Quite some time ago, Hubby and I went to an auction. Â It was long before we were interested in the new house so I am really unsure of why he bought this bucket of what I thought was junk. Â Well as we were going through the new house, I noticed that there are lots of push button light switches. Â Do you remember those??
My parents had them in their house and I have always loved them. Â I was talking to Hubby and said that I really wanted to keep them. Â Well I got the whole electrical speech…(Hubby’s a volunteer fireman and is always telling me that electric work needs to updated) Â I sighed and thought it was a done deal discussion.
Then he asked the electrician about it and he said, some of what we have can be salvaged and they do in fact make reproductions. Â Ya-Hoo!! Â Anyone know how to clean the ones I have or does anyone have some lying in a bucket at your house that you want to get rid of?? Â Next time we are at the house, I am going to try to count up how many I’ll need.
(Back to the story)…Then Hubby said wait…in that box of stuff I got at that auction are some face plates! Â Well last night we got the bucket out and started sorting through it. Â There were three plates and one usable switch along with…SEWING MACHINE PARTS!!
There are lots and lots of sewing machine parts. Â Shuttles, face places, and all sorts of plates that slide over the bobbin….oh and feet and feet and feet. Â All of the stuff on the right in the photo are sewing machine pieces. Â I have no idea what we are going to do with them all.
In the mix I found the seam guide thing that Bonnie Hunter uses. Â I put it on my machine and sewed a few pieces testing it out.
My initial reaction, I’m not sure if I like it…I have to pull the pins out earlier than I otherwise would but I am going keep trying it for a week and then I’ll make a decision on whether I’ll keep it on.
Well that’s how things go around here…from a junk goodie auction bucket to push button light switches and then back to sewing. Â It always comes back to sewing.
Hi Jo, I’ve tried my seam guide similar to that and I agree, you have to take the pins out too early. I use a piece of cut-up hotel key and removable sticky stuff like Bonnie and it works great. You can get the pin right up to the needle.
I remember the light switch plates, don’t think my parents had any in their house. If you don’t have enough good ones, get the repro ones. They are just going add more character to your house!
What a find!!
Try putting the pins in from the left. I know it is awkward at first but this way I can sew right up to the pin point and just back it out a little and keep sewing. It took a while for this to become habit but it really works great and very accurate this way, no slipping points.
On my old (circa 1971) Sears Kenmore machine, I had one of those seam guide which I used constantly while sewing clothing (my thing back then). That machine has major issues now so I no longer use it (still have it). I’m not sure I’d like it for quilting since I now depend on my 1/4 inch foot.
This old dog did learn a new trick so I could use a similar seam guide. After years and years of sewing I’ve trained myself to insert pins with the head on the left side and the point even with the edge of the fabric. Now it is a habit I don’t even think about, but it took awhile to reach that point. Totally worth it, however – this is so much more accurate than a 1/4″ foot.
I purchased one just like that from a site that sells old Singer parts. I already had one from a old machine I used to have, but wanted one for each of my machines. Paid $25.00 bucks for it and I love it. I prefer this over a 1/4″ foot anyday. Have you ever noticed that a lot of the machines that are sold today don’t have that little screw hole to the side of your needle. When my sister purchased a Brother last Christmas the first thing I checked, was to see if it had one. It didn’t. I told her I would not purchase a machine that didn’t have a place I could screw a gauge into. Just helps getting that 1/4″ right every time.
Love your blog!! From a fan from Ohio.
I have one of those old seam guides too, and use it all the time. It came with my Grandma’s old New Home machine she traded her treadle in on back in the late ’50s. When I had my Mom’s house ready to sell I left the old machine there, but got to thinking about the seam guide and made a special 50 mi. round trip to go get it. Now I kind of wish I’d kept the old machine in it’s cabinet. I think all that was wrong with it was it needed a new check spring and a good cleaning and servicing. Bonnie Hunter’s blog has made me realize that. Too late now though.
we have the push button light switches in the up stairs in our old farm house. I would put the pins in from the other direction than you can sew right up to the pins.