New Toy

Last week when I was wasting time in the Salvation Army, I spotted a sewing machine.  I the brand name was Universal.  I had never heard of that before.  My daughter Delaney was with me and had plenty of opinions about the machine.  In the end, I left without the machine and thought about it all week.  One of the reasons I kept thinking about the machine was because it had a ruffler.  I had just finished an apron with a ruffle, so it was fresh in my mind.

Yesterday, I was once again wasting time while waiting for the girls at dance.  I decided to venture in to the Salvation Army and see if they had anything new.  Low and behold the machine was still there.  Not only that, but yellow tags were half off.  You can probably guess where this is going.  Yep, sure enough the tag was yellow.  I am not a vintage sewing machine person, so I didn't know much about the machine.  

I tested the needle,  yep it went up and down.  It had a foot control, and a bobbin case.  Did I mention the ruffler?  I asked if I could plug it in.  Sure enough, the light came on and everything moved when I pressed the foot peddle.  How could I leave it at the store?  As there anyone else that can't stand to see a machine alone on the shelf?  I always feel the desire to take it home, and hopefully find it a home where it will be used.

The only think I am lacking is a manual.  I did lots of searching online, but didn't find another machine like this one.  

 Look at all the parts and pieces that came with the machine.  There is a 1/4" foot, a ruffler, a hopping foot, a seam guide, an applique foot.  There is also a single hole stitch plate.  The oil bottle has never been opened, so the machine has probably never been oiled.

 Here is is right after I took the lid off.    It says Universal on the front, but on the back it says designed and Manufactured for Standard Sewing Company in New York.  By the Hosei S.M. Mfg. in Japan.

I looked and looked for the model number.  It wasn't until I couldn't get the bobbin to snap in that I found it.  When I tipped the machine up, it said Model 98 Serial 5580.  After I found a model number, I spent a bit of time searching on the internet for more clues.  This must not have been a popular machine, because I didn't find any information.

A view of the back of the machine where I hoped to find more clues.

This machine is HEAVY!

 Look at these lovely fashion Divas by the tension knob on the front.  It must be a 70s machine.

I started by adjusting the bobbin tension.  It is still a mystery to me how to correctly thread it, but I am now getting a beautiful stitch.

There are tons of stitches to pick from, but at first I could not get the machine to sew a straight stitch no matter what.  The straight stitch was located right next to the zigzag stitch on the dial, but I couldn't hear it click when I turned it there.  It wasn't until I was playing with this knob did I figure it out.  I knew L,C, R was left right and center...The 0-5 is the width.  Well the "0" is for straight stitch.  Light bulb moment!

 This is my last mystery.  Well, I am sure it is not the last mystery, but does anyone have an idea what the lever by the thread is for?

It doesn't adjust the speed,  It doesn't tilt the thread.  I can't tell that it adjusts anything.

I didn't have time to test the ruffler, but you can bet I will do this before I pass the machine on.

Are you curious what I paid for this machine?  I will happily answer your question - $12.50.
What does this button at the top of the machine do?  I would imagine it adjusts the pressure of the foot, but I am not certain.











Would love to hear if you have any information on this machine or one like it.

A Finish

Ok, I am a little giddy here.  Well, more than a little.  I have a finish to report!  This is a long forgotten project, that I wanted completed...alias to mean off the studio floor.

Don't get any ideas!  I am not cooking dinner tonight.

 This is another recent completion (thank you so much binding fairy)!  I just love this quilt.  I think I posted about this quilt earlier.  It is from this book.  It was made with scraps and one Moda scrap bag.  The line is from Kate Spain.

It now resides on my dining room wall to help control my little noise boxes.

 On the other wall in my dining room I hung a vinyl saying and cleared out the clutter.  I am very pleased with how this turned out.










In my determination to finish a few things, I put my spare sewing machine on the dining room table to capture additional snippets of time.  I am sad to say that my family no longer has a table to eat on.

FW Setting

I just wanted to pass along this arrangement for the FW.  I know some of you do not intend to make all the blocks, so you might be thinking about how to arrange the blocks we have completed so far.  I have also heard (in the whispers) that perhaps some of the blocks aren't exactly 6 1/2".  This could be the answer to your dilemma.  Check out this post by Sherri.  She has some links in her post to the original tutorial where she saw the idea.  I just thought it looked cool. 

Off and Running!  

Less Laundry

Is this a sign?

I turned my back for one minute, and down they went.  I swear I have had far more clothes on this rod before.  It must have been the football pants that pushed it over the edge.  I think this might be an excuse to do less laundry.  It is just crazy how much laundry 6 people and 4 sports teams accumulate.  

Doing the Zip

 This has nothing to do with any type of sewing item.  I haven't had time to do any sewing, but we did a quick family weekend to Columbus, Ohio and Hocking Hills.  The kids really enjoyed the zip line.  I was glad that my step daughter was able to join us for the day also.

I think both the guides were a little sad that Abby brought along her friend.  They were inquiring a bit about how we were all related....trying to figure out if Elliot was a brother or a boyfriend.

 This is the whole gang hanging out on a rock.  

This is doing the zip line.  






















This is Hubby and I posing on one of the aerial bridges.

I did discover that I am a little afraid of heights.  It took me until the 3rd zip to not feel like I was going to toss my cookies.  I was fine when I was doing the zip line, it was just when we were perched high in the trees waiting to go.  I didn't reveal this to my children (who I am sure would have made the situation worse).  It is sort of crazy that the height made me nauseous, because I did roofing with my hubby occasionally before we were married.  I guess having kids changes a lot of things.

I hope to get back to the rest of the FW blocks soon.  

Darting Birds

Are you saying any choice words yet?  You have all month to do these blocks, so don't feel rushed.  Mine went quickly because I had all the 1 1/2" half squares already sewn.

#27 Darting Birds

Cutting:
Dark:
4- 1 1/2" squares
16- 1" finished half squares (1 1/2" strip with the EZ angle)
4- 2" finished half squares (2 1/2" strip with the EZ angle)
Light:
24 - 1' finished half squares (1 1/2" strip with EZ angle)
4- 1 1/2" squares

Sewing:
Sew 16 1" finished half squares; press open and square up if necessary

Join the half squares in pairs and press open
Add a 1 1/2" square to 4 of these.

add the remaining 8 Triangles to the remaining 4 dark 1 1/2" squares.  Square up with the easy angle to a 2" finished half square


 
Join the 2" finished half squares to the pieced triangle unites to make 2 1/2" squares.  Use the diagonal line on the ruler to square up if necessary. 

Add these to the pairs of half squares (Press Open); then add with the remaining pieced units.  Square up to 3 1/2" if necessary. 

Join the 4 units to complete the 6 1/2" block

I am still working on emptying containers.  All these 4 patches were in a box waiting to be used.  I tried several different colors for the background fabric and nothing seemed quite right.  I decided to continue with the scrappiness.  I need to let this simmer for a while.  I have lots of 4 patches and I am not sure where this is headed. 

Birds in the Air

This is the next block for August.  It is number #7 in the Farmer's wife book.  We are going to continue with lots more of the 1" finished half squares.

Cutting:
Light:
4- 3" finished triangles (3 1/2" strip and Easy Angle)
12- 1" finished triangles (1 1/2" strip and EA)
Dark:
24- 1" finished triangles (1 1/2" strip and EA)

Sewing:
Make 12- 1 1/2" half squares;  square up and press seams open without steam.  Trim away excess if desired

Arrange the pieces with all the dark angles going the same way.  sew together in rows.

Sew the rows of 1" finished squares and triangles together and use your easy angle to square up to a 3" finished half square.  This is tricky, because no matter how hard you try, those seams are not going to be all perfectly aligned.  It should be the same size as the larger triangles that you cut.  I pressed everything open and trimmed with each addition.  The quarter inch stitch line should be lined up with the corners of the 1" half squares.

Join the remaining 8 pieces into squares, and then join the squares in a 4 patch fashion.  When I joined the pieced units with the blue triangles, I pinned the corners and tried to align the edges the best I could.

Your block should measure 6 1/2".  I used an assortment of oranges because I didn't have quite enough of one color.  I also substituted a dark for the larger triangles. 

Here is a picture of the 9 blocks from May.  If you see a piece that I have turned the wrong way, don't let me know.  In August, we are only doing 6 blocks because they are more intricate.