Long Arm Quilting

Friday, April 20, 2012

I have a new sewing machine

 Good Morning! How are you doing? I sure hope you are good. I just wanted to pop in with a picture of my new sewing machine. Isn't she pretty?? She did not come with the Dr Pepper or the tea mug, but I just wanted to demonstrate how much room was under the harp. Isn't that lovely? I think so.

 She stitches like a dream...well she does now. She was a bit dirty, so I cleaned her really well and oiled her parts and lubed her gears and she purrs like a cat in the sun. I dig her so much.

that is not rust on the needle shaft...it is just discolored. I need to give it another wipe with the cloth
 She has a slanted needle shaft. I bet you are wondering Why? Right? Well, so you can see that you are sewing better! It is so cool! I am sure my posture will improve with this machine. I am normally sitting all humped over with my breasts in my lap trying to see my stitching. I bet your posture is better than mine.

 Here are my 301 and one of my Featherweights for comparison. The Featherweight is 11 pounds and her big sister the 301 weighs in at 16 pounds. Not bad? They are so sweet. Nothing like sewing with a sewing machine well older than me. This 301 was made in 1951 right here in the States.

So you may be wondering why I have bought yet another machine, right? Well...I wanted another that I can free motion quilt with, or TEACH others to free motion quilt with. Right now I have my Old Necchi that I can easily teach quilting with, and of course I have 2 Bernina sewing machines I could teach with, but no one is allowed to touch my 820. She is far too much of a snob and the 165 is a great little quilter, but even she is sometimes intimidating to new quilters. This 301 will not be intimidating at all. She came with a sweet Rattan case with a Bakelite handle. Lots of bobbins and a myriad of feet. I have no clue what to do with them.

I won her on Ebay. I always wonder why people sell these great old machines for next to nothing. The featherweights came be quite expensive, but the 301s are very reasonable. Oh, the parts are interchangeable between the 2 models.

OK, I am off to sew some more! I think you should try to find a fine little machine on Ebay for yourself. These old gals are too special to be tossed out.

7 comments:

  1. Cool. Yours is a long-bed. Congratulations. :-) Mine is an LBOW. I love mine too!

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  2. I have my grandfather's sewing machine, which fired up slowly when I tried it next summer, but needs some serious tlc. I have no idea what it is. It is trapped in a cabinet thing. It can not wait to meet you. It hopes you are up to the challenge of a check up. Until you look at the parts, I won't know if he is a he or a she...

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  3. This looks like a great machine, but I don't know anything about it. Is the long bed better than the short? And what is a good price to pay? I know it depends on what comes with it and condition. I would appreciate any help you can give me. Thanks!

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  4. Oh Tia!! I see that you caved and got the 301! I LOVE mine... she is beautiful. And I love that we now have "twin" machines. :)

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  5. Can can you still get the manual?

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  6. Have you been able to FMQ on the 301? I ask because I have tried until I cried and haven't come up with the right combination of thread and tension.

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  7. My Mom has this machine and bought it new in 1951. It's in a blonde cabinet with a matching seat that has storage under the seat. She taught me how to sew on it. I probably wouldn't be a quilter today if it weren't for that. She is now 90 years old and still loves it. Congratulations on a great purchase!

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Thanks for commenting! I read each one. I will either respond via email or here in the comments. xo - Tia