This is a 1975 Kenmore sewing machine. It is the only machine I owned until recently. I bought it new at Sears in 1975 for almost nothing and I have made everything from maternity clothes for me and prom dresses for the resulting baby to baby dolls and quilts. It is almost completely metal, weighs about a ton, and is a workhorse if there ever was one.
As you can see by Itzl's concerned look, this group gives Kossacks a safe place to check in, a daily diary where we can let people know we are alive, doing OK, and not affected by such things as heat, blizzards, floods, wild fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, power outages, earthquakes, or other such things that could keep us off DKos. It also allows us to find other Kossacks nearby for in-person checks when other methods of communication fail - a buddy system. If you're not here, or anywhere else on DKos, and there are adverse conditions in your area (floods, heatwaves, hurricanes, earthquakes etc.), we and your buddy are going to check up on you. If you are going to be away from your computer for a day or a week, let us know here. We care!
IAN is a great group to join, and a good place to learn to write diaries. Drop one of us a Kosmail and ask to be added to the Itzl Alert Network anytime! We all share the publishing duties, and we welcome everyone who reads IAN to write diaries for the group! Every member is an editor, so anyone can take a turn when they have something to say, photos and music to share, a cause to promote or news!
We do have a diary schedule. But, when you are ready to write that diary, either post in thread or send FloridaSNMOM a Kosmail with the date. If you need someone to fill in, ditto. FloridaSNMOM is here on and off through the day usually from around 9:30 or 10 am eastern to around 11 pm eastern.
Monday:
BadKitties
Tuesday:
ejoanna
Wednesday:
Caedy
Thursday:
art ah zen
Friday:
FloridaSNMOM
Saturday:
Most Awesome Nana
Sunday:
loggersbrat
But what I have found out since joining the quilt guild last year is that one sewing machine is never enough. I am stunned at the number of machines the average guild member owns, probably 3 or 4. The long arm quilters are even worse considering their machines cost an arm and a leg and are gigantic. Who needs more than one of them? But our ladies have a few. Come on in for more info and a look at my "new" machines.
In 2014, I bought this as my second machine. It is a 1954 Singer Featherweight. It weights 11 pounds, only goes up and down (no zigzag) and makes the sweetest stitches you will ever see. The hole that the needle runs through is very small and so it makes very precise stitches and is a quilters friend indeed. It requires much more cleaning and oiling than a more modern machine but it has its advantages and it looks so cool!
For some reason, I can not get this picture to show completely but if you click on it, you will see the whole machine. It is a sweet little thing.
But yesterday, while I was at Helping Hands sandwiching donation quilts, one of our members asked me to come out to her car. When I got there, she GAVE me this machine.
This is a Viking sewing machine made in 2000. It is computerized, has quite a few stitches loaded into it and they can all be adjusted in various ways. Shirley (my guild buddy) gave me all the paperwork, manuals, extra feet, a video and even the receipt from when she bought it. It is in wonderful shape and is such an advance over what I have been using. I put it in the shop for general cleaning since it has been sitting for 6 years and will get it back next week. Then, look out! I hope to start learning to use it right away. The video is also on Youtube, so I watched it. Bill, the shop man, said it was so easy to use that I would not need a class to teach me if I had the video and the manual, which I have both of. He was right, at least as far as I can tell from watching. We'll see when I actually start sewing on it.
Do you sew? Do you have favorite tools that are old but loved? I can not imagine this newer machine replacing my Kenmore but I think it will be a great addition and will bring a new level of sewing to my projects.