1916 Singer Model 66 Treadle Sewing Machine

I didn't do any stitching yesterday. I was so cold all day, from being out in the morning, that I grabbed a quilt and a book and curled up on my sofa and read all afternoon.

Since I don't have any stitching to share today, I thought you would enjoy seeing my antique sewing machine. In case you're visiting my blog for the first time, I've been wanting an antique treadle machine for quite awhile. I finally found one in very good condition about a month ago. My husband decided to refinish the cabinet for me. It still needs the new lock bezels and he wants to go over the gold paint on the stand with another coat but for the most part, it's done:



The original finish on the cabinet was quite dark. My mom told me that it was typical in the "old days". Well, I prefer natural oak so after striping all the old dark finish off of this, Scott just sealed it with clear finish. The wood is Tiger Oak. It has the most beautiful grain!

Here's a close-up of the machine:



It was quite dirty and dingy. Scott used Turtle Wax to clean and polish the outside. That sure brightened it up! This machine has what they call, the "Red Eye" decal. Be sure to click on the photo to go to my Flickr site where you can see a large version. The detail in the decals is so beautiful!

I took the machine to the Singer man and he took care of cleaning it up mechanically and re-aligning something on it. We have the new belt on as well so it's just about ready to go! Since my mom learned how to sew on one of these, she's going to come over and show me how to treadle. I'm really looking forward to playing! I sure hope I enjoy treadling after all the work my husband put into making this so nice for me!

Ocean Goddess Pouch Continued.....

I started stitching on this little pouch yesterday:



It looks a bit goofy at the moment but once I get some seashells and fish on here, I think you'll get the idea of what I'm going for!

If you're wondering how I did the embellishing around the face, I do it in layers. First, I did the SRE, then I added the beads and tiny shells and finally the star sequins.

The fancy yarn went on first, then the art doll face and then the embellishing around the face. The background fabric is one of my painted dryer sheets fused to a piece of muslin with Heat & Bond. Then I added some pulled silk cocoons and some Angelina Fiber.

I'd like to get this completed today but I need my husband to drill some holes in seashells for me.

I'm planning on doing some finishing tomorrow. I at least want to get my Blizzard purse sewn up.

You've probably noticed that I have a bit of routine when it comes to stitching and sewing. I like to have a pile of pre-sewn blocks all ready to stitch on so I'll take a day here and there and just sew up blocks.

When it comes to finishing, I usually wait until I have a few things and then do them all at once. For some reason, I only like to sew during the day. Evenings for me are for stitching or reading. I know that many of my readers wonder how I get so much stitching accomplished. I just always have something ready to stitch on and sitting out. I can't sit still doing nothing for very long. Stitching quiets my head so my project is always sitting on the coffee table ready to be worked on. I see it and I stitch.

Art Doll Faces

I finished this little one up last night:



What a fun project this was! The gold really brought that wild block together.

I've been wanting to do another seascape so I decided I would do a "Goddess Of The Sea" pouch next:



I'll use another one of those Poly Clay faces that I made along with some little fish and shells. Stop by tomorrow for an update on that.

As for my antique sewing machine, it's all done now except for one tiny thing. My husband still has to put the new bezels on that go in the lock holes. There were several missing so we bought new ones. I'm hoping tomorrow to have a photo of it for you. Wait until you see it! It's gorgeous!

And, on a further happy note, the sun is out here! I'll admit, with the sun shining on the ice coated trees, it's very glittery outside at the moment. Although as much as I like glitter, I do prefer it on my stitching rather than my backyard trees! Thankfully, Mother Nature will have that taken care of in a few hours!

New Kitty & Me Designs Coming Soon......

Butterfly Fantasy Designs:







Hearts & Flowers Biscornu's



Also coming soon, REDWORK CATS!

Give Away

I have an extra copy of the December/2007 issue of The Cross Stitcher magazine. I did a pretty santa design for this issue!



I will gladly send it to the first person who posts a comment here telling me that they want it. US residents only please!