Monday, January 22, 2018

You Have HOW Many Sewing Machines??

I am constantly looking at "for sale" pages of sewing machines. 
 I have a bucket list of vintage machines I would like to own. 
 I have no idea why other than that I like them.  
I have found more than I need at the thrift shop too.  
These are not necessarily ones I have on my list, but they have been in decent shape and
 I think they need to be in a good home.  
My husband is one patient man!

Recently I was checking out the FB market place when I found a Singer Rocketeer. 
 Not only was there a machine but there was a fold up table. 
 It was rectangular not square which is quite rare.  
There was also a cabinet that has sewing "stuff" in it. 
 It was not in very good shape but I thought it might have stuff pertaining to the machine in it. 
 I watched the ad for a bit and after about a week or so they dropped the price in half.  
I immediately messaged and ended up committing to purchase the machine and stuff.  
It took me a little over 2 weeks to get there due to my son's health issues but I picked it up last week.  This is a photo the seller took of the machine in the table.


We picked up the cabinet and it is a good thing too as the foot pedal was in here.  
It is just a cheap particle board cabinet so I won't be keeping this.


It sure was fun to sort through all of the drawers though.


 I did end up finding a few feet, but if I want to sew with it I will have to find some more.



This old needle card was a fun find.


It even had the original owners manual inside!


Now I need a name for him.  I'm sure this one is a boy, so handsome!
I know several people that have named theirs 
"Elton" (Rocketman) but I need something more original. 
 Maybe Buzz? 
 I will have to think on it.

I have had several people ask me how many machines I have.
How do you feel when someone asks you that?
I'm trying not to be offended but I feel they are being judgmental when they ask.
It's kind of a personal question for me.
I know, you will all say not to take it personally, but it reminds me of the questions, how many kids are you going to have, when you have a large family.

Suffice it to say I have a LOT.
If we decide to go RVing full time I will most likely sell off some of them.
I will not sell them all.
The rest will have to go into storage, along with LOTS of our household stuff.

I have some furniture that has been in my family for several generations and that also would need to go into storage.

I think this year I will need to get each and every one operational. 
 That way I can sell those that I am not in love with.  
I will keep the rest.

How many machines do YOU own?

~XOP~


12 comments:

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

I have four - I almost said 3 as one of them hasn't worked in years but it is still in the closet! I never thought I was a person to have more than one as I do more quilts by hand then by machine.

dianne said...

how 'bout "Chekov"?

as for how many machines living here ... hmmm ... there's Sven and Thor and Bette Black and my mom's Elna ... plus Melissa's Lily and Castiel and her granny's machine ... and LuLu's (i THINK she named him Olaf, but that might be wrong) ... there would be another, but i doubt that i'll ever see him again (after loaning him to Earth Science ten years ago ... never got my 12 foot ladder back, either) ... so - not even a dozen ... i have almost as many irons - ha ha ha

Frédérique - Quilting Patchwork Appliqué said...

Hmmmmmmmmmmm... one! Only one ;)

BarefootThunder said...

Seven or eight...maybe nine?? I don't know.... 😜

Cynthia's Creating Ark said...

Well I must admit I am new to collecting vintage machines but I have 10 but there is a few on my wish list.A Singer rocketeer and a featherweight top my wanted list. A great score finding your new addition.

Angie said...

I think it's cool you are rescuing the sewing machines! And just think, when they all run, at least they will be usable for you or others. So I think it's just great! Have a sweet day!!

Donna~~ said...

I have 3. One is an old Singer of my grandmother's. It's missing the stichplate (?). I wish I could replace that piece. If you have any ideas of how/where to find one, I'd love a suggestion. (Since you buy machines, perhaps you'd have an idea). I don't see that how many machines you have is any different than how many guns or fishing poles or pieces of fancy jewelry. It's up to you what makes you happy. Think of yourself as a skilled collector. :)

Gail said...

For vintage machinesI have my Rocketeer that was my mom’s. This is the machine I learned to sew on in 1963. Then I have a couple of Featherweights (one was my mom’s) and then my 1972 Viking. I won’t tell you how many newer machines I own. When we bought our camper of course I had to get a little portable. I could have used one of the Featherweights, but I needed more stitches.

roberta mill said...

I only have two.

mtquilter said...

I confess, I'm one of those that would ask how many machines a person has. Not because I'm being judgmental but because I think it cool and am curious about what type etc. I'm also curious about how you store/display them. I know what you mean though, depending on the person asking, you do feel judged. I have 2 older Berninas, 2 featherweights, a white and a black, 2 newer small portables, 1 I want to sell, a serger, a longarm and an older Singer I lent/gave to my son and a non-working treadle. I'd probably have more if I had the space!
I sometimes feel like I'm rescuing them. The older Singer I bought from a friend's estate. I just knew it would end up at Goodwill if I didn't take it home and I couldn't let that happen. ;)

Bridget said...

Sometimes I think people who ask are really trying to place themselves in the comparison. You know, if she has 10 and I only have 7 then my husband has nothing to complain about...or conversely, if she has 10 and I have 25...I would own my collection!!! :)

CA Bobbie said...

my sewing pals were discussing this the other day and when I really thought on it I have 5 of "mine" and Mom's Elna & Pfaff added when she passed.(so I guess that's 7). Kind of funny, I thought I had 2 til I counted. My Pfaff 230 sits on my table and has just become part of the table unless I really look at it.

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