Vintage Sewing Goodies

On Saturday, I woke up with the urge to take a walk. It's probably because I felt something shaking near my waistline on Friday while I was laughing. It made me think of Santa and his round little belly that shook like a bowl of jelly. I'm a frustrated, out-of-commission runner, with an unidentified and thus untreated hip/leg/ankle injury that has kept me from running since I ran the NYC Marathon in 2009. I haven't been able to run or walk briskly without pain, but Saturday I felt very compelled to try going for a walk.

On the very next block of my street, there it was... an estate sale sign. I hardly ever go in to estate sales or garage sales, but I've been wanting to build my stash of old buttons for a project I'm working on and I decided to go in just to see if by chance they had any buttons. Long story short, here's what I came home with.

A 1939 Singer 66-16. I was able to date her using her serial number on the Singer website. The gentleman holding the estate sale was the son of the home's owner who has moved into an assisted living facility. She's 97 now and bought this machine new. I'm only it's second owner!

She's in pretty good shape with the exception of the power cord (which is a little frayed in places) and the scratches on the front where the previous owner stored pins on a piece of velvet wrapped around the upper shaft. I spent all day Saturday taking the machine apart to clean and oil her parts. She sews so beautifully! I still need to fiddle with the bobbin tension a little, but as soon as I replace the power cord (so I don't burn down my house), I'll be more comfortable keeping her plugged in for a while so I can make more adjustments.

This little pink lady also came home with me.

I've read online that Atlas was a "badge" placed on machines built for Brother in Japan in the 1950's. I couldn't resist; I mean, she's pink! The previous owner bought this machine when she decided to upgrade from the Singer. From the scratches, grease, and grime on this machine, I can tell it was used a lot. The Atlas is a straight-stitch machine too, but she has a reverse and you can drop the feed dogs. I spent some time working on her too and she sews a very lovely straight-stitch, but not quite as nice as the Singer.


Not on my shopping list either, but I picked up cigar boxes and tins of old thread and wooden spools,


a (50's?) tablecloth in a very modern gray and yellow color scheme, two sets of cafe curtains (with valances) and some aprons,


and a tin of sewing supplies with a few buttons inside. That tape measure advertises Hanes Union Suits on the backside.

Both of the sewing machines are in cabinets, but unfortunately, I didn't get the manuals or any attachments. I have no idea where I'm going to store them and maybe I don't even need to keep both, but I know I'm keeping the Singer. I told the homeowner's son to be sure and let her know that her machines had gone to someone who will appreciate them and that they didn't even leave the street they had called home since the early 1940's. 

And no, I never did finish taking that walk.