I have numerous hobbies. I will try to post several. One is working on old sewing machines. There is such a history to them, and often stories about the people who used them.
My mom mostly sewed by hand. My grandmother had a machine, a White, which I now have. She used to sew Barbie doll clothes for my sisters at Christmas time. Growing up, a neighbor, Antdionette, who lived across the street raised her kids working as a seamstress doing alterations for the local Penny's store.
I love the really old Singer machines, but there are so many other wonderful brands.
The ones that were all metal are the best. They will literally run forever when properly cared for, and are fairly easy to work on. The one in the photo is my go to machine. It's a Singer 306K made in Scotland around 1954. The pitfall with working on sewing machines is that you want to save every one from the sewing machine boneyard. I give away some of the ones I fix. One of the exciting things is discovering discarded machines. I once found a Singer 201-2 in a cabinet, by a dumpster and carried it a few blocks to get it home. I find machines left curbside, and even sometimes left on my front step.
There's something about the purr of a well oiled sewing machine producing nice even stitches, that I just can't resist.
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