See, I told you I had a lot to blog about. And I still have a couple more posts to do with quilt show photos, but I'll do those later this week.I always wondered what it would be like to own a Featherweight, and yesterday I found one at the Quilter's Yard Sale sponsored by Cottonweeds, one of our local quilt shops. This is the same yard sale I went to last year and found a copy of Gwen Marston's Liberated Quiltmaking for $3. It was a good price, I think, too good to pass up; and who knows when the opportunity might arise again? So I bought it.
According to information I found on the internet using the machine's serial number, it is indeed a Singer Featherweight, model 221K, built in 1949 at the Kilbowie plant in Clydebank, Scotland. I know nothing about Featherweights and don't know if it is more desirable to have one built in the US, but it doesn't matter much to me right now. In any case, the machine looks to be in very nice condition, and she runs just fine. I'm going to buy Nancy Johnson Srebro's book on featherweights and shop for a few parts, like extra bobbins; then I should have a nice little machine to take with me on my sew days away.
8 comments:
Congratulations! I've also been wanting a featherweight; I hear so many good things about them. I won't spend a lot of money to buy one, but hope to find one as you did, at a good price.
I also have Gwen Marston's LQ and bought LQ II with a coupon and a gift card! Lots of good ideas for experimentation.
Happy sewing,
Kathleen
Great find...I have a beige one ....they did not make many of them but they look the same and it is the 221...lots of info online..you will enjoy it...I did all my quilting on it when I first started....
Great find, and congrats on the quilt win. It's a beauty! Sorry about your chimney and sedum; I'll bet your living room will look different without the fireplace, a place to hang that quilt perhaps?
Good for you, Sue! I was there, too, but I didn't see it and I was there first thing. I picked up some goodies, too, from mutual friends. The quilter's yard sale is great, isn't it?
Boy, is this your lucky week, or what?
Congrats!
Wow! Good for you! It looks like a beauty. I've been looking for a featherweight to carry to classes and almost bought one off craigslist last weekend. The seller gave me a story about being a family heirloom, and being stored in a spare room closet. When I asked for additional photos, I could see rust on the screw heads. At this point I politely declined to purchase. The guy then swore at me and told me he knew from the beginning I was a dealer because I knew so much about the machines. In reality I'm just a quilter looking to buy a nice machine for myself. My point? If you are looking to invest in a featherweight, purchase one from a trusted source like a quilt shop or a local sewing machine dealer. Otherwise you may be taken advantage of.
You will love your little Featherweight. I love mine, all three of them. I guess that means I have a collection?
I really like your green win quilt. I always buy tickets on quilts, mostly in hope that I will win, but just sometimes to support the cause. I would have bought tickets on this one for sure. It is amazing to me that you have won two raffle quilts. Congratulations!
Featherweights are just plain great. And the more I see your hexies, the more I am tempted to start one....
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