Goodies!

I like parcels.  Even if I have a fair idea of what they are going to contain.  Yesterday when I got home there was a red and white card on the mat telling me that the postman had something for me.  Hurrah!  I clattered around to the sorting office as fast as my brogues would carry me and came home with this.

The return address is a giveaway.  A parcel from Helen Howes can mean only one thing.  My sewing machine goodies have arrived.  My experience of Helen is that she is very good at getting things out to her customers in a hurry.

And she wraps things up very well too!  Can you tell what it is yet?

Some will know exactly what this is, what it's for and where it goes.  I didn't think I would ever actually get to see/own one.  These two little drawers are the tool boxes which would have been supplied with the Singer 401G 'portable' when new.  My 401 came with a few useful bits and bobs (not least the walking foot) but was missing the original tool box.  I have been adding to the 401G's kit as and when things have appeared.  The hearing aid beige plastic tool  drawers tone perfectly with the case that mine came in and it has a rather clever trick up its sleeve.  More of that to follow at a later date.  There's still more bubble wrap to get through today.

I just couldn't bear the idea of buying the tool drawers without something to put in it.  This is an adjustable slotted binder made to fit Singer slant shank machines.  It makes me want to run up an apron or a table runner.

There were more goodies in the parcel.  This time for the 15K80

New 15 class bobbins and a second hand spool pin of the correct pattern it's a perfect match for size and shape with the spool pin under the 15K80's bobbin winder.  Now I need to dig out the rubber-faced mallet.  It was last seen on a camping trip to Cornwall two summers ago and is probably stowed with the tent pegs.

Meet the Singer 201K

"This cabinet is beautifully finished and, when closed, presents no suggestion of a sewing machine."

So said Singer when they were still trying to sell them.  It is actually quite a good design and, although mine isn't in as new condition, it is well put together and the quality of the quarter cut veneer is as good as any mid 20th century factory made furniture I've seen.  This one had been standing in a puddle in an out building when I collected it.  It was cold and damp and had started to go mouldy and although the polish has flaked in places the carcass and veneer are basically sound.  I let the cabinet gently dry out in an unheated room over the first few days of ownership.  I haven't tried to wax it  because I haven't decided whether I am going to strip and refinish part or all of the outside yet.

Here is the cabinet with both doors open revealing the treadle and flywheel.  The polish on the inside is still sound and I wouldn't dream of messing with it.  The box mounted on the inside of the left door is great.  It's amazing how many attachments, bobbins, scissors, seam rippers and so on one can cram in there.  The brown paint on the treadle irons is near perfect as is the rubber mat.

Nestling tantalisingly in the cabinet is the 201K.  The top of the cabinet folds out to form a work surface which rests on the left hand cabinet door.  This picture shows some of the battle scars the the cabinet has collected over the years very well.

There is  strong-looking coil spring in the back of the cabinet which helps to counterbalance the weight of the machine when lifting it into the operating position.  Venus  approves of the large level working space to the left of the needle.

This 201K has the Plain-Jane "paper clip" decals and Johnny-Come-Lately striped face plate.  It's all restrained elegance from post-war Kilbowie and I love it!

The serial number on this machine is from a batch allocated in 1950.  Funny to think my 28K was already 50 years old when this 201K was brand spanking.  I must admit that I do like the way the chrome really sparkles on this one.  Amazingly it's none the worse for having been stored in a leaky shed.  

I include this picture of the machine lying in the well of the cabinet to show the striped access plate which matches the face plate and the round bracket fixed behind it.  This must have been where the Singerlight attached to the machine.  How handy would one of those be now?

All I've really done here since getting the machine is clean, oil, recalibrate the tension indicator plate and fit a new bobbin tire.  Rolls Royce sewing for less than the price of a yard of Liberty lawn tell that to a Viking Rep!  Having been used to the 28K the 201K is a revelation.  It really has to be heard to be believed.  Sew quiet!  The belt has started to slip a tiny bit since the machine became acclimatised to the sitting room but I've yet to pluck up the courage to shorten it.  I am paranoid about making it too short and straining the bearings.

So far I've sewed a hobo bag for my mate Steph on the 201K and a patchwork cushion cover for T-M-B but I am looking forward to doing lots more with it.  I really want to try and make a shirt for myself one day soon.

More on the Log Cabin Blocks

This is one of my completed paper foundation pieced  log cabin blocks.  Note the wide, uneven, margin of paper all around the outside of the fabric.  Although the foundation will remain in place until I join the blocks together I fear this wide margin will make that joining near impossible.

This is the same block flipped over so that the paper foundation shows.  That uneven margin will need to be trimmed to the same width on all of the blocks.

I line the first quarter inch mark on my ruler up with the printed outline on the foundation and trim with my rotary cutter.

I can then join matched blocks in the manner of a four patch unit by sewing along the printed line on the foundation, nesting the seams in the way that I have been taught.  Here are the first two blocks of a four patch coming together.  Note the neat narrow margins on the foundation pieces which give the quarter inch seam allowance I am looking for.

Here is a complete unit.  Colour matched log cabin blocks sewn as a four patch block in a setting that I have seen called sunshine and shadow.  Only a few more to go before I have something nearing the size of a cot.

Tea, Tiles and Inspiration

Look at this!

Quilt Floor

I mean the tiles and not the feet.  I believe that this type of tile is known as encaustic tiles.  The pattern is made up by inlaying clays of different colours rather than by paint or glaze.  They were first seen in churches and cathedrals during Medieval times and became hugely popular in the hallways of Victorian England.  They appear to be enjoying a revival in this delightful cafe bar in London's West End.

The-Much-Beloved has an eye for architectural detail and is a great believer in snapping a record of features that please just in case we ever need them.

"Oh look at the lovely floor!  I bet you'd want to sew that as a pattern"

Hmmm.  Sounds like a challenge is that a gauntlet I hear hitting the encaustic tiles?

The tile here looks like a variant on the eight point star.  I think it's do-able.  How scary can half-square triangles and flying geese be?

Watch this space...

Crazy Patchwork Cushion

Crazy Patchwork Cushion

This cushion case is made of scraps of shirts left over from my first quilting project and various other bits and bobs including a nice hunk of "ready for action" fabric by Alexander Henry.  Some of the first stitches I made with my Singer 201K treadle hold it together.  I was inspired to make it after reading "The Quilter's Bible" by Linda Clements.

I used a variation on Stitch and Flip but unlike the log-cabin blocks I didn't use a paper foundation for this crazy patchwork.  I pieced scraps and strips, stitching and flipping, until I had rough, out-sized, blocks.  I then used a six and a half inch square ruler and rotary cutter to 'square' the blocks.  When I had made nine of these I sewed them into what is essentially a large nine-patch unit.  I think it was best that I waited until I had all nine patches ready before sewing them together.  This gave me the chance to 'set' the blocks to my satisfaction.  I am happy that I managed to get a fairly even spread of colours here.

I sandwiched my block with poly batting left over from that same first quilt and white poly cotton I had left over from lining an apron I made for my sister.  I quilted the sandwich on my Singer 401G Slant-O-Matic simply because it came with a walking foot.  I choose a very boring regular grid pattern and variegated blue and white thread for the quilting.  I liked the way this contrasted with the 'scrappiness' of the quilt but somehow it didn't feel enough for me so I shadowed the grid with another line of stitching using the edge of the walking foot as a guide.

I completed the cushion cover on the Singer 201K.  I went for an envelope closure because that is the only type of cushion cover I have experience of and I was anxious to get the thing finished as a Valentine's day gift for The-Much-Beloved.  I used an adjustable hemmer and my trusty seam guide to help me get the job done as accurately and speedily as possible.

The cover finished at an approximate 17 inch square so an 18 inch duck down cushion form makes it pleasingly plump.

Piecing By Numbers with the Singer 28K

This is a technique I am trying to teach myself from instructions I found on the internet.  It's sometimes call Paper Foundation Piecing and I've also seen it referred to as Stitch and Flip.

I start each block with a paper foundation.  I designed this simple log cabin foundation using the table function which is part of word processing software.  If you look closely at the photograph you can see that each piece of the block has a number starting with 1 in the darkest square at the middle of the foundation.  The shading on my paper foundation is a nod to what I have read about the tonal values of traditional log-cabin blocks.

The next step (for my block) is to cut some fabric.  The blue is the left overs of some super smooth shirting I picked up online very reasonably and the white is from one of my shirts whose collar and cuffs were past their best.  I have started to cut one and a half inch strips half an inch longer than pieces on the foundation.  This gives me my quarter inch seam allowances.

Here I have flipped the paper foundation   and pinned my first piece of fabric over the back of the correct section.  I hold the paper up to the light to help me centre the fabric.  Notice that I have used red for the centre.  The story goes that the middle square of the log cabin block is supposed to represent the hearth of the cabin and so it is often red to indicate that fire that would have burned there.  I like a good story don't you?

Here I have layered the number two piece of the fabric on top of the first.  The next step is to flip the paper foundation back over and carefully carry it to the sewing machine without anything shifting.  Next time I will layer first and  then pin I think!

My lovely 1899 Singer 28K

This is where I start and where I finish.  I aim for about a quarter of an inch before and after the outline on the foundation.

I then continue adding strips, pressing with a dry iron as I go, following the numbers and tonal value already printed on the paper foundation.  When finished the block looks like this:

Nice?

The paper foundation stays with the completed block until I am ready to set the blocks and piece them into a quilt top. At the moment each block takes about an hour to piece (including cutting time) so I suppose I am some way off that.

Room for improvement?

Now that the Singer 15K80 is clean, lubricated and forming acceptable stitches my thoughts return to some of the things which make this machine feel a little odd to me.

The first is probably going to be the easiest to sort out.  Look at this:

Notice how slender and wonky the upper spool pin is?  I think that this is because it's not a spool pin at all!

A nail maybe?

The "spool pin" is loose and was easily lifted out of the top of the machine.  This is an impostor!  It's actually a pretty rough piece of steel standing in the place of a spool pin.  Oh well.  I guess it shouldn't be too difficult to pick up a genuine part like the nice stout straight one below the bobbin winder.  I think I will have to check out that well known on line auction site.

There's something else.  It's not so easily spotted and maybe something the machine and I will have to persevere with for the moment at least.  I will try and show you.

 

If you look closely at this overhead shot of the balance wheel and hand crank you may notice that the decals on the machine bed and pulley guard do not match those on the top of the hand crank.  In use it soon becomes apparent that the fit of crank in the spokes of the balance wheel isn't great either.  If anything it's rather loose.  I have the feeling that the crank is from an older machine a 27 maybe?

Well we all know that vintage machines get modified don't we?  So... I wonder did this machine start life as a hand crank and get separated from the original somehow?  Was this the result of conversion to an electric motor?  Perhaps this unit started life in a treadle?  Does anyone know if the answer to this mystery lies in serial number records?

When I first brought this machine home I had a vague idea that I might somehow use it for free-motion quilting.    There's a lot of chat on line about how great Singer 15s are at that kind of work.  I know that the 15K80 lacks dropping feed dogs but I have read that this isn't too much of a handicap if the stitch length is set to 0 stitches per inch.  However I would still need to loose the hand crank on this particular example or try growing a third arm!  I wonder if it would fit in the treadle cabinet that my 201K came in.