Do you treadle?

This summer I came across a good deal on a Singer 66 1910 Redeye  treadle.  I have always loved old sewing machines.  They were built to last and also are quite pretty.  In fact, my mom gave me a New Home but it had a motor attached and the motor was no longer working.  So when we moved to Arkansas in 2007 my husband sold it at a moving sale.  I always regretted that sale but such is life.  So I when I came across this Singer she just had to come home with me.  She came from a home where she had been used as a prop in a wedding that had a vintage theme.  When I went to pick it up I took some time to check that the bobbin parts were intact and that the wheel turned and it wasn't completely rusted up.  Well, everything seemed to be in working order, except that the belt was missing.  The owner seemed dumbfounded that I was going to try and get it to sew again. I guess she only saw her as a prop.

Well, I had Tom look it over and clean the machine and he also tweaked the timing a bit. I am so lucky that he is talented.Then it was my turn to try and get her to stitch. Well, it took me about a half an hour of tinkering to get the tension fine-tuned enough for me to sew two pieces of fabric together.  I thought it was going to be a lot more challenging.  Her decals are very worn, but that's ok with me.  She shows her years, but still is in decent shape and the best part is, she sews.  It has taken several sessions of me playing around and getting the hang of this treadling thing.  The first thing you learn is the wheel needs to move forward or your most likely going to break the thread in the needle.  Well, let's just say I have plenty of practice rethreading her.

 I decided it was time for me to take her on a real training session.  I had that stack of quarter square triangles to turn into hourglass blocks. Well, I will admit that the first half an hour or so was hectic.  I was very tempted to just turn my chair around and turn on the Viking with the sensor foot, needle down and speed control. But, if there is one thing I have learned in life is if you really want to learn something it takes perseverance, so I mustered up the tenacity and kept going.  First I  learned to start the machine moving forward without using my hand on the wheel. After all, I need my hands to guide and feed my triangles.  There is still plenty of improvement to be made, but I think I got this treadle thing.  The sound she makes is wonderful!  Considering she is 108 years old, her stitching is perfect! My husband keeps saying we can double our money by selling her. "What are you crazy!!!!!" is my reply.  I think he finally gets it that she is here to stay. She's a workhorse and my hourglass blocks turned out great.

This brings me to 636 hourglass blocks, I am getting closer to my goal of 850!