Organizing the Chaos Pays Off
Today, I decided to go through a small box of "goodies" my mom picked up at garage sales last Summer.
"Wasn't that almost a year ago?", you ask. Yep, I was a bad girl and put it off for too long. I was pretty wrapped up in my father's illness last summer. He passed away in the fall, and then the holidays, and ...well ....I got to it today. (geez- quit nagging me already! <grins> )
Anyhow, look at what I found in the box?
"Wasn't that almost a year ago?", you ask. Yep, I was a bad girl and put it off for too long. I was pretty wrapped up in my father's illness last summer. He passed away in the fall, and then the holidays, and ...well ....I got to it today. (geez- quit nagging me already! <grins> )
Anyhow, look at what I found in the box?
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Weird looking contraption, huh? It's a Singer Style-O-Matic attachment foot. I've never seen one "in the flesh" before. From what I understand that they are not all that common and are supposed to be able to do the same functions as a multitude of feet. I got my mitts on a manual for it, and I'm going to try and play with it a bit. THANKS MOM! |
Lucky girl, I saw one on the auction site that the seller was asking $295 for, doubt that they will get that much but ya' never know. It is supposed to be a miracle foot tho, does 18 or so things. Have fun trying them all.
Very nice blog you have here...just found it.
That is an unusual contraption. Let us know if you get it going!
I just bought snack size baggies and will be organizing my mix of gadgets for my machines. When I have time and after I research what a 'thing' is and what machine it's for, I can put it in the snack size bag with a description and then keep them all together with the machine.
I saw one go a couple of weeks ago for $125. If you decide to sell it let me know. Or if you want to trade for the embroidery attachment, I have an extra one. (: ~Page
You guys made me curious, so I did check eBay just now. In the last 30 days there was one that sold for $329, and there are 2 active listings. The one that sold didn't look so nice in the photos. Dirty or rusty..couldn't quite tell. I don't watch these things faithfully on eBay, but from what a recall, they seemed to typically fetch several hundreds of dollars. I suppose it's a supply and demand sort of thing.
I've got a few other gizmo's and attachments that seem to be in demand in a similar fashion. I've had some for years, and I've not done much with them. I think the problem is that I just don't do much embellishing in my sewing these days. Maybe when I have a granddaughter some day I will do that sort of sewing again.
Chaos!
I find Singer 401As at my local thrift stores. It's amazing how many of these machines end up there. And NONE with any of the necessary accessories and attachments.
Those must end up with all the Missing Socks, in some other Universe.
I have written instructions taped to my own sewing machine case, that ALL the various "other parts" must be rounded up and re-joined, before the sewing machines ever go to the "estate". It's amazing how many Singer sewing machines get separated from the accoutrements.
To combat my own chaos, I bought a Craftsman 3-drawer tool box and store all the tools, notions and Singer parts in that, next to my machine. Works great! Very well organized now. The horizontal surfaces are lines with non-slip shelf-liner. The shears stick to the inside top lid with super-magnets, out of the way, yet very accessible, when the toolbox is open.
I just recently discovered this WebSite from a craigslist ad, and now recommend it to everyone I know who sews.
Thanks for a wonderful, WONDERFUL Website!
I remember Bill Holman mentioning that this particular attachment was not offered for long by Singer because it didn't work well (and hence didn't sell well). If anything that does make them not as common but don't be surprised if it doesn't do as good of a job as the basic attachment for the same task!
Well, I haven't tinkered with it yet. I've seen some photos of it in action and it appears to work pretty well...Singer didn't make many of the "penguin" walking feet either but I've heard nothing but good reports about those.
Personally, I'll hold off judgement until I actually try it out. From a collector standpoint, It sure is nice to have an item that is not so common place.