White Magna-Matic Zigzag Sewing Machine ~ Model 673

That darn Craigslist!!!

The blue cams are for single needle decorative stitches. The black ones are for twin needle decorative stitches.

This one is mine. I found it and inquired about it. We went to get it yesterday. It weighs 43# with the case, foot control, and all the accessories. I think that’s heavier than any machine I own! I have not been able to find anything about this machine on the internet though. I did find a manual to buy (which I do not need) from one of the manual sites, and I think there may be on on ebay, but that’s it. I guess I might be the first to post photos, so if you search images for a White Magna-Matic ZigZag Model 673 Sewing machine, you’ll probably find mine!

I was a little disappointed though. I know you all will think I am crazy, but part of rescuing these machines is to spend time ‘loving them’ cleaning them up. I was all ready to scrub the case lid, and found it was already as clean as it could be. The machine moves free and is clean too. It sounds great and moves fast. So I just put the lid on and put it away until I display it somewhere. Not really crazy about the blue case, but I may find one to swap it with someday, or I might display it without the case.

It was a great price though!!!

One the way home, we stopped at a Goodwill and found another great machine for the Sewing Machine Project. I haven’t done anything except find a free online manual and printed it off. I did plug it in and test it in the store so I know it works, but will oil and clean it better later. It’s a Riccar 2910. It also says on the front Designed For School Use, so I know it is built tougher. It’s the first black modern machine I have run across. Hope I don’t fall in love.

Be blessed,

Michelle

Singer 5530

My hubby found another machine yesterday for The Sewing Machine Project. I had actually walked past it, because it was in a cabinet, and the cabinet was marked very very LOW in price. How could there be a machine in there? Alas, there was!

I cleaned and oiled it. It does have some plastic parts, which I am not thrilled with, but I believe this machine was a lonely one. Usually machines that have plastic housings discolor and turn yellow over the years. I don’t think this one ever saw sunlight. It looks very nice and sews very well too. I searched for a long time for a free manual, and I did not find the exact model number, but the manual I did find is very close to the number, and the machine in the manual is identical to this machine, so I was very happy. I printed it out to go with the machine.

The threading was a bit odd for me. I have cleaned many machines, but I have never had one that threaded from the top, down through the tension discs, then threaded to the RIGHT through the takeup lever . Usually, the threading moves from the right to the left. I’m glad I found a manual. This one would have really stumped me. It sews well, and I wound a bobbin. This one will make someone a very nice machine.

Hope your weekend is wonderful.

Michelle

Ps…Here’s a machine that did not fare sew well. It was unbelievably light, and full of plastic parts. The camstacks (two of them) have big splits in them, and I worked til the wee hours this morning trying to adjust the feed dogs so it would advance fabric. It never happened. I’m not complaining about the $5 I spent on it though, because it will be torn apart and I will replenish my ‘parts’ box. Foot controller alone is worth way more than $5.

Rest in peace BROTHER. I won’t be buying any more of your siblings unless they are ‘senior citizens’! (pre-1970)

Oh, they know me so well……

My friend Margaret left the funny papers on the counter in my work area one day this week. I didn’t see her writing on it until after I questioned a few people as to who had visited me while I was away from my ‘post’. She folded the paper so it was open to this comic. I scanned and cropped it, so you can’t see her writing, and you will have to enlarge the picture to read it, but this is what she wrote:

‘Shell, I think someone has been peeking in your window at night. (Margaret)

I had to laugh, because Flo is ME to a T! Oh, they know me so well. Thanks Margaret!

Be blessed,

Michelle

Windy!

I got home from work today, and when I came in the house, I could hear something beeping. I wondered what it was. It would wait awhile, then it would beep again. I did not know where it was coming from. I came to my computer and was checking blogs, etc, and the beeping continued sporatically, and soon, my monitor would go black, then come back on. Soon, my computer would shut down and come back on. I began to assume it was the backup power supply in Louie’s office that I was hearing.

Louie came home and asked if the electricity had gone out today. I did not know, but soon, the computer kept restarting, even before it started, and the beeping continued. He went in to turn on the tv in the living room, and as soon as he turned it on, it would shut off, then it wouldn’t even turn on. I said, I wondered if any of the neighbors were having problems. It was SO windy!

Louie called the police department (because that’s where you call when you have utility problems after business hours) and asked if anyone else had called with a concern. Nope. No one. She said she would send someone right over though. Joel, the head of the electric utilities stopped over and looked at our house, and didn’t see anything, but as soon as he stepped outside from talking to us, the lamp started flickering and the tv would shut off. He said the city truck would be stopping by to check the voltage, and he would check the lines for fallen tree limbs coming to our neighborhood, as there were several limbs down due to the wind.

The truck showed up and we heard pounding on the back of our house. Louie went downstairs and out the back door to see what was going on, and they told him that the transformer was new, and so was the line, so they weren’t sure what the problem was. As they were checking the voltage, it went from 220 down to 110, so we were happy that they saw it for themselves. At that time, the lights were flickering like in a horror film and the tv kept turning off and turning back on by itself. Next thing we knew, the two guys had backed their truck up to the pole and one of the guys was up in the bucket checking the line. (This is my neighbor, Amy’s back yard and shed. The ‘city’ maintenance alley is between lots, although you can’t see it. Both homeowners mow it as their lawn.) My camera battery was going dead and needed to be recharged so I snapped a few quick pictures. (For those of you who recognize this back yard, YES, Amy did have her tree cut down yesterday behind her deck. That tree told me when it was windy, just by sitting at my computer. Now I’ll have to get up off my butt to check out the wind! We wonder if the ‘tree guys’ might have dropped a limb or two on the pole. Hmmmm….maybe! )

If you enlarge this second picture, you will see a pipe that runs down along the outside of the pole. The wires that run from the line have little ‘connectors’ of some sort that run down inside or along that pipe. Evidently, the wind must have been blowing those wires and pulling, or shorting out, or something. They did repairs of some sort, then they wrapped a wire around the ‘pipe’ a couple times, securing the wires. I heard one of them say, ‘Wrap it around again. There, that should last forever!’ Then, they left. Everything has been fine since. Whew!

I guess we WERE the only ones having problems. Not anymore!

Six more hours of work tomorrow then I’m done until Tuesday. Yippee!!!!! Have a great weekend!

Michelle

Update: The constant surges and spikes and falls in electricity that occurred for hours and hours this day damaged the control panel unit on my electric range. Fortunately, the oven and stove top units work, but the clock is junk. I don’t really need a clock, since I have two on the wall, one on the microwave above the stove, and one on the ‘Under counter radio/cd player’, but it’s just the point. It DID work, and now I have an imperfect stove. If you know me, you know that I take care of, and cherish my ‘things’ and it just didn’t ‘wear out’. My insurance deductible is $500, and right now, I refuse to pay half of that just for the part so my clock will keep perfect time.

Gaither Homecoming Tour~~Moline, Illinois

Would you like to enjoy some of what we enjoyed last night? You need to remember, that I borrowed these videos from youtube, so they are older, but here is just a sampling of the people we saw last night.

The Martins:

The Nelons:

Kevin Williams: Guitar and comedian

Charlotte Ritchie:

Gordon Mote: (piano and singing)

Gaither Vocal Band:

Gene McDonald: Gene did not sing this song last night, but I watched this video and it is powerful. See if you can watch it without a kleenex!

Louie and I had such a good time. We went with our friends Dave and Judy from Fulton, Illinois. We purchased our tickets through their church.

Louie and I met Judy and Dave a few years ago in the Quad Cities. She had been reading my blog, and she recognized us from the picture of us on my blog. Judy asked us if were Louie and Michelle, and I was just blown away. Wow. We emailed every once in awhile, and sometimes we would bump into each other while out junkin’, but in the last few months, we have become fast and faithful friends. We have gone to their church a couple times for special music events, and we have a couple more events on the calendar for towards the end of the year. We really enjoy the times we spend together.

After the concert, we went to Village Inn for breakfast (about 10:30 last night) and then we came home. It was a wonderful evening.

Kenmore 1303

Louie and I bought this sewing machine last night for The Sewing Machine Project. It is a Sears Kenmore Model 1303. (Or technically, 158.13032) Kenmore says it was built in 1969. They built things to last back then. We knew it had issues when we bought it, even though there was a sign on the cabinet which said ‘Tested’. Yup. Uh huh. That’s ok. We were up for a challenge!

One problem it had that I was NOT aware of, was that the presser bar  was STUCK in the UP position. That means that you cannot lower your presser foot, and if you can’t lower your presser foot, you can’t sew! If you look at the picture below, (you will have to enlarge it) you will see a part, which I have circled. That is the presser bar bracket. That bracket is attached to the presser bar, which holds your presser foot. When you lift the lever to raise and lower the presser bar, this bracket is what works with the presser lever to raise the bar and your presser foot from the feet dogs so you can get your fabric under and out of the machine. When the bar is stuck, nothing happens. In this case, the bar was UP, then it got stuck. This machine has been sitting around for decades, I am SURE. Unless the bar goes down, there will be no sewing.

The bar wouldn’t budge. The presser foot bracket is the part which is dark colored and has two screws going into it, just under the spring.  It has a ‘leg’ on it, which sticks out the back of the machine, and the presser bar lifter pushes it up against the spring. But it just wouldn’t move…..

…so I tried to help it…(with a hammer and a screwdriver)…..OH NO! It broke! It’s made from cast metal.

Louie was at the ‘Y’ when I broke this part, so I moved on to the more obvious problem. The darn machine was STUCK too! It would move, but only with brute force! I turned and turned the hand wheel manually, and added oil to every place I could see had a joint and moved (or should move) and I put grease on the gears, and I checked for thread wrapped around the hand wheel (not the problem), and I just kept working it. If you look closely, you can see where the belt goes on to the motor. There is black thread wrapped around it. That really wasn’t a function problem though. I removed it.

When I felt I had oiled everything I could, I plugged it in and tried to see if I could get the motor to move the machine. I did see a little smoke, but you should have seen the black pieces of carbon and ‘whatever’ that flew out of the motor when I turned it on. I didn’t think to photograph that mess. I just kept manually turning the hand wheel, and then I would try to force the motor to do it for me. Eventually, the motor started turning things, and I just kept ‘flooring it’ with the foot controller, and FINALLY, whatever was binding, broke free, and this baby MOVES! Oh my Good Heavens! The motor is fine. I was just putting too much load on it in the beginning. (That is, after all the crap got blown out of it from sitting around for decades). It was also covered in gravel dust, or something.

So my sweet Louie went out to work when he got back from the ‘Y’ to braze this piece back together. He completely removed the presser bar. (For those wondering….the part is no longer available). I am learning so much about sewing machines by fixing them, and my hubby is learning more than he intended to, but that’s ok. We’re a team! We have never had a sewing machine this far apart before. I guess you have to start somewhere, right? What did we have to lose?

Louie returned with the piece brazed back together!

We won! It lives! It straight stitches, zigzags, and blind stitches. It also has forward and reverse on the stitch selector knob for making button holes. (Of course, I did have to buy a manual so I could figure everything out!) Isn’t the internet a wonderful thing?

It winds a beautiful bobbin!

Other than Louie taking a peek inside the motor and cleaning that up some, it is ready to go to The Sewing Machine Project!

I’m hoping everyone is having a wonderful weekend. We are going to a Gaither Homecoming Tour concert tonight with our friends Dave and Judy. It will be so much fun!

Be blessed!

Michelle

I Almost Missed Them…

I don’t know what happened. This year, I missed the buds before they opened. I didn’t even notice them opened until this morning, and they were just as they are now. I’ll bet they have been blooms for a few days. With my early mornings and long days, I guess I don’t take notice of the beauty around me.

These peonies are the only living color I have in my yard. I don’t garden. I. Don’t. Like. To. Garden. (I’m sorry). I love the beauty, just not the work. With these, I don’t do a thing, except clip off the heads when the wind or rain gets them and they die. At the end of the season, we cut them down to the ground. Sad. So. Sad.

So, until it rains (which it will, sure as the sun rises and sets), I will do my best to enjoy these beauties. The only reason they thrive is because I am not capable of killing them off. Thank God for small favors!

~Happy Mother’s Day To All My Sweet Girlfriends~

‘I Want To Thank You’ ~ Sung by Karen Peck and New River

Have a wonderful, wonderful day!

Kenmore 1301

Wow. Another sweet machine. This Kenmore is a model 158.13011 or shortened, Model 1301.

Louie and I found it at the the Salvation Army in Illinois for a pretty good price. We bought it with the sole intention of donating it to The Sewing Machine Project.

I had to figure it out by myself, since it didn’t come with a manual and I couldn’t find one free online, but it didn’t take long for me to do that. I cleaned and oiled it before I test sewed with it.

This one will definitely make someone a nice machine…if I let it go. I love the color, and cosmetically, it is in very good shape. It is really quiet and smooth.

Singer 603

Wow. I am amazed. Louie and I bought this machine in Madison, Wisconsin when we went up to Fond Du Lac a while ago. It was in very sad shape, and had some rust in the bobbin area. I didn’t think it would make it. The bobbin cover plate was completely off the machine, the needle was broken, and it was pretty dirty. We really didn’t have much hope for it, but we could see a lot of potential for parts. I was going to strip it down and save everything on it I could, then use the case for another machine, and keep the foot control. Those are always good things to have around as spares.

We also needed a motor for a Singer 500A we have sitting in the basement. We thought we could always use this one. I think it would have fit. At any rate, it seemed like a good one to part out.

What I wasn’t prepared for, was for it to turn out to be a really nice machine. It has ALL metal parts…no nylon gears at all. I did quite a bit of cleaning, and gave it some oil, but it was pretty ‘free’ as far as movement went. The motor is strong, and fast, and we didn’t even take it out and go over it like we usually do. I found some information online, on how to wind a bobbin, so I did wind a bobbin. That worked really well. Thank you, www.sewusa.com!

I only had to move the upper tension once to make it sew nicely. This machine takes cams for decorative stitches, but the straight and zigzag stitches are perfect.

This machine will be going to The Sewing Machine Project soon, along with several others….just as soon as I get them dug out from under the basement steps and we find a date that will work for both us and the lady in Madison. It’s kind of funny, really. I rescued it in Madison, Wisconsin, and that is where it will be returning.

I’m happy it worked the way it did.

Be blessed,

Michelle

My ‘Someday’ Track Lights (Machine Quilting Room)

My hubby installed my ‘someday’ track lights today…all by himself…with no help from me. I needed a break from projects, but mostly from being the ‘one woman clean up committee’. I didn’t even go down until the job was finished.

A few weeks ago, I worked in this room, after Louie’s desk came upstairs to his new office. This is how the room looks with only the overhead light on. I did not use my flash.

This picture was taken before the track lights were installed. I did use a flash on this picture, but if you look to the far top left corner, the lamp on the wall, and the corner lamp is on. That is the extent of my lighting, other than the lamp clipped to the handle of my quilter.

I turned off my flash for this picture to show how bright the lights are.

These next two pictures were taken without a flash also. The first one is with the track lights off, and the other lights on……

…and this one is with the track lights on. A noticeable improvement?

Hopefully, it will make a big difference in how well I can see when I am quilting.

My hubby installed a plug on the track lights, rather than wiring them directly into a constant power source. On the long strip, the track lights are plugged in, a heavy extension cord for my sewing machine, cruise control, and lamp, and another cord for the lamp in the corner are all plugged into this strip. When I am finished in this area, I flip the switch, and everything is turned off, and when I want to turn everything back on, I flip the switch again. So  nice!

Now that’s a good job done!!!

Have a great week.

Michelle