Bunches of Landscape Cards

     Since I finished the new treadle redo, I used the Singer 237 to make some cards. I used a 10 x 10" piece of heavy wt interfacing, layered it with a 10 x 10 batting, and layered scraps of batiks to make lots of landscape type areas. I put a watersoluble interfacing piece over the top and zig zagged the whole top with invisible monofilament thread (YLI) to hold it all in place. Then, I used black Gilde and added details in FMQ. After the sandwich was all quilted, I rinsed the interfacing away and cut the 10 x 10 into many smaller pieces, which I glued on cardstock. I was tempted to leave the piece whole, but I really needed some cards to send. I thought I took a photo of the fabric before I cut it up, but it was not on the camera. 

Watersoluble sandwich on treadle

Triumph! Celebrate!

     Yes! I finished the treadle resuscitation! October of 2013, I bought a treadle cabinet that was, um, rough. It had a Lotus in it which I am still trying to rejuvenate. The reason I bought it was to have a zig zag treadle. I bought a Singer 237 from Elizabeth in November of 2013 and serviced that. I loved hers when I visited her in September 2013.
      I could only refinish in warm type weather as I had to do all that work outdoors due to fumes. It was very time intensive and my husband was sanding the garage a good deal of the summer; then rebuilding the patio, limiting my space and depositing much dust. Irons were cleaned and painted. After all the old finish was taken care of (used Formby's Refinisher), I used Minwax Antique Oil finish. Did not like it. Then I used tung oil, glossy finish. Much better, but I learned something: Buy the treadle cabinet in the absolute best condition you can afford. Your time is more precious, especially when you would rather be quilting.
     Finally, my husband had time to screw it together and lug it upstairs. I plopped the machine in, put on the rubber belt, and sewed! I used the zig zag to stitch down many scraps of batik to make art cards with invisible thread, and then freemotioned on it with black Glide. It was flawless. Treadle triumph!! This treadle joins my parlor cabinet Singer 15 Tiffany. They are back to back in my sewing studio, aka old living room.
    Still have a few pieces of trim to glue back on.

With first project done!

More Cleaning

   Besides the 301, I also have been working on a Singer 237 I bought that will go into the treadle stand that is not completed refinished. This machine was made in Italy, so now I have the US, Great Britain, and Italy represented in my sewing colony. It was not terribly dirty, but surprising, inside, it had a lot of surface rust. This machine is from the 70s, and all the older machines I have, have never had rust like this one. The casting is a lot rougher than my other Singers. A green scratchie and rubbing alcohol got rid of most of the rust. The needle plate was stuck to the insides with rust, yet the outside of the machine is pristine. I wonder if the quality of the steel was just not as good? I remember Fiats and Alpha Romeos from the 70s and they were a joke of a rustbucket- great interiors, lousy steel. Anyways, I coated all the metal with Tri-flow and hope that will arrest the problem. I am going to disengage the motor for use on a treadle so I can zig zag on a treadle. The belt that was on there was so stiff, that the motor wouldn't turn the machine, so I put on one of those rubber band types to see how it sews. The zig zags looked perfect. I had done a lot of digging out of old gunk in the zig zag gears with wooden sticks and alcohol and regreased with Tri-flow grease, so it paid off. Now, I have the refinish job on the treadle top to contend with and I can't work out in the garage anymore.

Before cleaning

Cleaning out the surface rust

The zig zag gears

All shined up, ready to sew

More refinishing on treadle cabinet

   Still working on removing/cleaning the old finish on the cabinet. Now it is too cold to do this outside in the garage, not sure how to continue. The side pieces still need work, especially the scroll work. The drawers are so hard to do, to get in where the handle indent is. Counting down the days until I get the 237. Need more Formby's Refinisher and some more green scratchie pads. 

Side getting there

A ways to go, much tougher.

 3 Drawers almost done, the indents are still bad

Drawers before refinisher applied

   The tiger oak when exposed is just fabulous. I am going to use Minwax antique oil finish when all clean.

The treadle irons- cleaned and painted

    Last Saturday, I bought the treadle. During the week, I cleaned them with GooGone oudoor grill spray. Great stuff, no fumes, really liquified the dirt so it rinsed off. My husband lightly sanded them and then sprayed them with the best Rustoleum. They look like an exquisite sculpture to me. So beautiful. Now, to get the cabinet refinished and put a Singer 237 inside. I think that will take a lot longer.

Some of the gold paint still on the Singer name

Some of the gold paint still on logo