so far, I know that she was built
between 1936 and 1948, in St Johns, Canada. Cathy's grandmother, the
original owner, lived in both Canada and Trinidad before settling back
home in Lancashire (whence Cathy hales), so this would fit fine.
Unfortunately, while the manual and attachments have all come down to
me, the original bill of sale has not. It has a JB serial number, and
Singer tells me that this series does not have complete records, so
there may be no more to glean from them. Alan Quinn's site leads me to
think that a date of 1940 would be closer to narrowing it down, but we
may never know for sure.

The box of attachments contains a ruffler, a tucker, a bias binder, an
adjustable hemmer, and a rolled hem foot, and a screw-in seam guide!
Treasure indeed! These all look exactly the same as the ones I have for
Spinning Jenny, that came from my mother's 1950's machine, so I have no
doubt that we can make them work. They are in their original dark green
cardboard box ('slightly foxed' as the book people might put it!).

To get it here, we had to pack it into Cathy's car. To get it down the
stairs, I took the machine head out of the table, and we carried the
table down. It wasn't going in whole, so we up ended it onto the table
top, not worrying about the odd scratch because of the present condition
of the top anyway, and unscrewed the legs! The legs/treadle mechanism
fitted in the boot, the table fitted in along the folded down split fold
back seat, and the machine head went into the passenger foot well. We
piled in on top, and brought it here, where I cleaned it as much as I
could for now, and put the table back together. I left the screws out
for now, as it will all have to come to bits again for restoration, but
the machine head is back in place. We had to cut the old belt to get it
all to bits, but this is no problem as it was dead anyway, and new belt
can be had from Wilf by the mile.

So, while DH is slightly annoyed at the use of space in the dining room,
*I* am a happy bunny tonight!

I also lost 3 lbs at Weight Watchers, so am doubly happy! Specially as
the only exercise this week has been one 3 mile walk, a shopping trip
with James to buy school shirts and PJs, and today's sewing machine
shaped weight lifting!
--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

Hi Kate, your story makes me begin to wonder whether my Mum's old Singer
is still being used - I shall have to ask my cousin who inherited it
when we emigrated to Canada.
Jennifer in Ottawa

What a score!
I tracked down by Granny's old Singer a few years back - in the shed at a
cousins going to ruin. Glad I got hold of it when I did (wish I had it
before she did -it was pristine when Gran owned it!). No restoration yet but
she sits proudly in the corner.
Congrats re the weight loss.

Annie

"Kate Dicey" wrote in message
...
The treadle came today!

My friend came to pick me up, and we went to her house to look at it.
It was tucked away in the corner of the gallery (they live in a
converted barn - very beautiful mediaeval structure converted to
interesting house with mezzanine in the living room!), and had been
gathering dust there for years.

Let me describe her:

Brown painted oval section tubular metal legs with touch of rust!
Cast metal treadle and flywheel
Wooden table top with 4 small drawers, each with round wooden knobs and
a circular moulding that looks a bit Art Nouveau; there are oval ones on
each end.
Small 'secret compartment' bit that flaps down at the front, revealing 3
small compartments
Plain wooden table top (badly marked, but recoverable), that flaps open
Machine head very plain 15-88 type with chrome face plate and inspection
cover at the rear. Decals quite worn, black Japanned finish shows signs
of having been damp at some point - there's a slight 'bloom' to parts of
it, like a black grape! I'm sure I can find out how to improve this!

The poor old thing is very grubby, even though I have dusted it to bits
already! I oiled her and turned her over, and removed several hard
wodges of oily lint (fossilized!) from the bobbin case and under the
stitch plate, and she works fine as far as I can tell without threading
her up. Once I have a belt, I shall do some serious cleaning to the
machine head, grease the bits that need it, and oil whatever looks like
it might soak up a little more oil, and set her to work.

I asked DH if he'd teach me to use the sander so I could sand the table
and varnish it, and he said no! It would be quicker to do it himself!
I will have to ask him how I can sort out the rust on the legs
tomorrow...

I will take pix of the head and the table as I sort them out, and I will
do some tomorrow of the state she's in now. It looks much worse than it
is because of the dirt and the top looking like it has spent several
years under slightly incontinent houseplants!

From information I have gleaned so far, I know that she was built
between 1936 and 1948, in St Johns, Canada. Cathy's grandmother, the
original owner, lived in both Canada and Trinidad before settling back
home in Lancashire (whence Cathy hales), so this would fit fine.
Unfortunately, while the manual and attachments have all come down to
me, the original bill of sale has not. It has a JB serial number, and
Singer tells me that this series does not have complete records, so
there may be no more to glean from them. Alan Quinn's site leads me to
think that a date of 1940 would be closer to narrowing it down, but we
may never know for sure.

The box of attachments contains a ruffler, a tucker, a bias binder, an
adjustable hemmer, and a rolled hem foot, and a screw-in seam guide!
Treasure indeed! These all look exactly the same as the ones I have for
Spinning Jenny, that came from my mother's 1950's machine, so I have no
doubt that we can make them work. They are in their original dark green
cardboard box ('slightly foxed' as the book people might put it!).

To get it here, we had to pack it into Cathy's car. To get it down the
stairs, I took the machine head out of the table, and we carried the
table down. It wasn't going in whole, so we up ended it onto the table
top, not worrying about the odd scratch because of the present condition
of the top anyway, and unscrewed the legs! The legs/treadle mechanism
fitted in the boot, the table fitted in along the folded down split fold
back seat, and the machine head went into the passenger foot well. We
piled in on top, and brought it here, where I cleaned it as much as I
could for now, and put the table back together. I left the screws out
for now, as it will all have to come to bits again for restoration, but
the machine head is back in place. We had to cut the old belt to get it
all to bits, but this is no problem as it was dead anyway, and new belt
can be had from Wilf by the mile.

So, while DH is slightly annoyed at the use of space in the dining room,
*I* am a happy bunny tonight!

I also lost 3 lbs at Weight Watchers, so am doubly happy! Specially as
the only exercise this week has been one 3 mile walk, a shopping trip
with James to buy school shirts and PJs, and today's sewing machine
shaped weight lifting!
--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

In article , Kate Dicey
writes

I also lost 3 lbs at Weight Watchers, so am doubly happy! Specially as
the only exercise this week has been one 3 mile walk, a shopping trip
with James to buy school shirts and PJs, and today's sewing machine
shaped weight lifting!

Hee hee! You could build it into the FQ diet - as well as FQs as rewards
whenever you lose a lb, you could have a daily programme of exercises
based on lifting your SM!
--
Mel Rimmer

Congratulations! I learned to sew on a treadle so they have a special
place in my heart....I remember my Nana sitting and sewing with kathunk
sound and wanting to sew ...It is like the smell of baking bread!

--
Mauvice in Central WI USA
"Kate Dicey" wrote in message
...
The treadle came today!

My friend came to pick me up, and we went to her house to look at it.
It was tucked away in the corner of the gallery (they live in a
converted barn - very beautiful mediaeval structure converted to
interesting house with mezzanine in the living room!), and had been
gathering dust there for years.

Let me describe her:

Brown painted oval section tubular metal legs with touch of rust!
Cast metal treadle and flywheel
Wooden table top with 4 small drawers, each with round wooden knobs and
a circular moulding that looks a bit Art Nouveau; there are oval ones on
each end.
Small 'secret compartment' bit that flaps down at the front, revealing 3
small compartments
Plain wooden table top (badly marked, but recoverable), that flaps open
Machine head very plain 15-88 type with chrome face plate and inspection
cover at the rear. Decals quite worn, black Japanned finish shows signs
of having been damp at some point - there's a slight 'bloom' to parts of
it, like a black grape! I'm sure I can find out how to improve this!

The poor old thing is very grubby, even though I have dusted it to bits
already! I oiled her and turned her over, and removed several hard
wodges of oily lint (fossilized!) from the bobbin case and under the
stitch plate, and she works fine as far as I can tell without threading
her up. Once I have a belt, I shall do some serious cleaning to the
machine head, grease the bits that need it, and oil whatever looks like
it might soak up a little more oil, and set her to work.

I asked DH if he'd teach me to use the sander so I could sand the table
and varnish it, and he said no! It would be quicker to do it himself!
I will have to ask him how I can sort out the rust on the legs
tomorrow...

I will take pix of the head and the table as I sort them out, and I will
do some tomorrow of the state she's in now. It looks much worse than it
is because of the dirt and the top looking like it has spent several
years under slightly incontinent houseplants!

From information I have gleaned so far, I know that she was built
between 1936 and 1948, in St Johns, Canada. Cathy's grandmother, the
original owner, lived in both Canada and Trinidad before settling back
home in Lancashire (whence Cathy hales), so this would fit fine.
Unfortunately, while the manual and attachments have all come down to
me, the original bill of sale has not. It has a JB serial number, and
Singer tells me that this series does not have complete records, so
there may be no more to glean from them. Alan Quinn's site leads me to
think that a date of 1940 would be closer to narrowing it down, but we
may never know for sure.

The box of attachments contains a ruffler, a tucker, a bias binder, an
adjustable hemmer, and a rolled hem foot, and a screw-in seam guide!
Treasure indeed! These all look exactly the same as the ones I have for
Spinning Jenny, that came from my mother's 1950's machine, so I have no
doubt that we can make them work. They are in their original dark green
cardboard box ('slightly foxed' as the book people might put it!).

To get it here, we had to pack it into Cathy's car. To get it down the
stairs, I took the machine head out of the table, and we carried the
table down. It wasn't going in whole, so we up ended it onto the table
top, not worrying about the odd scratch because of the present condition
of the top anyway, and unscrewed the legs! The legs/treadle mechanism
fitted in the boot, the table fitted in along the folded down split fold
back seat, and the machine head went into the passenger foot well. We
piled in on top, and brought it here, where I cleaned it as much as I
could for now, and put the table back together. I left the screws out
for now, as it will all have to come to bits again for restoration, but
the machine head is back in place. We had to cut the old belt to get it
all to bits, but this is no problem as it was dead anyway, and new belt
can be had from Wilf by the mile.

So, while DH is slightly annoyed at the use of space in the dining room,
*I* am a happy bunny tonight!

I also lost 3 lbs at Weight Watchers, so am doubly happy! Specially as
the only exercise this week has been one 3 mile walk, a shopping trip
with James to buy school shirts and PJs, and today's sewing machine
shaped weight lifting!
--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

"Kate Dicey" wrote
My friend came to pick me up, and we went to her house
Let me describe her:

oval section tubular legs with touch of rust!
with 4 small drawers, each with round wooden knobs
Small 'secret compartment' bit that flaps down at the front,
badly marked, but recoverable
head very plain
cover at the rear.
quite worn,
The poor old thing is very grubby, (fossilized!)


Are you talking about Cathy?

oh Kate, she sounds wonderful!!
My Mum and Dad restored mine (i had no idea they were doing it!) and it =
looks fabulous..yours sounds very similar to mine, especially with =
regard to the cabinet..once you get her working you'll love it! my =
fiancee didnt understand why i was buying it (it was only =A320!!!) but =
then when it was restored and gleaming he changed his mind!
have lots of fun and post some pics when you can
Kathryn
Staffs, UK


"CHARLES MURPHY" wrote in message =
...
Congratulations! I learned to sew on a treadle so they have a =
special
place in my heart....I remember my Nana sitting and sewing with =
kathunk
sound and wanting to sew ...It is like the smell of baking bread!
=20
--
Mauvice in Central WI USA
"Kate Dicey" wrote in message
...
The treadle came today!

My friend came to pick me up, and we went to her house to look at =
it.
It was tucked away in the corner of the gallery (they live in a
converted barn - very beautiful mediaeval structure converted to
interesting house with mezzanine in the living room!), and had been
gathering dust there for years.

Let me describe her:

Brown painted oval section tubular metal legs with touch of rust!
Cast metal treadle and flywheel
Wooden table top with 4 small drawers, each with round wooden knobs =
and
a circular moulding that looks a bit Art Nouveau; there are oval =
ones on
each end.
Small 'secret compartment' bit that flaps down at the front, =
revealing 3
small compartments
Plain wooden table top (badly marked, but recoverable), that flaps =
open
Machine head very plain 15-88 type with chrome face plate and =
inspection
cover at the rear. Decals quite worn, black Japanned finish shows =
signs
of having been damp at some point - there's a slight 'bloom' to =
parts of
it, like a black grape! I'm sure I can find out how to improve =
this!

The poor old thing is very grubby, even though I have dusted it to =
bits
already! I oiled her and turned her over, and removed several hard
wodges of oily lint (fossilized!) from the bobbin case and under the
stitch plate, and she works fine as far as I can tell without =
threading
her up. Once I have a belt, I shall do some serious cleaning to the
machine head, grease the bits that need it, and oil whatever looks =
like
it might soak up a little more oil, and set her to work.

I asked DH if he'd teach me to use the sander so I could sand the =
table
and varnish it, and he said no! It would be quicker to do it =
himself!
I will have to ask him how I can sort out the rust on the legs
tomorrow...

I will take pix of the head and the table as I sort them out, and I =
will
do some tomorrow of the state she's in now. It looks much worse =
than it
is because of the dirt and the top looking like it has spent several
years under slightly incontinent houseplants!

From information I have gleaned so far, I know that she was built
between 1936 and 1948, in St Johns, Canada. Cathy's grandmother, =
the
original owner, lived in both Canada and Trinidad before settling =
back
home in Lancashire (whence Cathy hales), so this would fit fine.
Unfortunately, while the manual and attachments have all come down =
to
me, the original bill of sale has not. It has a JB serial number, =
and
Singer tells me that this series does not have complete records, so
there may be no more to glean from them. Alan Quinn's site leads me =
to
think that a date of 1940 would be closer to narrowing it down, but =
we
may never know for sure.

The box of attachments contains a ruffler, a tucker, a bias binder, =
an
adjustable hemmer, and a rolled hem foot, and a screw-in seam guide!
Treasure indeed! These all look exactly the same as the ones I have =
for
Spinning Jenny, that came from my mother's 1950's machine, so I have =
no
doubt that we can make them work. They are in their original dark =
green
cardboard box ('slightly foxed' as the book people might put it!).

To get it here, we had to pack it into Cathy's car. To get it down =
the
stairs, I took the machine head out of the table, and we carried the
table down. It wasn't going in whole, so we up ended it onto the =
table
top, not worrying about the odd scratch because of the present =
condition
of the top anyway, and unscrewed the legs! The legs/treadle =
mechanism
fitted in the boot, the table fitted in along the folded down split =
fold
back seat, and the machine head went into the passenger foot well. =
We
piled in on top, and brought it here, where I cleaned it as much as =
I
could for now, and put the table back together. I left the screws =
out
for now, as it will all have to come to bits again for restoration, =
but
the machine head is back in place. We had to cut the old belt to =
get it
all to bits, but this is no problem as it was dead anyway, and new =
belt
can be had from Wilf by the mile.

So, while DH is slightly annoyed at the use of space in the dining =
room,
*I* am a happy bunny tonight!

I also lost 3 lbs at Weight Watchers, so am doubly happy! Specially =
as
the only exercise this week has been one 3 mile walk, a shopping =
trip
with James to buy school shirts and PJs, and today's sewing machine
shaped weight lifting!
--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!


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