Lost...updated 19:45

There is a good reason to never throw anything away. I found my old camera, synched it up with my laptop and I'm in business again. lane





Would the person who found my camera cord in the office parking lot yesterday please hurry the heck up and turn it in to lost and found? It won't fit your electronics. It's a very specific connection. So, you may as well just turn it in and save me the trouble of finding another one.

Don't you just hate it when you lose something? I certainly do. I remember the last time I saw the cord. I was wrapping it around my hand as I walked to the car last night, talking to my boss. I was hoping he had seen me drop it and had picked it up, but no.

And, on a day when I had so many photos to show.

I didn't make any progress on the feathered star baby quilt last night. But, I did get a bit of hand sewing time and worked on a dresden plate block. Someone commented that they hoped they'd go back together easily. Thanks for the hope, but that is not to be. The first block I worked on, I was just replacing one wedge. I took the offending wedge out and sewed one side of a new wedge in and it was no longer a circle and the two ends would not meet up. They were very far off...think the letter c instead of the letter o. So, I had to take it all apart, recut the wedges, and sew them back together. Not too difficult. I mean, most of the plates are already apart and the wedges waiting for me to assign them a new plate. But, I did not plan on starching them and re-cutting them. Oh, well. I've finished two blocks now and they are beautiful! I'd show you pictures. But SOMEBODY hasn't turned in my cord yet. You know who you are.

But, you likely don't read this blog, so you don't know I'm sending you commands telepathically.

The other thing is a sewing machine. Everyone knows what a white featherweight looks like, so I don't need a picture of that. Anyway, 14 months ago, I bought a white featherweight at a goodwill auction. And, I've never gotten to use it. I've never given it a name. Other than to call it "cursed".

Before I tell this story, I need to say that I have learned a lot from that cursed machine. A LOT! So don't judge too harshly because sometimes, learning a lesson is expensive.

Here's the story of the day I bought it and you can see that it was missing the bobbin case and the singer name badge and the case had been damaged. But, that was the least of it. Sad thing is, I already had a black featherweight and there was no reason to want a white one...except I wanted it. And, I was just starting to fancy myself as a machine collector.

First, when I was paying, they offered me the opportunity to plug it in and test it out. But, just the day before, they'd assured me that it had been tested, so I passed that opportunity. Which meant I didn't get a 48 hour warranty to return it. Oh, if only I could relive that day and choose differently.

So, I got it home and within 24 hours, realized that something was terribly wrong. It appeared to have been dropped. The hand wheel wobbled and had some paint chipping and it made a terrible noise. Turned out that the main drive shaft that runs horizontally through the middle of the machine and all the little gadgets are connected to was bent. So, I bought a new drive shaft. I took the whole machine apart to get the old, bent one out and while forcing and twisting that, I broke a coupling. So, I had to buy a new one of those. When I got all that installed, the knob on the handwheel wasn't compatible with the new shaft. So, I had to buy a new one of those. I finally got it all put together and got it adjusted and was ready to use it. And, I had found a singer name badge, so it was complete. This was about 10 months ago.

Just as I got the belt tightened, the end broke off the motor housing. The whole housing just broke in half and several little pieces broke off. I'd never noticed that the motor housing had been damaged when it was dropped. It must have been cracked all along and just hanging together, waiting to trick me. And at the worst time, just when I was going to celebrate all my hard work, it just gave up the ghost. I cursed. Then, I cried. Then, I tried to epoxy it back together. (Right, like that was ever gonna work.)

So, I put it away and decided not to think about it. It was clearly cursed and not meant for me to use. But, I also wasn't willing to put it on ebay as a parts machine and sell it for nothing. I kept an eye out for a white featherweight motor housing. I didn't care if the motor was burned out, I just needed the housing. I had a couple of parts dealers looking for one for me. But, nothing turned up. Last week, I saw one on ebay. Buy it now. And, the price was high. Of course it was. I'd never seen one listed anywhere before and no one had come across one. One guy was straight up with me and told me that if he got one, he wouldn't sell it. He'd wait to get a parts machine and put it on that and sell the whole thing for a much higher price. Dealers were the same about the logo. The potential value of those particular parts was just too high to sell the individual parts. I couldn't argue with that. But, it was frustrating.

Anyway, the new motor came in yesterday. It's a more powerful motor than the original I had, which also contributed to the cost. I spent this morning getting it installed. So, now I have a white featherweight that is ready to sew. At least until something else breaks on it. After all. It is cursed.

I could sell it, but I'd have to get absolute top dollar to get all my money back, so I think I'm going to enjoy it. After all, I wanted it bad enough to forget all I know about smart buying. I'll have to think of a good first project for it. And, as I use it, I'll come up with a name. Something other than "cursed" (or one of the other names I've called it).

I really hope I have fixed it all and get to enjoy it. I have certainly been diligent enough and tried hard enough to get to enjoy it. There has to be a reward here somewhere, right?

BTW, I did sell that serger. I have my Mom's serger and I only bought that one to re-sell. I sold it to a co-worker who is a new sewer and quilter for the price I paid. So, she got a steal.

Everybody have a great day. Lane