I adore Haines, Alaska - it's quickly becoming one of my favourite places. Between the gorgeous drive (you can see part of the scenery and some of the town in
this post;
ETA: way to forget the link, Heather), the adorable town, and the friendly people, I'd probably happily move there! If I could find a job. And if it weren't another country. Though a large chunk of the Yukon agree that Haines and Skagway and other nearby towns might as well be part of the Yukon - we're basically the same people, so we might have to plot stealing those areas back or something.
Don't worry folks, we'll let you keep your flag - you're obviously fond of it if the presence of one on every single house is anything to go by. We'll just stick a leaf on it or something! ;)
(I am just kidding - please don't take this as a serious plot to invade or anything! Though if you're not using those towns, we'll happy trade you them for some poutine and a Zamboni or something.)
Anyways, as you can probably guess, I had a good time in Haines this past weekend. We went down for the Haines Beerfest (my first time going!) and had a blast. The weather was extremely warm and I killed my ankles and feet by walking all over town in flip flops, but the beer was good and I made lots of friends by sharing my ginormous bag of popcorn with everyone.
BTW, three separate people stated "you must be Canadian" after I offered them popcorn. Weird.
What does this have to do with "Things I Make"? Well, not a lot. Unless you count this fantastic find I stumbled across at a garage sale there.
It's a Singer 99K in pretty good condition! The shellac is starting to peel, but she appears to run well and the lightbulb works. I haven't actually tried sewing with her yet, since I need to find some time somewhere to give her a good cleaning and probably not a small amount of oil. Not bad for $20 USD (probably about $26 or so CAD)!
I'm pretty stoked though. Poor...everyone in Haines. I crowed about my find to
absolutely everyone who made the mistake of making eye contact with me!
It came with some goodies under the machine. I'm pretty sure all of those weird feet are rufflers. Who ever used to own her must've been a serious ruffle-addict!
There was also some buttonhole templates, but sadly no buttonholer. I'm going to see if I can't find one for this machine - though my Kenmore does buttonholes just fine. Maybe I'll track down some other feet for it too.
Pretty sweet find, eh? I need to figure out a name for her soon. Any suggestions?
She's gorgeous. Since she is a Singer, maybe name her after a singer tat you love?
ReplyDeleteShe is gorgeous - it was love at first site. Though I also adored her friend, which was also a little Singer (same type, but different model) and green to boot, but there were a lot of problems with it and I was only letting myself take home one.
DeleteOoo, good idea about a fav singer name. I'll have to consider that. :)
What a great find! Especially in the north, you really do NEVER find old/vintagey things for cheap up there. EVER!
ReplyDeleteStrange how ruffler feet seem to abound, I seem to get on with almost every miscellaneous bag of sewing stuff I find. At last count I have 6 rufflers, except of course one for my Bernina.
I found a machine this weekend too. Post to come.
Yeah, I'm kicking myself. They had two other machines there - another old singer that was in rough shape, but also an old Kenmore for $5.00 and I wish I'd bought him! He was a sweet looking beast, and I have a soft spot for Kenmores. Even if I just brought him back, cleaned him up, and sold him here in Whitehorse, it'd be a good deal and at least he wouldn't be sitting in a storage unit like everything else. :(
DeleteI've never even seen a ruffle before this! It's such an odd little contraption, but I'm eager to try it out.
Can't wait to see your new find! I saw you're plethora of tops you've sewn lately - busy woman! Will be commenting soon with my fav picks!
What a great score! Maybe there were rufflers for the big '50's skirts? They are such a scary contraption!
ReplyDeleteHaha maybe!
DeleteShe. Is. Beautiful. If I had it in my power, I'd trade you Haines for her. (Too much? Maybe, but let's face it, a sewing machine is more use to me than the state of Alaska. And visiting would still be an option, right?) I imagine that the cost of collecting all of the feet and other goodies would have easily exceeded what you paid for the machine. It'll be great to see her restored and working again. Assuming no quirky behavior, what do you think you'll use her for first/most?
ReplyDeleteI'D TAKE THAT DEAL. :D I'd go there more often if the crummy CAD/USD wasn't an issue!
DeleteHmm, yeah the feet would probably run me more than I paid for the machine, but there's a few I'd like to get. The manual I downloaded had a section in the back that talked about them and I might've drooled a bit...
Hmm, I don't know what I'd use her for first! She's a straight stitcher, so no knits. Honestly, I won't have the time to spend on her anytime soon - definitely don't have time to sew right now (though soon, I hope), so I guess we'll see what's on the docket once she's all set up. I'm looking forward to having two operating machines though - I hate having to switch between zigzag for seam finishes and straight stitches for seams.
Such a great find! No lie, I'm kind of jealous, it's one of my life dreams to have an old metal machine come into my life like that. Have fun getting her in working shape!
ReplyDeleteIt was totally unexpected (though I spotted the three sewing machine cases they had out from FAAAAR away and, no word of a lie, shouted "omg sewing machines" at the group I was with before bee-lining for the sale. :D
DeleteKeep an eye out for them - you never know where one will turn up!
Heather, all your Me-Made-May had me realizing that sewing is great physiotherapy for me! So I blame and thank you for getting me sewing again - I'm nearly finished a Granville button-up shirt now!
ReplyDeleteAs for the Singer, what about Black Widow from Avengers, ha!
Oh that's really cool! I can't wait to see your shirt - I haven't sewn that one yet.
DeleteHmmm, tempting name. :D