The Accomplishing of Little to Nothing -

This was my day yesterday -

I had  hoped to tune up some machines in the hopes for finding new adoptive parents for them.

Five machines came up with me from Wallburg on Sunday – I grabbed the 5 that I thought would be easy enough to get going.

It was a day of fits and starts, and disappointments as one by one each machine had something so wrong with it that I was unable to get ANY of them going. 

This 15 with the potted motor?  Something is wrong with the motor and I don’t do electrical.  It stitches SO SLOWLY even after oiling it a bunch and letting it sit.  It seemed to go SLOWER the longer I tried to get it go. SIGH.

Which means – as it is a potted motor (Gear driven, no belt) If I want it to work it needs to go to the fix-it guy, and that’s going to cost me at least $75.00  if not more to bring it up to the point where I can re-home it to someone else.

I’m thinking this one needs to be a parts donor.  Come to think of it – wasn’t this machine given to me for parts anyway?  I couldn’t remember. It’s a pity.  She is a beauty.  I may at some point just take her in and get her fixed – but as far as having her on hand for one of my Quiltvillians to adopt?  Nope.

There was a 1970s singer reproduction of a class 15 that wouldn’t run either.  In fact, I don’t think it ever had been used.  It was a “collectors” item.  It is completely frozen up – parts donor?  I can glean the bobbin case and bobbins, tension assembly, spool pin, motor and foot pedal, assorted nuts/bolts/screws – but that machine was made in Taiwan and was more of a looker than a sew-er.

This one was a toss up as to what to do with it.  Click to Play:

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A post shared by Bonnie K Hunter (@quiltville_bonnie) on Feb 25, 2020 at 10:26am PST

It’s a sweet Diplomat – the decals are pretty, and while the bobbin winder works well, she doesn’t sew worth beans.  LOL!  I think I bought her because she was cute as all get out.

And she will continue to be cute – on top of a book shelf at Quiltville Inn where everyone else can say “Isn’t she cute?!”  But I can’t sell her – unless someone wants her just for display.

One machine needs the electrical completely redone.

Another – a Necchi BF – works perfectly, but the whole bobbin/belt guard mechanism is missing.  I think I adopted it as-is hoping to find parts at some point.  It works great as long as you can wind  bobbins another way – but I’m not up to re-homing that without a bobbin winder and belt guard.

It’s not a total loss – I have made the decision to get these 5 non-working machines OUT of the machine fleet and either parted out or displayed.  The next batch I bring up here will be better.

And it still tugs at my heart – these sweet machines who should be sewing but aren’t.

And while I was at it -

I tried to solve this mystery!

The manual that came with the machine that you can just barely see the decals on – says it is a SINGER IF (Improved Family) or VS2.  I thought the VS2’s had fiddle bases – but whatever.

When I adopted a treadle from Charlotte Angotti last spring it came missing a slide plate.  I assumed the machine was a 27 -

It turns out the 27  slide plate does not FIT Charlotte’s machine – but the one I borrowed from the IF does fit.  So is Charlotte’s machine also an IF – just with Sphinx decals?

This fits.

The one for the 27 only slides in this far.

So I am in search of a FRONT slide plate for an IF (VS1 or VS2?) that looks just like the one above that fits.  instead of the hole, it has a fingernail indentation for sliding it out – and the embossing on the front. 

I’m putting this out there in case anyone just happens to have one.  You never know! 

This one – no belt!

This one received parts from another donor machine (Another given to me – and I grabbed the spool pin off of the donor machine, and also the face plate – (I should have taken a before and after photo!) and it is ready for a maiden voyage, but the belt in the machine was for the IF and was way too loose for this baby as the IF is a taller machine. 

I ordered more belting – but where is it? At the cabin not here.  I’ll pick it up on the next trip.

It was just a “dead in the water” kind of day for vintage machines all the way around.  Some days are like that.  But I did get to give the machines some love – and we move forward from here.

Please tell me I’m not the only one heartbroken over machines that don’t work!

This was this past weekend while I was on my way to Bedford -

The snow was falling with such big flakes – you can see them in the photo.  I thought this might make a great Christmas card photo for next year.

Today is a day for making all ready for the Sisters of the Stash who are arriving tomorrow – They are coming from Missouri, Kentucky, and even Boston!

The cleaners are here doing what cleaners do – and that is working out well.

One small batch of mail to go out, and then I’ll be playing in my studio here letting them do their thing.

I keep flip flopping between the Tulip blocks (SPRING! SPRING! SPRING!) and the Sugar Loaf blocks (FUN FUN FUN!) and can’t seem to light on any one project because my mind is in such a whirl with all that is going on.

The sun is shining – Time to get to it!

Quiltville Quote of the Day -

You will never be happy if you are only seeing yourself through the eyes of others who are not you.

Know your worth! Your self-esteem is between you and yourself only.

Self esteem starts where comparison stops.

Enjoy your Wednesday!