My dear friend Marianne has been on the lookout for a Featherweight to call her own for quite some time now. She was particular about the age of the machine she wanted...so she had to wait until the right one came along. She finally found her 1948 Singer Featherweight and I couldn't be happier for her!!!
This is Marianne's new baby....
Isn't she a beauty?
To celebrate Marianne's new toy, I decided to give my own Featherweight...the one I've been sewing on the last couple weeks....a "spa day". She was starting to sound tired again, so it was time for some oil. :)
Silly me didn't think to take a photo of her sitting all pretty on the table. :) She is a 1947 Featherweight and I love her to moon and back. She is the first one I "fixed" myself during the basic maintenance class I took several months ago. I'm still not completely certain what I want to name her....probably "Ruthie"....I'm still thinking about it.
I don't know what possessed me next, but I decided to get brave and work on my oldest Featherweight. Ray picked her up at an auction and she wouldn't sew once we got her home. She is so pretty and I've been afraid to attempt to work on her myself....oh well, she wouldn't sew in the first place, so I couldn't hurt her...right? LOLOL
The work was a tad bit more extensive than I was anticipating...but it could have been much worse. The poor thing had a deformed belt (I think it was stored too long and developed a "hump". Since I didn't have a spare belt, I worked on massaging the hump out the best I could...then I readjusted the belt tension by tinkering with the motor placement. Cleaned her inside really nice (she wasn't as dirty as I expected, but she was dry as a bone). She was so thirsty for some oil and lubricant. Would you believe I even found an ancient pin stuck in one of the holes on the motor where lubricant goes. That took some gentle digging out...but thankfully, I finally worked it out. Then I put her back together, gave her a brand spanking new needle and light bulb, then turned her on.
Light works...check. Motor runs....check. Humpy, lumpy belt starts turning for the first time....check. Needle goes up and down...check. So I threaded her up, put a bobbin in....oh boy...she is sewing...not great stitches, but that can fixed. :) Tinkered with the upper tension....tinkered with the bobbin tension...then lo' and behold....she's sewing a beautiful stitch! I'm so tickled with myself...time to do the happy dance!! :)
She is a 1936 Featherweight and has the beautiful scroll work on her silver face plate. If I'm not mistaken, the fancy scroll designs stopped with the 1946 models.
The gold decals on her fold-down plate are still in fairly good condition.....
But the gold decals on the actual sewing surface have seen better days. This actually tells me that she was loved and used A LOT at some point in her 77 years of life.
Where the decals have been scratched off is exactly where sewing pins slid across her as one of her previous owners sewed....probably clothing for herself and family members.
Her motor sounds strong and she purrs like a little kitten. I'm naming her Adeline which was my maternal grandmother's middle name.
I think me and Adeline are going to get along just fine....she's short, compact and strong as a horse....just like my grandma. :) :)
P.S. I did some shopping on Ebay after working on Adeline and ordered a new belt and a new pair of shoes (4 padded feet...she was missing one). Didn't even spend $10.00....I feel good...and productive! :)
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