I'm surrounded. . .

As some of you who come to my blog more than once for a visit may start to notice sewing machines have been showing up at my home recently. . .
I started to collect them.
Hello my name is Doreen and I'm a craft thingie junkie. I have been for years. I've been lurking on the edge of a serious problem with no space or funds available simultaneously to feed my addictions. Something has changed though since I came home from the workplace. It's not really more space or money. I think I have less of both especially with two sons now. Maybe I just woke up one day and thought to myself I could have a collection of something. I don't know but this evening I realized I now suddenly have 5 singer sewing machines, 3 kenmore sewing machines one of which is an embroidery machine and a New Home serger. . . and I'm looking at others. Let me just say right now that I haven't paid near top dollar for most of my machines. In fact most of them I have gotten for significantly less than the asking price. (here's my wheeling and dealing sensabilities coming out I LOVE a good bargain)
My justification: I did get rid of the Karstadt 3001 at my last garage sale. I put it out with a sign saying free as I didn't want to sell it and not have it be fixable. Also I haven't blogged a Singer Touch-n-Sew model 758 that I got from Value Village but I have a fellow Freecycler that I've offered it to. She should be able to get it from me this weekend. I don't have a powercord or foot controller for this machine so I won't miss it when it's gone. I've never sewn on it. That will bring my number of Singers down to 4.
I think I'll be giving my mom the Singer 237 Fashion Mate to use for general mending as soon as I get it complete with manual, bobbin case, bobbin, etc. And that will bring me back down to 3 Singers. . .
But I'm starting to wonder where this will go? I have several models on my "wishlist" and if I see them somewhere for a low price and they are in reasonably good condition, they will probably be coming home too. Each one has something "special" about it that gets it onto my list. They are all older. . . like from around when I was born or before, and most are smaller like BK.
There's nothing I hate more than not having the right tools. I can improvise on some things, many things for that matter, but I HATE having to improvise in the area of tools. Maybe that's where this is coming from. My need to have the tools that are helpful for the projects I want to make. OK, after typing that and re-reading it I see it as a lie. Just like the freecycler who asked for a very expensive specific vintage sewing machine so that she could sew quilts for orphans. Only this peticular model would work, yeah right!
Maybe it's just letting loose and deciding to collect something. Maybe it's that sewing machines are so pretty and sexy and alluring to me. Especially the older models. . . I don't know what it is really. I just know that I see these machines and they call to me that they have a history and are fun and I have to try them out and will probably like them. . .
I'm already itching to teach Charmie and Mardie how to sew.
Maybe I can turn my interest into something for others. . .

Thar she sews!

Patience is not one of my virtues so I drug out BK to just see if the bobbin case and bobbin would work.
I'm doing a happy dance right now because they do. It took a little fiddling around, and referencing the threading diagraham a few times but It worked enough that I can tell that she sews just fine. 

straight to zig to satin to zig to straight 

straight and reverse 

So why do we need a swingset and playhouse???

Rocky and I were outside with the boys for a little bit yesterday evening and the boys started climbing all over the Beetle. They think this Beetle is their car so of course we could never sell it! 

Meeting in the middle. 

This is just too much fun! 

Climbing down. 

Climbing/walking over. 

Not quite a dumpster dive.

Today on the way home from running errands with my mom and the boys I saw the familiar shape of a sewing machine tucked in the grass by the side of the road. I couldn't stop in time, but I made a u-turn and went back for it and upon stopping saw the homeowner in the yard. I asked if I could take this home, he said yes. I asked if it worked, he said, "I don't believe it do!"
I decided that for free I would just have to see about that so I brought it home. It had all kinds of bug guts, spider webs, plant debri, dust, dirt, fibers, grease, and who knows what else on it but I stuck it in the minivan for the short trip to my mom's house. Once there I grabbed a plastic bag to encase it just in case. After what I found inside I'm glad I did. More about that later.
It's a Singer Model 237 Fashion Mate. It was made in Monza, Italy between 1968 and 1972. The specific date of manufacture is not available for this Singer manufacturing location. It has straight stitch, and zig zag, forward and reverse. It seems in the vintage sewing community some swear by it's reputation for satin stitch.
Anyway after I got home and settled the boys for lunch/naps I plugged it in and what do you know, it worked! It was a little sluggish from the gunk inside, a little crunchy sounding too. Also the motor bolt was loose as was the light bolt so both of those were rattling around a bit, but since it powered up and moved I decided it was worth cleaning. I need the practice for a little eBay "treasure" coming later this week I hope. So I patiently waited until after dinner and started pulling off whatever I could. I took off the motor and light assembly with power cords, top and side covers, and bobbin race. The rest I pretty much left in tact. Somewhere around the time I pulled off the top cover I found a suprise inside. Dealt with that, then moved on to a deep cleaning, rinsing, blow drying, then lubrication and oiling.
She runs so nice and quiet! I still need a bobbin and bobbin case to see for sure if she will sew, and some rust remover to treat a few areas, but overall I'm really happy with how the restoration of my happenstance find worked out!
Hindsight being 20/20 I should have taken a before picture from when I first brought it home. the sm had been brushed off externally and somewhat wiped down with Lysol wipes before the first picture was taken.

Motor and Light back on after the cleaning! 

Here's the case I picked up at Value Village for $3.99 after my find! It's just about perfect and like new! I may get a board to put under the machine to boost it up so that it's level with the lip on the case base.

What a clean sewing machine innard! 

inside the top after cleaning! No more grime! 

After cleaning, the bottom. 

end cover off! 

top cover off, look at that filth! 

One of my yahoo groups that discusses fixing sewing machines just had a discussion about how of all things found in old sewing machines spider bodies are in abundance. . .
well after getting off the top and end covers I was about to stick my finger in when I saw this little lady staring back at me. I shreiked, jumped back, called Rocky and he proceeded to try to get her out to kill her. She deceptivly jumped down, then ran and hid in the case base until about three seconds after this picture was taken at which point her life ended. I thank her for killing the rest of the bugs and spiders that inhabited this machine so that I only had to kill one! For those of you who aren't familiar with spiders or cannot discern her markings this is a Black Widow poisonous spider.

Charmie cutting

We started schooling kind of officially. . . I've been of the impression that we have been homeschooling since the boys were born, but I was not sure if I would continue or try to put them into a preschool or private/christian school when they became older. I've been frantically gathering information and am FULLY onboard with homeschooling and it's benefits for our family. I'm fully motivated to do it and though I am scared and may have doubts, committed.
So. . . here's one of our first lessons; cutting. Charmie has not been allowed to have scissors up until this point. He loved cutting. We will have to have more projects with cutting in the future. I drew some lines on paper after he got more comfortable with holding the scissors and cutting the brown craft foam and he did very well cutting along the lines. I was impressed with his ability for his first time handling scissors. 

Where superhero costumes come from

Rocky and I will be serving at our denomination's camp www.carolinacamp.com this year and we are going to be working with the pre-teen campers and mini campers. . . kids under 12! Our theme is going to be superhero camp. We are going to show them hero's in the Bible and lead up to telling them about Jesus, the greatest superhero of all time. One of the messages we are going to teach them about the Armor of God and then let them build their own superhero costume. You can't have a superhero costume without a cape so I had to make them before camp. Here are the 61 capes. My mommy helped with cutting them out and I serged them all. Whew, that's my sewing for a couple of days. . . 

My Hero

Here's my mommy trying on the last cape and look, her super powers are making it kick up a little in the wind!
THANKS SO MUCH MOMMY FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT. YOU are always a SUPERHERO in my book!!!!!! 

Astronaut Charmie

Earlier before running errands Rocky put on a baseball cap, of course the boys had to have one to wear as well. Charmie decided to put his on backwards like this and promptly told me he was Astronaut Charmie! I think he was thinking that it was like looking through the face mask or something but I couldn't resist taking these shots. 

shot #2. 

of course whatever big brother Charmie does, little brother Mardie has to imitate.