Adding to the collection...

There's something about an old sewing machine that just draws me. They tell a story... or I make one up lol. Each machine has it's own story to tell.

My Singer 600E Touch & Sew has a story... it was my grandmothers, she used it to make clothes for all 5 of her children as well as herself and many household projects all through the 1960's clear through the nineties until she was no longer able to sew.

I don't think I've mentioned this in a previous blog, but I also have a 1940's Sewmor Deluxe sewing machine. The model number slips my mind at the moment. My husband saw it at a customers house and they gave it to him. It is a beauty. It's blue and solid as a rock. It's electric and it only does two stitches. I'll have to post pictures after I get home, I just realized I've never mentioned it before. The story she tells... she was manufactured in Japan in the late 1940's, she's one of the first Sewmor models. I visualize her being owned by the mother in Mary Poppins... she shows very little sign of wear or use, yet the machine and cabinet are gorgeous. She may have used it a handful of times to hem up some new Women's Voting Rights sashes.

My sergers have a wonderful story. They were used in a high school for many many years, unfortunately the high school decided to do away with there Home Ec. program. I'm not even going to get into the importance of Home Ec and similar classes in middle and high school, that's a blog all unto itself.

And now the newest addition to my collection... a 1957 Singer 401A Slant-O-Matic. After a lot of research (aka a couple of good google searches lol) I've gathered that this machine is pretty well saught after, and is supposedly one of the best machines Singer manufactured "back in the day". The machine is not in great condition, though... it has been neglected. The cabinet looks to be falling apart (although structurally sound) with chunks of the wood missing. The machine itself needs some cleaning up and oiling, and the plug needs repair. Other than that it looks okay. One of my dad's neighbors was moving and he took it, apparently they were going to throw it away! Shame tsk tsk. My dad had no idea I was a bit of a collector, so he was shocked when he saw how thrilled I was to receive this treasure. Her story? My idea is that she was owned by a hippie mama and was used to make clothing and handbags for herself... and was never used to hem a thing lol.

I cherish all of my lovely machines, even my cheap-o Brother that I use for my regular day to day projects. And to think, I've paid a grand total of $85 for all 6 of my sewing machines :-).