I received an email from Peggy just the other day that she had a machine for me and wanted to drive it up from Florida to North Carolina.
HAND DELIVERED?! Oh Boy!
We had conversed by email before ---I had thought my last Florida trip was going to be a driving one, but then when Alabama was added directly on to Florida, it was going to require far more car miles than were desirable and actually more time/cost effective to fly. So fly I did – which meant, I couldn’t bring the machine home.
So when Peggy said they wanted to come up this weekend ---well, first thing I had to do was find a way to break the news to The Hubster. I mean, after all – there were already TWO treadles at the cabin, can I justify a 3rd? Oh yes! Who knows…in the future, I’d love to have a treadle-retreat up here. In the future. At some point….
When the guys unbuckled the cabinet from the back seat of Peggy’s car, I got really excited…oooh!! An older two drawer cabinet! This one is EARLY!
I had expected a hidden fold out machine kind of cabinet, but instead this one is a box top, or coffin top! ((I prefer box top….just sayin’!))
Cabinet in the back of The Hubster’s Pickup!
Machine Head riding in the back seat on the floor!
Look at those decals!
These decals are known as “Lotus” and I have seen very few of them in the “wild” during my years of collecting machines. I bought my first Singer 115 treadle in 1992, and I only became aware that there was such a thing as a Lotus decal within the past few years.
She made it home and was quickly assembled in the living room!
Her serial number dates her to 1910!
Her foot style is known as “back clamping” because they attach from the back side.
Pillar decals and bobbin winder
What I find interesting on this machine is the stitch length knob is a bit off to the right closer to the side of the machine instead of center in the pillar as are my “younger” ((but not by much!)) model 66 machines. My Red Eye is just ONE YEAR newer than this one, and the changes are noticeable! Even the bobbin winder is different.
Center decal in pretty good shape!
Manufactured in Great Britain!
In her new spot overlooking the view of the Blue Ridge Mountains through the living room windows.
But wait! Wasn’t there already a machine there? Yep! And that machine now is between the twin beds in the upstairs guest room just in case one of my friends has a desire to sleep-treadle!
Makes a great bedside nightstand too!
Since Peggy was so sweet to drive the machine all the way to North Carolina, I am naming this machine after her! I know we will have many happy hours together treadling at the cabin. In just a few weeks it should be nice enough to roll her out onto the upper deck and have some fun spring time stitching. I can’t wait.
Peggy is also quite the accomplished quilter herself! She sews on treadle machines by choice, saving her “modern” machine for when she needs something like a zig zag or an overcast stitch. But if it is straight stitch that is needed, you’ll find her treadling away on one of her favorites ---
We also had a bit of a parking lot trunk show, direct from their trunk! Click the image below if you can’t view the slide show on your mobile device, you’ll be taken to the photo album for viewing
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| Peggy's Quilts, NC 2014 |
We are heading home from the cabin today. The Hubster has work to do in Willmingon this week, and I've got a quilt to load on the machine and get quilted, and I can't do THAT from up at the cabin. I'm hoping we'll be back this next weekend before I head out for the wilds of Tennessee!
Have a great Sunday, Everyone!
Sleep treadle! HAHAHA!
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous treadle! I treadle in my sleep but don't have a machine right beside my bed to really do it in the middle of the night!
ReplyDelete"Peggy" looks as though she has been sitting by the window forever. Fits there a treat. Peggy looks like she has been busy too. Her quilts are lovely.
ReplyDeleteLinda
What fun, beautiful machine.
ReplyDeleteKevin said "Treadle Trifecta!" ..... how much fun is that.
ReplyDeletei prefer box top too...just sayin! and she is a beauty....
ReplyDeleteThank you much over the past mos. for the history lessons on sewing machines. Love my brown & white Singer, my workhorse Janome, and my recent acquisition, a 1950's black Featherweight (my quilt teacher's machine.) Love learning more about them all. Your recent addition is a beauty with decals never seen before by most of us. Enjoy!!! (Stephani in N. TX (Tomazec@aol.com)
ReplyDeletePeggy is a beautiful machine and looks very much at home under that window after a century of travel from her birthplace in GB.
ReplyDeleteI had to chuckle at the "sleep treadle" comment. How sweet of Peggy to bring you the machine.
ReplyDeleteLook ! at those decals!!! Indeed ! they are beautiful, wonder if they could be made into a quilt?
ReplyDeletePeggy sure is a sweetie and her quilts are great as well. As always Bonnie I am amazed at what you accomplish in a day.... sun was on the way down during the truck stop show and the new machine is in it place and the old one in it new place as you head home!
I can hardly wait to see you in Tennessee. A Mountain Quiltfest with Bonnie Hunter what could be better? March 19-22 at the new LeConte Event Center in Pigeon Forge. Hoping for a week of great TN weather, too.
ReplyDeleteI inherited my grandmother's 1920 Singer treadle. My husband cleaned and replaced the belts. I have only attempted to use it a few times. I struggle to keep going forward. Do I need to spend more time practicing or is there a secret to using the treadle?
ReplyDeleteLinda Barnhouse
Missouri
llbarnhouse@aol.com
In this part of the world (Australia), the lotus design seems to be the most common decal. Probably because the majority of machines here came from the UK. But on the other hand, I have never seen the "red eye" decals except on the internet!
ReplyDeleteWhat a generous gift Peggy from Florida has given you. She must have seen your bucket list and desire for a Lotus Decaled Singer. 1910, WOW my English grandma was 16 years old when that one was made in Great Britain. A treasure for sure!
ReplyDeleteAny idea how Peggy came to be in Florida from Great Britain? It would be interesting to know if it has been in her family or one she found.
ReplyDeleteWoohoo! You've been wanting a Lotus machine. I have one that is now a hand crank, but, I'm still working on the tension on mine.
ReplyDeleteBonnie, are you familiar with the decorative painting called stenciling? I was just thinking the decals around the bed of this treadle would make a pretty stencil around a window or door....What a beautiful machine! I love that the decals are worn on front....where hands were busy sewing.
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a real winner. I got one that is a Wright-Mann Excelsior that I cannot find anything about. I would love to get it running but have my doubts. So glad that you received this since you are really use these machines.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful machine! My dear brother showed up on my doorstep about 6 months ago with a machine exactly like 'Peggy'! He was driving by a yard sale and it caught his eye. He knew I had to have it! What a great surprise! I am slowly cleaning and repairing. Can't wait to get her up and running! Kathy in California
ReplyDeleteKathy..... kwalker23@roadrunner.com
ReplyDeleteapart from the obvious why were they called coffin tops cause those machines are still goin' But she is a beauty.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful machine (and nightstand machine is lovely too!). I love those old machines. They just have an "old majesty" look about them that is very appealing to me. -Brittany
ReplyDeleteOMG! My treadle base has two drawers like that too! Mine has a flat flip open lid/table extension. I was beginning to think that mine was a custom made table as anyone I spoke with had never seen one with two drawers before. Is it a special table model... or just a much older version. I bought the table separately from my 1921 treadle which came in a folding up kind of table that I didnt' like.
ReplyDelete