More Cadillac Tan!

We really DID have the best time on our Cadillac adventure through Victoria BC!

I’ve been in a Tan/Beige mood since returning ---

Body clock adjustment is a weird thing, and I have been bouncing back and forth between Alaska time and North Carolina time for much of August – so my body doesn’t really know WHAT time zone it wants to be in…

Late last night I needed to simply putter with something.  Nothing really mind-numbing – but just take-apart-and-put-back-together again.

I combined TWO Singer 301A parts machines that were both non-functioning into ONE FRANKEN-SINGER that works!

Okay, it’s not the most beautiful 301A out there ---but looks aren’t everything. The proof is in the stitch!  And this guy is now sewing wonderfully.  What is left of the “OTHER” is barely an organ-donor.  The motor is still good, but the machine doesn’t turn – it’s likely got a bent shaft.  I have harvested all the screws and thread guides and the needle plate and everything else that might come in handy.  The body is pretty ugly ((Yes, uglier than this one!!) and once that motor has been removed and baggied up for the parts-department, it will find itself on the way to the dump. The foot pedal and cord, the tension assembly, the needle plate and other parts are now living happily on this new combo-machine.

I think the re-settling inside of me just needed the feel and smell of sewing machine oil, WD-40 ((only for unsticking rusted screws! Never use WD40 as a machine lubricant – it dries and gets gummy!)) and grit under my fingernails.  I needed to make a mess!

It was after 2am before I went to bed...and found myself waking up at 9:45am.  Ugh.

Today the mess continued!

This is a Singer 227M, made in Monza, Italy in the early 1960s!

I tried to find an exact date of manufacture on this one – spent quite a bit of time waiting in line on hold with the phone on speaker phone just to talk to a “real” person after scouring the internet for information that just isn’t there.  Singer had the Monza, Italy plant for decades, so “Early 60s” was all they could give me.

Close enough.  I am a 1962 baby, and I feel a connection to this machine!

The serial number did nothing to help!  There is a letter obscured or missing from the far left end…ineligible! Or missing.

Stitch length dial.

When this machine first came home, it was really stuck.  And grimy.  The presser foot was stuck in the UP position, and it took a lot of patient waiting for oil to seep in to loosen that up.  The motor is strong and works well.  New belt, new bobbin tire, more lubing and oiling and cleaning and it now sews….but there is a problem.

Presser foot tension dial

The 227M has a presser foot tension dial on the side of the machine, allowing you to adjust for thicknesses of different fabrics.  It also has a knob near the pillar for feed dog dropping.  I can get it to sew, but the fabric ruffles, either from too much tension on either the top or bobbin thread ---or the pressure of the presser foot, or a combo of all three.  Still working at it.  It could be the feed dogs themselves are still a bit sticky too.

Once I get it right, this machine would be an absolute workhorse ---and if I removed the motor, it would be a fun one to pop into the treadle cabinet!  I love it’s sleek lines…..

And the fact that it matches our Caddie from our trip to Victoria BC!

CLASSIC!

It’s time to get the  machine oil and WD40 smell off of my hands and get busy with some pattern writing – that’s what this week is for.  Manuscript deadline is looming, and I want to get more done before we head to the cabin on Friday for the long labor day weekend!

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