Early Anniversary Present
So, on my vacation the husband and I went to our local semi annual community yard sale that happens in the spring and fall. Normally we find one or two small things, like last fall when I scored my brown knee high boots for $5. I wear those bitches all. the. time. Anyways, this sale is located in the old town school building in the auditorium/gymnasium with things scattered over the bleachers, stage and tables. I went right, he went left. I spotted a stack of old Nintendo Power magazines labeled 'free' so when I found him among the toy section, I told him to go see if they were anything he might want. We both remember having those around as we grew up, me because of my brothers and him because even though he is 10 years older than me, he was/is still into gaming and toys. #foreveryoung haha.
Anywho, I told him about the magazines and he told me not to go to the end of the last aisle because we didn't bring enough cash. Interest peaked. I wasn't quite sure what could be there because this sale is a mix of old and new stuff, but I made a beeline to the end of the last aisle. OMFG. There sat the most lovely antique treadle sewing machine. I didn't know what to do, so I just stared at it like a dummy. haha. I loved it. It had simple designs on it and was in decent condition, so I walked around the rest of the gym-atorium and looked at everything else before coming back to end at the sewing machine. The tag read "Antique Singer sewing machine with extra parts in drawer. Still works." The husband asked if I wanted it and I said I didn't have room for it, so we left with some old Nintendo Power magazines and an Alf hand puppet that I found for a buck. Not too bad of a haul.
"Lets have a snack now, we'll get friendly later. You got a cat?"
We were on our way to get the tags renewed for our vehicles, but when we got there, they were closed on Thursdays. Seriously... like, what government building/office closes on a weekday?? I mean, its nice for those who need to stop by on a Saturday because they are actually open, but for me wanting to get shit done, it was slightly agitating. No biggie, though. We went and ran the gamut, hitting all 3 of our 'local' thrift stores and came out pretty good for the day. But as we drove home with the extra cash that would have been for the car tags, I couldn't help but think that we should stop and just see if the machine was still there. We didn't, even though the husband asked me if I wanted to stop as we drove by. I told him we didn't have room for it. He said it could be my early anniversary present, even though our anniversary is sometime in April. We never remember the date. Marriage Goals! haha.
When we got home, he did some research and thought that the price they were asking, $75, was not too bad for the shape it was in and the age. It is a treadle machine after all, and they only made those for so long before going electric. He was all rearing to go, but I was still hesitant. I am just not into buying expensive things for myself very often. Makes me feel icky. And to some people $75 isn't 'a lot' or 'expensive', but since I am the breadwinner and the only source of income (yay, reverse 50s household!), it is a lot to us. He makes his own money selling vintage toys so he can buy what he wants, but I just am not super into buying stuff for me. Especially if its not a necessity. I was ok with buying the dehumidifier for the house because its a moist bitch up here and we move it from room to room. We use it everyday. Its practical. But I already have both a sewing machine and serger, so this (in my mind) would be frivolous. I had actually not even given it much consideration that night as we puttered around the house.
The next day, we headed back down to the sale because the lady who had the stack of magazines for free had approached the husband and asked him if he was interested in vintage toys. He said yes and they struck up a conversation about some toys her adult son had told her to get rid of and she had debated about bringing them to the sale. She said if we wanted to come back the next day, she would bring them. So we went with the intention of looking at toys, but the minute we got into the car, he was all 'if that machine is still there, its fate and we're buying it.' How could I argue with that? lol. We walked in and there she was, still at the end of the last aisle. We went right over and someone came up behind us and asked if we wanted to buy it and we said yes and she wrote his name on the tag. As we were ooh-ing and ahh-ing over our not yet paid for purchase, a very nice old man came up and started talking about how his mom had one and he gave it to his daughter in law and how cool they were and all that. We asked the lady if we could pick it up later because we were in the camaro and had no way of bringing it home until he was done working on my truck. We just had to wait for the mailman to bring a fuel pump and then we could bring the truck down and get it. This adorable old man VOLUNTEERED TO BRING US THE MACHINE. He said he too had driven his car and not his truck, but that he could go get the truck and drive it home for us. It was so sweet, but we didn't want to put anyone out. These folks are too nice. Every year when we come to the sale, we meet someone nice. Country folks. :)
Aaaaanyway, here she is!
A little dirty, but more or less in good condition. It has wear where it should be, like on the base area where you would be pushing fabric across. Someone used it a lot.
We sat it on our bloody footprints rug. It seems appropriate. >:-D
And the cats approve, although they aren't allowed on it. Just under.
I fell in love with that round plate thingy when we saw it at the sale. It looks Celtic to me. Plus the machine itself isn't covered in elaborate decorations like some of the older ones I have seen. Just simple and lovely.
To find the year, I searched around online and found a site that will tell you what year it was made based on the serial number printed on it. Ours was 1927 and the model is a 66 model. I found a website that has parts, some original and some not, which is good because the leather treadle belt looks pretty ancient and may need to be replaced. For now, we are going to be giving it a good cleaning, but we aren't going to do anything too crazy, like repainting or something. It has character... its just dirty. The worst part is the top of the cabinet door, which has a little issue with the veneer, but really it just needs a little work and it will be as good as new. I am debating on doing a complete sanding and all that jazz like I did with the sewing machine table I got for $5 a couple of years ago. I mean, it looks great, but it also didn't have a machine with it when we bought it, so it was more for looks. This machine, tho, will be used. I will make sure it is in working order after we clean it because I have always wanted to try sewing on a machine like this.
And I am no expert on vintage sewing machines by any stretch of the imagination and $75 may not have been a good deal, but I thought it was. And the more the husband got excited about it, the better I felt about buying it. Plus, he started taking it apart like right away for a cleaning, so that's a nice bonus. I did almost all the work on that first table, hand sanding and linseed oiling it. It was a bitch. But he likes taking mechanical stuff apart and putting it back together, so if he wants to clean the machine and I do the table, I'm ok with that. This table is half metal with the treadle and half wood. Totally doable. He says this is the start of my vintage sewing machine collection and I am both horrified and excited by the thought. haha. O_o
Anywho, I told him about the magazines and he told me not to go to the end of the last aisle because we didn't bring enough cash. Interest peaked. I wasn't quite sure what could be there because this sale is a mix of old and new stuff, but I made a beeline to the end of the last aisle. OMFG. There sat the most lovely antique treadle sewing machine. I didn't know what to do, so I just stared at it like a dummy. haha. I loved it. It had simple designs on it and was in decent condition, so I walked around the rest of the gym-atorium and looked at everything else before coming back to end at the sewing machine. The tag read "Antique Singer sewing machine with extra parts in drawer. Still works." The husband asked if I wanted it and I said I didn't have room for it, so we left with some old Nintendo Power magazines and an Alf hand puppet that I found for a buck. Not too bad of a haul.
"Lets have a snack now, we'll get friendly later. You got a cat?"
We were on our way to get the tags renewed for our vehicles, but when we got there, they were closed on Thursdays. Seriously... like, what government building/office closes on a weekday?? I mean, its nice for those who need to stop by on a Saturday because they are actually open, but for me wanting to get shit done, it was slightly agitating. No biggie, though. We went and ran the gamut, hitting all 3 of our 'local' thrift stores and came out pretty good for the day. But as we drove home with the extra cash that would have been for the car tags, I couldn't help but think that we should stop and just see if the machine was still there. We didn't, even though the husband asked me if I wanted to stop as we drove by. I told him we didn't have room for it. He said it could be my early anniversary present, even though our anniversary is sometime in April. We never remember the date. Marriage Goals! haha.
When we got home, he did some research and thought that the price they were asking, $75, was not too bad for the shape it was in and the age. It is a treadle machine after all, and they only made those for so long before going electric. He was all rearing to go, but I was still hesitant. I am just not into buying expensive things for myself very often. Makes me feel icky. And to some people $75 isn't 'a lot' or 'expensive', but since I am the breadwinner and the only source of income (yay, reverse 50s household!), it is a lot to us. He makes his own money selling vintage toys so he can buy what he wants, but I just am not super into buying stuff for me. Especially if its not a necessity. I was ok with buying the dehumidifier for the house because its a moist bitch up here and we move it from room to room. We use it everyday. Its practical. But I already have both a sewing machine and serger, so this (in my mind) would be frivolous. I had actually not even given it much consideration that night as we puttered around the house.
The next day, we headed back down to the sale because the lady who had the stack of magazines for free had approached the husband and asked him if he was interested in vintage toys. He said yes and they struck up a conversation about some toys her adult son had told her to get rid of and she had debated about bringing them to the sale. She said if we wanted to come back the next day, she would bring them. So we went with the intention of looking at toys, but the minute we got into the car, he was all 'if that machine is still there, its fate and we're buying it.' How could I argue with that? lol. We walked in and there she was, still at the end of the last aisle. We went right over and someone came up behind us and asked if we wanted to buy it and we said yes and she wrote his name on the tag. As we were ooh-ing and ahh-ing over our not yet paid for purchase, a very nice old man came up and started talking about how his mom had one and he gave it to his daughter in law and how cool they were and all that. We asked the lady if we could pick it up later because we were in the camaro and had no way of bringing it home until he was done working on my truck. We just had to wait for the mailman to bring a fuel pump and then we could bring the truck down and get it. This adorable old man VOLUNTEERED TO BRING US THE MACHINE. He said he too had driven his car and not his truck, but that he could go get the truck and drive it home for us. It was so sweet, but we didn't want to put anyone out. These folks are too nice. Every year when we come to the sale, we meet someone nice. Country folks. :)
Aaaaanyway, here she is!
A little dirty, but more or less in good condition. It has wear where it should be, like on the base area where you would be pushing fabric across. Someone used it a lot.
We sat it on our bloody footprints rug. It seems appropriate. >:-D
And the cats approve, although they aren't allowed on it. Just under.
I fell in love with that round plate thingy when we saw it at the sale. It looks Celtic to me. Plus the machine itself isn't covered in elaborate decorations like some of the older ones I have seen. Just simple and lovely.
To find the year, I searched around online and found a site that will tell you what year it was made based on the serial number printed on it. Ours was 1927 and the model is a 66 model. I found a website that has parts, some original and some not, which is good because the leather treadle belt looks pretty ancient and may need to be replaced. For now, we are going to be giving it a good cleaning, but we aren't going to do anything too crazy, like repainting or something. It has character... its just dirty. The worst part is the top of the cabinet door, which has a little issue with the veneer, but really it just needs a little work and it will be as good as new. I am debating on doing a complete sanding and all that jazz like I did with the sewing machine table I got for $5 a couple of years ago. I mean, it looks great, but it also didn't have a machine with it when we bought it, so it was more for looks. This machine, tho, will be used. I will make sure it is in working order after we clean it because I have always wanted to try sewing on a machine like this.
And I am no expert on vintage sewing machines by any stretch of the imagination and $75 may not have been a good deal, but I thought it was. And the more the husband got excited about it, the better I felt about buying it. Plus, he started taking it apart like right away for a cleaning, so that's a nice bonus. I did almost all the work on that first table, hand sanding and linseed oiling it. It was a bitch. But he likes taking mechanical stuff apart and putting it back together, so if he wants to clean the machine and I do the table, I'm ok with that. This table is half metal with the treadle and half wood. Totally doable. He says this is the start of my vintage sewing machine collection and I am both horrified and excited by the thought. haha. O_o
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