Vintage Sewing Machine

I have had my grandmother's 1939 Singer 99K for about 15 years, but never really used it. On a whim, I pulled it out the other day and decided to see what it would be like.

About 8-10 years ago, I had it serviced and repaired by an old-school sewing machine mechanic. With my permission, he removed the old and cracked foot pedal that my grandfather (presumably) added to the machine to modernise it. Instead of the pedal, the motor is operated with a knee lever. When not in use, the knee lever tucks neatly away in the lid of the machine case.

I found some remnants of my former stash this week. I had a full fat quarter set of Moda 'Chocolat'. With my Accuquilt die cutter, I cut the lighter fabrics into a bunch of half square triangles (HST) and the darker fabrics into quarter square triangles (QST) and set about making a pile of 6" finished flying geese blocks.

It took a fair bit of practice to master the knee lever to operate the machine. I found that the fabric needed me to gently pull it through the machine or else, about 2cm into the seam, it would suddenly stop feeding the fabric into under the foot and accumulate a bunch of tiny stitches that then veered off being straight.

It occurred to me that my own mother was likely to have learned to sew on this very machine. Both she and my grandmother have passed away, and I will never know for sure. It is a nice thought to have though.

Fortunately, the machine service man had provided me with a quarter inch foot, which has made everything a lot easier. I am still in the process of just sitting and feeding the machine with all the pieces that I had cut out. I am not sure how many there are or how I will set out the quilt. I will worry about that when I finish the piecing and then try to make the best out of what I have.

I have kept aside some fat quarters for binding and past me was kind enough to buy a matching backing for present me.

I am all set.