My New Baby

Back at the beginning of February we had a stall at the Bathurst Swap Meet.  Mick went down on the Saturday afternoon to get a site, but I piked, as it was too hot - 40 degrees C in the full sun - yugh!

Anyway, when I went down in the early evening there was a suitcase next to his ute, which I was fairly sure held a sewing machine, but we were too busy to think about it until we got home on Sunday afternoon.

The case was grimy (much grimier than this photo) and all the metal rusty.  Mick told me he paid $15 for it, so it was worth the gamble.  

This was what was inside.  Mick knows I have a soft spot for green sewing machines - Elnas in particular.  This is no Elna, but she sure is purdy, if somewhat grimy as well.  She's no light weight, coming in at just on 20 kgs.

The attachment box and feet came with her.  All the attachments were there and a few bobbins.  They are the same as the Singer 66 ones, which makes life easy.  There is some surface rust on the tin, but not too bad.

We showed Mum when she was over a few days later.  She was itching to get in a start cleaning her up.  

I didn't know anything about Pinnock machines.  It turns out they were Australian made.  They started out at Sydney.  Some were even made at the Lithgow Small Arms Factory.  Apparently, there are examples of the machines and even the casting moulds in their museum.  We'll have to pop down and visit some time.  I digress......The factory had moved to Elizabeth in South Australia by the time this one was made.  They were one of the first factories down there and employed about 50 people.  They even exported to the UK.

I don't know exactly how to date her, but I found an ad from the Australian Women's Weekly from April 1958 online.  The model I have, the "Sewmaster" was the base line model and cost 57 guineas.  It is just a straight stitch model.  There was then a bright yellow free arm version which was 65 guineas and then the automatic model, which was blue, was 95 guineas.  That was quite a bit back then.

I love that they call the light the "Sew Glo" and there is a reverse button "The Magic Reverse".  All very modern.

I was able to download a copy of the manual, so a few weeks ago I spent a lovely Sunday sitting on the back verandah cleaning her up and giving her a good polish.

What I did notice was that part of the tension section was in the accessory box.  I know nothing about tensions, so watched a youtube by The Featherweight Shop on tensions.  I figure they would have to be somewhat similar.

I lay all the bits out and then assembled it as I thought would go.  The first attempt was horrible.  It just made a big mess under the fabric.  I tried again and got it fairly close, but it still wasn't right.  I looked at all the bits again and wondered about the two flat washers.  They looked fairly new. 

 I tried again, leaving them out.  Woo hoo!  It was right.  What a relief.

Underneath was dusty and grimy and the corner blocks of timber had come adrift.  A good clean, oil the timber and glue the supports back in was all that was required.

The machine has different settings for normal, nylon and darning.  That actually means that the feed dogs lower for the different uses.  See the funny spring thing in the photo above.  That is the embroidery/darning foot.  I've never seen one like it before.

In the end she came up a treat.  She isn't perfect, but then, she is over 60 years old.  I think she has been used quite a bit, but well looked after.  There are tiny scratches on the bed, probably from pins, however, everything moved freely and there was plenty of oil in the grime.

I definitely got $15 dollars worth of fun out of cleaning her up.

The next thing I wanted to do was use her.......

I have read in several places that the old reels of thread, such as Sylko, had the thread just wound straight around the reel, whereas most modern threads are cross wound.  The old reels are designed to sit on a vertical spool pin and the reel spin.  The cross wound threads are designed to be pulled off the end of the real, from either a horizontal spool pin or off a thread stand.  

I just happen to have a spool stand, in its rather dusty packaging that I was given, but have never used.  Time to break it out.

Happily, my Janome quarter inch foot fit straight on.  On the Janome, it creates a generous quarter inch and I have to move the needle over to the right as far as I can for accuracy.  On this machine it creates a scant quarter inch.  Perfect.

It was a nice day, so once again I took her out onto the back verandah to sew.

My Christmas runner was the ideal project to try out the machine.

Mick decided to do the candid camera shot.  Not exactly glamorous, but I was having fun.

All was going swimmingly, until I decided to put in a fresh needle.  In all the cleaning I had done, I hadn't switched out the needle.  It then started to skip stitches an broke the top thread a couple of times.  Blast!  I thought it may be the needle, so put another fresh one in.  No different.  Double blast!  I rethreaded her.  Nope!  Maybe she is thirsty, as I had done a bit of stitching by then and until I had cleaned her up and oiled her, she hadn't had much attention in some time.  Phew!  That helped.

Then I decided to see if there was a trouble shooting section in the instructions.  Yes, oiling around the bobbin is the solution.

It worked for a while and then started to skip occasionally again.  I will have to give underneath a better clean and oil.

Oh, and the "Sew Glo" bulb seems to have blown.

If this had all happened on the Janome I would have been a bit out of sorts by now, but it was all part of the adventure of getting to know this machine.  By the time I had finished the piecing I felt quite comfortable using her.

Originally, I had planned on doing the quilting on the Pinnock, but in the end changed my mind and used my Janome.  The odd missed stitch in the seam didn't matter, but it does on the quilting.

In the meantime, I tried the walking foot on her.  Yes, it fits.  However, it seemed to be not quite parallel with the feed dogs.  After a fiddle, I discovered that none of the feet are parallel with the feed dogs.  The shaft that they screw onto may be a little out of alignment and need adjusting.  A job for another day.

I don't know how much more sewing I will do with the Pinnock, but it was another fun Sunday on the back verandah.  Definitely worth the $15.  

Well spotted, Mick.

Making Progress in March

On Friday night I joined in with Friday Night With Friends, organised by Cheryll.

Firstly, I completed my Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks.  The colour this month is teal or aqua.

I don't have any teal fabric in my 1930s stash and not much aqua.  This will have to do.  I'm having fun finding tiny images to feature in the one inch centre square of each block.

Next was my drunkard path blocks, which continue to challenge me and be very drunk.

By then it was getting close to the start of "Endeavour" on the TV, so a picked up my hand stitching (now that I have worked out that I need to have some hand stitching for FNWF).

I'm happy to report that my Christmas project for the month is now complete.  I just had to stitch down the binding, which I finished just before the show finished.  Perfect timing.  The runner is rather sparkly, as there is gold printing on all the fabrics, even though it doesn't show on the cream background in the photo.

I'll share more about this project soon.  It was fun to make.

Now I just have to get a wriggle on with my other projects for the month.

Thanks Cheryll for FNWF and Angela for Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

My March Goals Check In

Wow!  It is autumn!  Where did summer go?  Not that I mind seeing the back of the summer we have just experienced.  Drought, excessive heat, dust, fires, smoke, floods, storms...... you name it.  Let's hope the autumn brings more "normal" weather conditions.

Anyway, it's time to plan March's goals.  Let's start with the stitching goals.

This month I must, must, must finish my Rabbit Mat.

This was started at Girls Day in the Country at Nundle way back in 2015.  I am determined that I will take the finished project to Scrub Stitchin' at Baradine at the start of April.  I need to find some backing fabric, quilt it, when I decide how, and then bind it.  Very doable, as it isn't all that big.  I just have to find the motivation and work out how to deal with the edges, given it is English Paper Piecing. 

The Rabbit Mat is also my UFO project to work on for WOOFA.  If I manage to get it finished early enough I'll decide which project to work on next.

Once again, I will join in with Friday Night with Friends, organised by the lovely Cheryll, on the first Friday of the month.  I have no idea what I will work on at this stage, but there will be stitching on something.

This month the colour is teal.  I need to hunt out some fabrics and make my drunkard path blocks and my pineapple block.  I don't exactly have teal 30s fabrics for the pineapple block, but I will find some nice blues to use.

There will be another four blocks revealed this month, received here in Oz on Thursday mornings.  I'm looking forward to making them and keeping up to date.  I just hope they aren't too fiddly. Lazy, aren't I.

I will endeavour to make another two blocks for Splendid Sampler 2 and have decided that making the sashing borders will work well as my leader and ender project.  Nothing like killing two birds with one stone.

In the background, Loulee and I will continue making a Christmas project each month.

If all goes to plan, there should be at least two projects finished this month - the Christmas project and the rabbit mat.  Wouldn't it be nice if I could sneak in one more.  

That little lot should keep me going, I think.

Now, onto my other non-stitching goals for the month.

1. Go Motorcycling.  - There is nothing definite planned as yet, but we hope to go for a ride with the Panorama Club this month.  This time of year is ideal for getting out.

2. Go away for the weekend. - With a little bit of luck this will actually happen this month - maybe even twice.  Fingers crossed.

3.  Read a book - Mick reckons "The Book Thief" is one of the best books he has ever read.  I haven't read it and he had donated his copy.  We picked up a copy at the op shop the other day, so I'm going to read it this time around.

4.  Bake.  I'm not going to stipulate trying a new recipe this month, rather I want to do some baking.  I made some Anzac biscuits on the weekend, which were delicious.  I haven't done any other baking for some time, (I suppose the hot weather didn't help), and want to get back into the habit.  Home made is always much nicer than store bought.  Mick has requested Pineapple Roughs, so now I've put it here, it is an official goal.

In among all this, there are plenty of other things going on.  We are now entering that busy time of the year again. There'll be no rest for the wicked.

February - The Month of the Motorcycle

We are trying to get out on the motorcycles a bit more this year and we seemed to achieve this in February.

Firstly, not a ride, but we went along and had a look at the Bathurst Motorcycle Show, which is run by a group from Sydney.

There were all sorts of bikes.

Lots of Harleys.

At the other end of the spectrum, these two ratty posty bikes.  The blue one created a lot of interest with it's spanner side stand and other bits and bobs.

Some of the paintwork was spectacular.

This old AJS is owned by one of our mates and won three awards.  It is a beautiful bike.

A band kept the crowd entertained.

We had wondered how the show would go, as the weather was showery and Sydney was getting lots of rain.  Considering those conditions, there was still a good roll out of bikes and lots of lookers, ranging from patch wearing bikies to Mum and Dad and the kids.  It was a rather social morning.

It was also a good excuse to go and indulge in coffee and cake afterwards.

Our next motorcycling event was the Orange Classic Motorcycle Rally.  It's been quite a few years since we have had the opportunity to enter this rally.

We took Olga the old girl (BMW sidecar).  We cheated and took her to the start on the trailer, as she hasn't been used for quite some time.  We only rode for the one day.

There were over 100 bikes entered and the weather was perfect for being out and about.  Let's go for a little wander.

This Matchless won best bike overall and is owned by the same mate who owns the AJS that won prizes at the Bathurst Bike Show.  He really does beautiful restorations.

The ride took us through lovely countryside around Orange.

A lot of that area has missed out on the recent rain and still looks very dry.  Other parts we rode through had received incredibly heavy rain, washing out fences and damaging the roads.  Crazy weather.

The three sidecars rode along together for a while, which was nice.

The things you see along the way.

Morning tea was held at the Cudal School and lunch at Gooloogong School.  Both groups did a fantastic job and there was no excuse to go home hungry.

Towards the end of the run, Olga's clutch started to slip going up a hill.  Fortunately, Mick was able to fix the problem, but it is something that will need looking at.  Other than that, she purred like a kitten.  It really is a lovely way to travel.

Finally, last weekend we joined the Panorama Club for a ride over to Rylstone for lunch at the Globe Hotel.  They always put on a good meal.  Roast lamb seemed to be the meal of choice on the day.

We took Sophia the Moto Guzzi for this run.

After lunch, we had a little wander along the street, but as it was looking rather like rain, we didn't dally for too long before heading back home. There were lots of shops open, some of which looked to be new.  We may have to pop over on another day to have a better look. Fortunately, we arrived home without the need to pull out the wet weather gear.

So, all in  all, we did quite well to get out and about.  You forget how good it is to go for a ride and the motorcycling community are always good company.

We have to do it more often.

Our Other February Happenings

As well as setting my stitching goals for February, I set a few others.  Let's see how we went.

1.  GO MOTORCYCLING

Yes, we did - twice!  And saw a motorcycle show.  I'll do a separate post.

2. GO AWAY FOR A WEEKEND

Nope!  This was a failure for me last month too.  Our plan was to attend the Newbridge Swap Meet.  We would go out on Saturday, taking our tiny camper trailer, and have a stall on the Sunday.  However, the weather was bleak to say the least.  It was forecast to rain lots, but in the end was just drizzly and quite cool. Quite a contrast to the weekend before which reached 40 degrees C.  We had a nice, quiet day at home instead on the Sunday.

3. READ A BOOK

Goal met.

A couple of years ago I picked up these books at some markets in Molong.  I was drawn to the vintage Penguins.  The lady said that they were her father's and that Maigret was a French detective.  I'd never heard of them.  Then, coincidentally, there was a TV series of Maigret starring Rowan Atkinson.  It has been played on the ABC a couple of times.

Finally, I read one of the books.  It was a good read.  I'll gradually get through the rest of them.

4. TRY A NEW RECIPE

Yep. 

A couple of our button squash had grown way too large.  Therefore, I made up a stuffing of chicken mince, brown rice, Moroccan seasoning and other bits and bobs.  It was rather tasty and there is leftover stuffing in the freezer for the oversized zucchini that also got missed being picked.

 

We did quite a few other things during the month as well.

We had a stall at the Bathurst Swap Meet was at the beginning of the month.  On the weekend where the temperature reached 40 degrees C!!!  It was so hot!!! 

We got rid of some unwanted stuff and Mick made one purchase.  I'll share soon. The only time I left the stall was to get us an egg and bacon roll for breakfast.

We also had a garage sale, which was quite successful.

We finally received some much needed rain.  The river level came up quite high.  Sadly, not much of this rain fell in the catchment for our water supply dam.

As a consequence we have now gone to the next level of water restrictions and can only water twice a week for half an hour using a bucket.  We are so pleased we have some rainwater tanks for the garden.  They did fill with the recent rain.

The rain and some milder weather has seen our back garden revive somewhat.

The beans had loads of flowers but no beans were setting, as we had very little bee activity.  This seems to have been a common problem with the hot and dry weather.  We are now starting to see some more bees around and I have noticed lots of little beans starting to come on.

I even saw a blue banded bee the other day.  These are a native Australian bee.  It really made my day.

After our massive raspberry crop last year, our plants look rather stunted.  We were doubtful if we would get any berries this year, but they are just starting to form fruit.  We only finished the last of the frozen berries from last year a couple of weeks ago.  They were the best thing to have all year.

Our indigo plant is one that is quite hardy during the hotter weather, but looks so delicate.  I'm surprised you don't see more in gardens.

And just to finish off, I had to take a photo of our Joey on the rug Mum made.  He has such a hard life.