A Project

I do love me a good project, and once in a while I even finish one I've started.  I can't even remember how I got obsessed with Singer 15-91 machines (circa 1940s).  But I did.  It's a little problem I have.  Obsessing over things.  Eric would be enthusiastically agreeing with me and rolling his eyes, except he has the same problem.  We're quite the pair.   It's especially awesome when we both obsess over the same thing, at the same time.  We're really fun to be around then.

Anyway, Singer 15-91.  Awesome work horse sewing machine.  Beautiful straight stitch.   Particularly fantastic for quilt piecing.   I texted E and told him to look at what I'd found on Craigslist.  He interpreted my message as "look at the listing I found."  I intended it to mean, "look at the listing I found, and then drove to West Chicago to load up and bring home unsure of whether it worked or not, or whether I could refurb it."  Our communication skills are awesome like that.  "What is that?" was his greeting as he walked in the door from work.

I pulled the machine from the table, did a little stripping and refinishing, recovering the bench, and then tore the beast apart to clean and completely rewire the motor.  The process took a couple of weeks since I worked on the machine mostly at night.   I was using a soldering iron and I figured Bubs would be more than happy to be my 'helper' and then all I could imagine was one or both of us with third degree burns and an old Singer chucked out at the curb.  

I didn't take pictures before starting the overhaul.  Dang it.  But this is what it looks like now.  By the time I got the grime, grease and dust off, I realized I'd found a machine in great condition for its age.  And it really is a beast.  I've got a queen size kaleidescope quilt on the rack right now that will take another, oh... two years at my current rate of progress to finish quilting and then I'm going to put the beast to work.