TOGA

When we were vacationing in KY, in the rain, I decided to take the kids to town for a change of scenery (inside the cabin).  There were several antique stores and we had fun browsing through them.  One had a table of puzzles and a game of checkers set up so we killed time and played some games. (I didn't think to take pictures)

In the last shop, I spied this sitting in the corner....

 

I opened up the top and... ooh la la!  An 1870s Singer Model 12.   It needed a good cleaning and a belt.  I turned the wheel and everything appeared to work. Unfortunately the shuttle and bobbin were missing and the sales lady had no clue.  I thought it a bit pricey, and I had no idea how difficult it would be to  find parts.  So I went back to the cabin and posted on the treadle quilters facebook page.  I connected with Diane who had a friend selling a similar machine, in better shape, and for less!  A few emails back and forth and I'd committed to a new acquisition!

There was a TOGA (TreadleOnGAthering scheduled a few weeks later in Winchester TN.... about 2hr drive from home, so I made plans to attend and pick up my new beauty.  

 

And a beauty she is... An 1869 Singer Model 12... with some beautiful mother-of-pearl inlay.  She hadn't been used in a while and needed a dose of tri-flow to loosen up and get stitching.   I will have to play with the tension to get a decent stitch out of her, but she works!

I brought along my 1921 Singer Model 66 Red Eye to sew on and for some help.

I have been enjoying sewing on her for a few years now.  But lately I have been having trouble with the tension.  It kept bird-nesting a bit on the back.  I've made several adjustments to correct it, but no luck.

The biggest problem was that the belt had stretched over the last couple years and was slipping, thus the birdnests!  Diane easily snipped a half inch off the leather belt and tightened it up.

Skip looked at my bobbins.  I have several original bobbins and several newly made bobbins.  The new ones were made imperfectly and have a little lip on the inside that interferes with the path of the thread.  Once I switched to using only original bobbins, problem solved.

Thanks to Diane and Skip she is now stitching perfectly!