Saturday, August 23, 2008

I've Adopted a Stray...

...or taken on another new "project" - depending on how you want to look at it.

I spotted this little cutie on the side of the road Tuesday as Hubby and I were on our way to pick up the Munchkin from daycare.

"Sweetie," I said, in my best persuasive tone. "If that old sewing machine is still out on our way home, can we stop and look at it? Please?"

It was, and we did - after pulling a u-turn because we were chatting with the Munchkin and I forgot to look (Thanks to Hubby for remembering!).

After I quickly determined that A) there was no "for-sale" sign on it and B) it was up for grabs... we grabbed it. I figured we could examine it later and go from there.

It is now safely ensconced in the garage -awaiting some TLC that will hopefully get it back in working order. Hubby has examined the cabinet and made some recommendations on how it can be repaired. The mechanism that folds the machine back down inside is in good working condition, so mostly it is cosmetic repair. The broken piece was stacked on top of it at the curb, so much of what we need to make repairs is right there.

The machine seems to be in good condition - I don't know much about the mechanics of machines, so am still determining if it has all it's necessary parts and pieces, but my friend SewPaula has put me on to some good websites that look like they will yield some good information. The drawers were all empty, so no hidden goodies or hardware or other resources there, but they will make a good place to store them when I find them.

I was able to date our stray - she is a 1920 New Home - still trying to figure out the exact model but am hoping one of the online forums can help with that.

Since our house is a 1929, I am hoping she will feel right at home, and that Zoe and Melody will help her feel welcome and useful. The Munchkin has already examined her and wants to know why she does not have that "up and down string" - I can only guess he means the thread that he sees in Zoe, since he'd have no way of knowing about the cable for the treadle. Hmmm....

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow! What a terrific find!

Connie said...

AWESOME find!!! That is soooooo cool!

Julie H said...

What a great score!

Marlublu said...

Wow,how lucky were you!Reminds me of my grandma's machine. I remember seeing her sewing on her machine.

Carla said...

That's great! The declas are wonderful on it! I found an 1889 New Home treadle at an auction and it cleaned up beautifully. I'm sure some of those websites will tell you about how careful you need to be when cleaning the decals to avoid discoloring them. Can't wait to see yours all nice and pretty!

Anonymous said...

Oh wow. What a terrific find. I can't believe someone would put that out by the curb.

BitnByAQuiltingBug said...

Well done! What a find!
Regina

Hazel said...

The decals are beautiful ,hope you get it up and running .