So How Many Sewing Machines Do You Have?

Gosh - I only have four machines. Is there something wrong with me (big grin)? I can’t even imagine having 10 or 15 or 20+ as Barbara mentions in her post below. Where on earth would I put them all?! As it is, I have one in use, one kept at my family’s summer place to use when I am there and two packed away in a back corner under my work table.

My newest sewing machine is a Viking Sapphire which I totally love (and bought on sale last spring). (See photo above with my latest project for my book.) It has a ten inch throat which is such a luxury after only having 6-7 inches to work with when quilting, though certainly not like having a mid arm, which I would love to have. But there again NO SPACE!

My second machine is a Viking Rose, which I was able to buy at cost from a dealer who was closing her business about 10-12 years ago. Such a deal! It is a very nice machine but I never used the embroidery features, so it was a bit like owning a computer when all you want to do is word processing.

My third machine is a New Home, which I have owned for more than 20 years. It is very noisy but reliable. After I bought my Rose I used the New Home for teaching – it was great for teaching kids because it is not a complicated machine and I also figured if it got ruined – Oh Well!

My fourth machine is my mother’s old Singer from the early '50's with all the attachments, cogs for fancy stitches, manual, etc. It still runs but I rarely use it and have it carefully packed away. This machine supplies me with wonderful memories of my mother who died when I was 25. She made most of her own clothes and mine when I was growing up, not to mention all the drapes, pillow covers, upholstered furniture and slip covers in every house we lived in. I especially remember a lovely prom dress she made for me when I was 16 that fit a young body about half the size of the body I have now! (I still have that dress. It is still beautiful and it is TINY. How did I ever fit into it?)

AND - I am on the lookout for an antique treadle sewing machine, preferably pre-1900 or at least pre 1910 - in good condition (not that I have a lot of $ right now, but I am dreaming). In the meantime, I collect miniatures of antique machines. They help brighten up my sewing room.

If anyone is interested in a great source of information about antique sewing machines of all makes and models made during the nineteenth century, get yourself a copy of The Encyclopedia of Early American Sewing Machines (Second Edition) by Carter Bays. The photos are wonderful and the information is very detailed and interesting.

Tell us about YOUR sewing machines!

Cary Flanagan

Something Sew Fine Quilt Design
http://www.somethingsewfine.com

...and how many sewing machines do you have?

From reading the last post, it's clear Beth is sewing machine challenged. C'mon girlfriend, you can do better than that! It's time to join the ranks of the sewing machine crazies.

Last year my guild asked its members "How many of you have five or more sewing machines?" About 2/3 of the members raised their hands. Then they asked "ten or more"; the number dropped to about one third. "Twenty-five or more?" maybe ten members still had their hands up.

I'm in that first group, if you count my rarely-used serger. Sewing machine #1 is my circa 1975 Kenmore; not a fancy machine, but built like a tank. It was my only machine for over 20 years, and I still use it regularly. Number 2 is my Brother serger. Bought at the height of the serger fad, I never quite got the hang of serging, and it's been carefully packed away for over ten years. In 2003 I bought a Janome QC6125. I use this for most of my sewing and quilting. If I'm working on multiple projects requiring both sewing and quilting, I also fire up the old Kenmore so I'm not constantly changing threads or feet. My third machine is a mid-1960's Dressmaker. I paid $3 for it (in working condition) and a bag of sewing books at a yard sale on my way to work. It's obviously a low-end machine, but it will stitch a decent straight stitch, although its zig-zag stitch leaves something to be desired (I've never had it serviced or even cleaned). Then came my 1955 Singer Featherweight, my dream baby. I wanted a Featherweight for a while, and came across two nice ones in a local antiques consignment shop shortly before Christmas a couple years ago. I was 99.99% positive one of those little beauties would be under the tree. I was wrong. One day the following summer my husband went to a flea market, and I decided not to go with him- probably the only time I declined to go along. That's the day he came back with a little black case I immediately knew housed a Featherweight. After oohing and aahing over it for about 20 minutes (see photo), I realized something which was apparent the seller of the machine didn't know- my machine was a free arm model, worth several times what my husband paid for it. After a tune-up by Bob the Featherweight guy, it purrs like a kitten. I use it when I want to take my time and savor every moment of sewing, which is unfortunately not often enough.

My newest machine is also my oldest- a 1928 Singer Model 128. I bought it for $35 because it was just so doggoned pretty. Bob replaced the ratty old cord and cleaned and tweaked it, and it too runs like an absolute dream. I've never actually used it for more than a few minutes, as I only have one bobbin so far.

None of my machines are fancy ones, and quite honestly, they have more than enough features for me. Occasionally I think it would be nice to have a larger quilting machine though.

Barbara Chojnacki

Six Gables Designs