then there were twins

and now a whole family!

Ive been keeping a bit of a secret from you… In November after a tip-off from Karrie I went to the East Bay Depot and adopted a twin of my singer 301 sewing machine. The new 301 looks pretty, has a nice box and all of its attachments, but it also looks as if someone poured motor oil everywhere inside and then let it sit for 30 years. It was completely seized when I took it home but after some elbow grease and a good dose of advising from my dad the gears are all turning. With enough time spraying solvent into it I think I can get it running again.

Fast forward to January 2008 and an unanticipated craigslist find. Ive been looking on craigslist for the table which goes with the singer 301. I’ve seen them on there before and I’m not in a hurry so I figure that if I look long enough I’ll find one. My RSS feed picks up a lot of other sewing machines though and yesterday I saw a little featherweight listed for $100 (they usually go for $200-$400). I couldn’t resist and drove down to Mountain View to pick it up last night.

Its not in perfect condition – it looks well used – and thats the way I like it. I dont want a machine that cant be used! It runs and all the parts and attachments are there – even the original manual!

Look how tiny it is!

Just about everyone I talked to said I was crazy. 3 sewing machines in a studio apartment?

Well there is another bit of news I have yet to share…. We are moving. Our new place is still in Berkeley about 2.5 miles south of where we are now. It will have walls. More on that later…

The woman who gave me the machine said it needed a name–thats right, a really nice woman I met on craigslist GAVE me this machine in return for me working to “save the earth from the ill effects of humanity” (which is really what I do already, right?). Anyone have a good suggestion?



The bottom picture is my old(er) machine. It was my grandmothers which she had converted to an electric. It still runs like a champ, but after sewing on the Singer 301 there is really no comparison. In fact I think that due to lack of apartment space the white will be put out to pasture at my Mom’s house. It still amazes me that a machine made in 1913 is still perfectly functional. I think we might have to throw a 100th birthday party for it or something.