Sewing Machines Anonymous Counciling Needed!

[DoubleC]

Wouldn't have guessed you for a featherweight guy Art, but I do see your point when I lug these things around. Cheryl

[immiketoo]

So wait, whats number 8 leatherkind? I have a funny story about how I aquired my Singer treadle machine. I was conducting surveillance on a house for a drug investigation with five other guys in a van. We were in a residential area and an old couple dragged this machine out to the curb and put a "Free" sign on it. This was at about 11 AM, and towards 4:30 PM, people started coming home from work, and the woman from up the street came by, hawked the machine and began walking back to her house, where she was clearly explaining her intent to grab it to her husband.

I had already decided this was MY machine, although I couldn't do anything about it being in the van. I told the driver we needed to grab it, but he was reluctant to get out and grab it. Finally, as the woman and her husband got about 25 feet from the machine, I convinced my guys to help me grab the machine.

We back the van up, and three burly dudes in police raid gear jump out of the van. I open the back hatch, they grab the machine and toss it in the back. The driver says in his best police voice, "I'm sorry ma'am, the sewing machine is wanted for questioning."

We slam the doors and drive off to another surveillance location. I'll never forget the look of shock and surprise on the woman's face as this 30 second event unfolded. It was priceless! Needless to say, we laughed so hard we cried afterward. I still have the machine, but I don't even know if it works!

Mike

[Mike516]

I only have 4 machines left myself, although my one industrial Singer is in my shop and is going to get overhauled at some point so I can learn to use it.

I don't sew at all but I like these things a lot. Part of my business is buying at estate sales and reselling. No one around here has any interest in the old sewing machines so first, they were selling them really cheap and second, if they didn't sell they take them to the dump and they become landfill.

It pains me to think about that so I was buying them and trying to resell them to people that would appreciate them. But they don't sell real well and I started to run out of space and my wife began giving me a hard time about them.

I sold one of my ones in a ornate cabinet for 200 bucks to some guy who wanted to make it into a table or something. So I started telling all the estate selling people about that. So one by one, I'd go to their sales and they'd be like "oh yea the Singer, that's a real gem, retails for 200 bucks, but you can have it for 150." Same machine before I told them what I got for the one I had they were selling for 15 or 20 bucks lmao. So that has cured me of buying the old machines.

But now they all think I'm full of crap because one of them asked me about that one I sold for 200 bucks and I think they don't believe me now because they can't get the 150 bucks they now inflated their prices to, the greedy bast@?0$!

Saw a red eye today and was proud of myself because I didn't even ask how much they wanted. Of course my wife was there and nearly had a stroke when I opened the top of the cabinet... "Oh no you don't!!!" I think I'm cured.

[DoubleC]

I think I'm cured maybe......addictions, who knows? I actually sold a machine, a 15-91 to a fellow leather worker on here I wasn't TRYING to sell. At one time I had 5 of them here, the 15-91s because I like them so much. I rehabbed all of them but this last one, was going to sell in on eBay for parts because I didn't want to stir up all the old behaviors, LOL. I was just hoping taking it APART didn't do that. So it's sat here for months waiting on me to take it apart and sell, and someone got in touch with me to see if I had any left, read one of my 1000s of responses on the glories of the 15-91s. It was a match made in heaven. He likes to refurb them and I had one that needed it, so it's off to it's new home this week. He's going to get one dandy machine and I almost broke even on this one, LOL. I'm sending him every left over part I have. Cheryl

[Merl]

On a sewing website I frequent, the other sewing machine addicts and I kid each other about some of the things we each have done to get "just one more machine" into the house with out completely destroying marital harmony and household bliss.

My worst has been leaving the latest "new machine" in my car until everyone went to bed and then sneaking it into my basement shop and pretending it has always been there.

That worked for about a week before my (then 6 year old) youngest boy asked me where did I get this new machine?

He knew right away that it was a new one and I had to swear him to secrecy for about a month before I finely couldn't keep it quiet anymore that the youngest person in the house was the most aware of his surroundings.

One online friend hides the latest machine in the closet for a couple of months so her husband gets used to tripping over it and then gives up and asks her to please put it in the sewing room.

Another one is considering putting up shelves in the bathroom (the rest of their small house is apparently full)to display the sewing machines that they have collected/accumulated, and the thought of having to doing that has turned into a running joke on the web site.

However, I must bow to the police stakeout turned "Grab Team" incident described above.

Any professional police officer that would jeopardize an official police operation for the sake of retrieving a discarded sewing machine and right from the arms of an "innocent civilian bystander" besides, well Mike, YOU are the leader of THIS pack!!

I almost don't believe such a desperate story such as yours but, being a serious sewing machine addict myself, I fully understand the anguish that drove you to commit this act.

It's alright though, no one was seriously harmed and only a few tax dollars where misused (the three fully armed officers and an under cover vehicle, while seemingly excessive, can be overlooked considering the gravity of the situation)

[immiketoo]

LMAO! I would hardly classify this as misuse of taxpayers dollars as the 30 seconds it took are far outweighed by the fact that we had been sitting there for over 8 hours waiting. Alas, boredom had set in and since none of us had eaten all day, we were a bit peckish. Maybe its all excuses on my part, but I HAD to have that machine

As for being the leader, I only have two machines, the one in the aforementioned story ( All true BTW) and one of the Singer's in the arched wood boxes with the flip up motor that is very beautiful, but again, I don't even know if it works. I am saving for a Cobra class 4 so maybe this will be the start of a true fettish!

[Merl]

"LMAO" Yes well, the thought of the poor unsuspecting couple approaching the machine to take it home,only to have three armed police officers burst from an un-marked van and grab the sewing machine out from under them without so much as a "Sorry, we got here first".....

That had me in tears laughing like it was something straight out of a movie.

Collecting sewing machines is kind of a funny/strange hobby.

I didn't start out collecting them as much as I was just "accumulating" them because someone would throw one out or give it away and I couldn't leave it there.

I like sewing machines and I like to use them.

I do some heavy cloth work (bags, packs and covers for tool boxes) and I would like to expand my knowledge into leather work, witch is what brings me here.

I'm a tool and die maker by trade and the more sewing machines I acquired the more of an interest I took in figuring out how the parts are made and assembled and how to repair and maintain them.

It seems to be something of a symbiotic relationship that most people have with their sewing machines and that also tends to bring the funny stories out about what people are sometimes willing to do for their "intimate little machines".

And besides, it would have been a HUGE waste of tax payer dollars if you had missed that machine and come home with nothing....

[broncobuster]

well im not sure to the number of machines i have or there numbers but ive got a few. n i dont like anything new. i have a newer neels machine it n i dont get along. but i have a champion straight stitcher, american straight stitcher, landis 12, 4 29-4 one is a long arm k, a singer cylinder smaller one, post machine, an anker which is similar to a 31-15, singer 111-153, a singer industrial sewer, a fur machine, 3 or 4 singers for parts or whatever, a newr singer that i havent got going i just got it, an oddball type i had to look up to figure out whats its for n it like a chain stitcher that does embroidery, ya got to see it to know what im talking about lol, plus not really sewing machines but i have 2 cinderellas, a quilting machine n of course the newer machine that im not crazy for cause its computerized is the 12 needle embroidery machine. when runs right its great. oh n i have couple old house hold sewing machines to. n i keep looking for more lol. no addiction here.

[Bigfoot]

So wait, whats number 8 leatherkind? I have a funny story about how I aquired my Singer treadle machine. I was conducting surveillance on a house for a drug investigation with five other guys in a van. We were in a residential area and an old couple dragged this machine out to the curb and put a "Free" sign on it. This was at about 11 AM, and towards 4:30 PM, people started coming home from work, and the woman from up the street came by, hawked the machine and began walking back to her house, where she was clearly explaining her intent to grab it to her husband.

I had already decided this was MY machine, although I couldn't do anything about it being in the van. I told the driver we needed to grab it, but he was reluctant to get out and grab it. Finally, as the woman and her husband got about 25 feet from the machine, I convinced my guys to help me grab the machine.

We back the van up, and three burly dudes in police raid gear jump out of the van. I open the back hatch, they grab the machine and toss it in the back. The driver says in his best police voice, "I'm sorry ma'am, the sewing machine is wanted for questioning."

We slam the doors and drive off to another surveillance location. I'll never forget the look of shock and surprise on the woman's face as this 30 second event unfolded. It was priceless! Needless to say, we laughed so hard we cried afterward. I still have the machine, but I don't even know if it works!

Mike

Hi Mike,

That is soooo funny and priceless, never expected a reply like that...I think you probably know how addicted you are!

Nope, no addictions there

Oooh Cheryl, I think that fine collection has got qualify for a mild to medium addiction!?

[DoubleC]

Yes, I just didn't have the heart to break it to him :-) (He needs an inpatient rehab not our group, LOL)