THE FEATHERWEIGHT
I have received several
inquiries on the blue Featherweight Singer sewing machine that is seen on the
set of my Craftsy on-line Luminous Lonestar class. It is in mint
condition and of a color not seen on any other. Well, here’s the story:
You can imagine my surprise
and joy that wintry Christmas morning when I awoke to find a Featherweight
sewing machine under the Christmas tree. My wonderful, adorable, handsome
husband was as equally surprised to find that he had bought me such a wonderful
and thoughtful gift. Bless his heart!
As with most quilters, I am
in love with featherweights. I have heard so many stories about how perfect
they were for taking to a class or quilting retreat because they were so
portable. I have also heard how they make such a perfect ¼” seam allowance.
When we are driving around my wonderful, adorable, handsome husband always
stops by antique shops and he keeps his eye out for that very recognizable
case. We have found many, but all were totally out of my price range – remember
I am cheap! He bought me quite a few toy sewing machines to keep me happy in
the interim. That will be the topic of another post one of these days.
The machine was complete with
case, foot pedal, and bunches of attachments. The machine had been well taken
care of, but it was also well used, with dings and scratches, and much of the
detailing had long since worn away. Nonetheless, I was thrilled with this delightful
gift from my husband. (Teehee!)
Did you know you can get on
the Internet, and by using your Featherweight’s serial number, you can find
when and where your machine was born? While doing this research, I also found a
place where I could order all of the stenciling, scrolls, scrawls, and emblems
that are found on originals.
Later that night, after I had
finished properly thanking my husband for such a thoughtful gift as only a wife
or hooker can, I woke him up and mentioned finding the decal place. Again, Mr.
Wonderful surprised me with an even better idea!
The next day he called an
acquaintance who owns an auto body repair shop. He asked if they would consider
doing a body job on a sewing machine. After Mike, the owner, determined that my
husband was neither drunk nor on drugs, he told him, sure, to bring the machine
in and he would take a look at it.
So off we went to Karas Auto
Body. Mike examined the little machine and said he was sure he could get it
looking as good as new. After some back and forth with myself, I asked if we
could do a color something other than black. “Of course we can,” Mike said. “What
color would you like?”
Now I had no idea that there
were so many colors and shades to choose from. And not just the typical blacks,
whites, reds, green, silver and blues that you see on the cars that you flip
off while driving on the Interstate. I must have looked at thousands of colors,
shades, tints and hues. There must be as many colors for cars as there are
colors of threads! And that is in the tens of thousands of thread colors. I
know, I have all of them.
After much deliberation and
arguing with myself I decided on a color. I asked my husband his opinion and he
appropriately answered that it looks great, which is the same answer he always
gives when I ask him if a particular dress makes my ass look big. And so, my
machine would become the only Bimini Blue Featherweight in existence.
I told Mike that I would go
ahead and order the decals. And after a little more discussion, I managed to
talk Mike out of the racing stripes and flames that he wanted to add and he set
out disassembling the Featherweight.
Several weeks later, I picked
up the wonderful Bimini Blue Featherweight that you see in the Craftsy class.
Now you know the rest of the story about my Bimini Blue featherweight.
Then, I made a quilt for a
wonderful friend and she gave me this little lovely as a thank you. This one
runs even better than the blue one- I just love it! It didn’t come with a power
cord but I can use the same cord from my other one- that works out great! It
saved me from having to buy another cord. The beauty about these little
machines is lack of computer stuff, so taking them apart is not too scary. I
got my trusty manual out, took the machine apart, oiled it where it needed to
be oiled and even put a new belt on it. I am not going to touch this one with
paint- it is beautiful the way it is. This color is pretty rare. I am so
grateful to Sharyl for giving me this one. She rocks!
I wish I had room to keep them all set up and
just turn my chair around and sew on whichever one I am in the mood to use.
Someday when I kick my son’s butt out I will have the space. Until then I am
forced to just have one machine set up at a time, but I am lucky to be able to that!
God love my family- they don’t ever complain about not having a dining room
table, or a dining room at all- as it is my sewing area. My iron is set up all
of the time- and I love it. It does force me to keep the sewing area neat-
neater than when I had a room with a door that would close. I was a whole lot
messier then!
If you have a Featherweight
and a favorite color all you have to do is contact Mike Karas at Karas Auto
Body in Thornton, Colorado. Mike can turn your Featherweight into a one of a
kind machine, one that will make you the envy of everyone in your quilt guild.
You can call Mike at 303-287-2273. Or better yet, e-mail him a picture of your
machine at info@karasautobody.com Tell him that
you were referred by Courtenay, the sewing machine lady, also known as the lady
with the 2003 Pontiac Sunfire that he recently repaired. (But that is a whole
‘nother story!) A word of caution though, he will want to put racing stripes
and flames on your Featherweight making it look more like a NASCAR racing
machine than a sewing machine. You might have to rein him in a little bit.
Well, that is my
Featherweight story- do you have a Featherweight and/or a Featherweight story?
Finally, if you are
interested in my Luminous Lonestar on line quilting class, you can find
it at www.craftsy.com/ext/lonestar25. Use
this code for a discounted price!!
Happy sewing!
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