The Old Sew n Sew

I know, I know, it's been a while. Well it's actually been a few months since I have done any sewing. Since the Surprise, Surprise bag for a friend and her mates in August, the only sewing I have done is to shorten hubby's trousers! Things have been difficult what with one thing and another but losing my sewing 'mo-jo' has been the worst thing ever!!

I'm not really sure when it started or why, but the passion for sewing seemed to disappear overnight. I wonder if I had finally gotten over losing my mum and don't need that particular connection anymore. 'Maybe' is my answer but I really want to sew; it's just I have no 'get up and go'!

I damaged my finger - snapped the tendons in the end of my right-hand middle finger - which you may think was a minor inconvenience. Believe me, it wasn't! I could not believe the problems wearing a finger splint would cause. I wasn't able to do anything of any interest for two months! I know! Ridiculous!! Tying shoelaces was virtually impossible and washing my hair - as short as it is - was a nightmare. Looking back now, maybe this is where the rot set in; when my mo-jo disappeared.

My mum always said "the less you do, the less you want to do" and this was certainly the case with me. Someone once described me as "all duck, and no dinner"; meaning that I was all or nothing. I do have an obsessive streak - I think we all do somewhere - my fabric hoarding is testament to that and because I couldn't do any sewing, because it was just too difficult (being right-handed) or awkward or not perfect, I gave up. I realised that I needed a proverbial kick up the a**e but didn't know how.

I briefly managed to get my head out of my (cough, cough) rear end (!) when I made the Surprise, Surprise bags but quickly retreated back into my sorry-ar*e ways. My reverie didn't stop me buying or looking for fabric though, which confused me as I could see what it would look like when I had finished with the fabric. However, I couldn't get my head around the fact that I would have to do something with it in order for it to become what I saw in my head! Sounds stupid, I know but that's how my mind worked.

You will know, if you have read any of my previous posts, that I have an old Singer, hank-crank, sewing machine. I love it dearly, but for many years I have dreamed of having a treadle sewing machine. I think my fear of using an electric one at the time fuelled this 'need' for one as I thought I would be able to control the speed of the machine with my feet easier with the treadle than that of the pedal! A bit like patting your head and rubbing your tummy, I thought. Therefore, when we have been going to antique fairs and the like, I have secretly been looking for a machine.

We did see one in a small fair in a village hall; complete with accessories and manual but felt, at the time, that it was a little expensive and the seller wasn't sure if the machine worked or not...... I wasn't prepared to buy a machine without knowing if it worked and certainly wasn't going to spend a lot of money on one which couldn't be used. Anyhoo, we left, machine-less and I carried on looking.

I then caught a virus infection which is still causing problems 3 months on - another story - which affected my mind set again. I was just so poorly I couldn't do much of anything 'normal' nevermind non essential! I moved my laptop onto the dining room table so that I didn't have to see the fabric, machines and pattern folders. I now work from the table and only use the sewing room/office to file away the paperwork. It hurts and irks me to see all my supplies sitting waiting to be used.

So I was trawling the t'internet one day, and came across a beautiful treadle sewing machine. It was in full working order and looked stunning; as if it ad just come out of the factory! It was up 'for auction' and the starting price was quite reasonable. There was a week left to run so I placed a bid. I was soooooo excited. I was checking in on the bids seemingly every hour lol. There were two other bidders but I soon out bid them and so I was in 'the lead'. However one of the bidders turned out to be a seasoned player and waited until two minutes before the time-out to place his last bid. I lost out, needless to say.

Disappointed and now convinced that everything happens for a reason and the reason was that I didn't need another (!) sewing machine because I was done, I resigned myself to not having a treadle. Until........

Full Frontal

I was informed - via the ebay 'elves' - that there was another machine up for bids. I thought long and hard and visited the machine several times until I placed my bid. I held my breath and then surprise of surprises, the seller contacted me and asked if I could up my bid slightly? So I bid slightly higher and it wasn't long before I received confirmation that I was the proud owner of the treadle! The seller - I later found out when we picked up the machine - wanted a quick sell and didn't want a bidding war. I was soooooo happy! The machine had been used albeit not recently so there was no problem there but it would need needles and probably (definitely) a clean and polish. Photos of before shown here:

Treadle wheel

Inside - where machine
folds down into

Front Pocket before

Back view of machine

Front view of machine

Once we got the machine home - and had had a total office/sewing room revamp to find room for it - I set about looking online for advice on how to clean the metal work and then clean and feed the wood. I didn't want to just polish the wood and metal because I felt that the wood could do with some special treatment. There were a few scratches on the top - which the seller had told me about - and I was hoping that the cleaning and feeding would reduce if not remove them completely.

I found a recipe for one such liquid online and duly set about collecting the ingredients: linseed oil, alcohol, turpentine, in specific quantities and then shaken (not stirred, lol). The smell in wonderful and the effect it had on the wood was just unbelievable!

I had collected a 'set' of videos from Youtube showing a guy doing what I was about to do. It looked easy and his narration of each step was clear although at times his filming was a little 'dodgy' as he was finding it a little difficult filming and 'doing' at the same time. However I was feeling particularly confident so set forth and started taking the machine apart where I could.

First job was to remove the dust bunnies. Over the years of wear, lint collects in the nooks and crannies especially underneath the feeder teeth. Oiling compounds the problem by compacting the lint and dust until the teeth cannot move properly.

There were two screws which needed removing so I could get a clear look. Unfortunately I could only get one of the two screws undone which meant I couldn't get in with tweezers and brushes. However I did manage to use the canned air and brushes so can only hope that I got all of the crud from underneath. This was the only problem I encountered and like my dad always used to say - "there will always be one screw/nail/nut you can't get". So I put the top back on and moved onto the next bit.

Each piece of machine I was able to take off, was placed down on the table in order, cleaned and oiled where required. The sewing machine main body was oiled using the machine oil - NOT WD40! - and the specific holes in the machine where oil needed to be put. The underneath was cleaned with metal polish and then oiled, again in specific places and only one drop as per instructions.

Silver Side Panel

The silver side plate couldn't be removed - I don't have the confidence or know how to remove the bits where the cotton is threaded through - so I did what I could do polish it up along with the silver 'disk' on the back of the machine which I was able to remove.

All the wood was cleaned using the finest wire wool with the linseed oil concoction. The dirt was ingrained. Obviously there were years and years (and years) of use, dust, grease, and polish giving the wood it's aged 'antique' look; however wood needs feeding. I use beeswax on my table and chairs every 6 months which feeds and polishes the wood so I needed to treat the wood on the treadle with the same care. The 'potion' was to clean and feed it and it did an excellent job, (smelled great too but you have to love the smell of linseed oil!).

Needless to say the machine looks fantastic. I am now waiting for a new belt to complete the project. Unfortunately I have been let down by the supplier so it looks like it will be after Christmas when I can get it. I might just look it the existing one to see if I can temporarily repair it so I can trial the machine. Can't wait!