Last night, while I was soundly sleeping, my computer was working for me and won the auction for the last machine I’m actively shopping for.
And, Rebecca was right. I was not sharing because I didn’t want the competition. But, now I can tell.
I won a “Two-Spool” sewing machine, made by the National sewing machine company. Remember that National made my Natalie.
The new machine looks very similar. Except Natalie was built to be motorized and the two spool was built as a treadle, so the hand wheel is bigger. The two spool has more complex decals, but they’re in pretty sad shape.
I didn’t buy the new machine for her looks, tho. I bought it because the bobbin is not just a bobbin. The bottom thread is a whole spool of thread that fits into a canister about the size of a 35MM film canister. You can sew forever. And, if you put the same size spool on top, running out of bottom thread won’t be a surprise.
This morning, while I was hunting for an owner’s manual, I found this video. This lady has the same machine (except hers is in a gorgeous parlor cabinet). Her decals are in a little bit better shape than mine will be. But, she does a great job of showing how the machine works. And, if you watch to the end, you’ll see that she and I want to do the same thing…FMQ. She’s trying to figure out an FMQ foot and so am I. She also talks about why the experts say that no other manufacturer tried this.
I guess I’ll be reaching out to her to see if she’s figured it out yet. Has anybody ever seen a Greist darning foot? I’ve looked for one for a while and never found it. So, I’ve got the old noodle working on converting some other foot.
But, that’s a long time away. In the meantime, I’ll need kerosene and rust remover and a polishing wheel and…eventually an electric motor and a cabinet. But, that’s a really, really long time away.
When she gets here, I’ll show you the pictures and you’ll see why.
I got the machine for the minimum price it was listed for. I guess nobody else wanted to do the work…or they knew it couldn’t be done or wasn’t worth it. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.
I am pumped.
Sunday is Rob’s birthday. The only thing he’s asked for is a carrot cake. Sydney is excited to try her hand at that.
Be well and have a great Friday! Lane
13 comments:
What a beauty. Congratulations. I did go search to see if I could figure out what you were bidding on. Don't think I saw this one. Shouldn't have. I threw a bid in on a Sew-A-Matic Little Betty and won. What was I thinking? Last thing I need is to start a toy sewing machine collection.
I am glad you were successful. I can see that the hump is bigger for your quilt log (if you know what I mean!).
Happy birthday for Sunday Rob! carrot cake is my favourite too, have a wonderful day x
OOH, it's GORGEOUS!!! I am so excited for you!
Coincidentally, I have been stricken with a serious case of Featherweight Fever over the past few days. I must have spent 6 hours straight in front of the computer the other day, scouring eBay and Craig's List. So far I have restrained myself from actually bidding on anything, but I have a slew of them on my eBay "watch" list.
What do you mean about your computer bidding for you and winning the auction while you were away? Is there a trick to this eBay game that I'm not aware of? I covet those gleaming black cuties in the worst way... ;-)
Congratulations-- the addition of a spool instead of a bobbin is HUGE in terms of not having to tie off and bury knots all the time. I can't wait to see how it looks when you're done working on it.
Very interested to hear more about this machine, Lane. Congratulations!
Does your machine come with the lower spool case? Just wondering as I found your auction (I think) and it does not specifically show a photo of the bobbin (spool) case.
That's neat. I had never seen one of these before. No danger of me bidding on another vintage machine though as I am out of space for new and old machines. Of course if just the right one appeared I suppose I could rehome one (like that would happen-lol!) I am thinking about a new embroidery combo so I dare not wag another oldster into this house though I dearly love my vintage collection. I may be wrong on this but I am thinking some of the industrials sew from a large spool without bobbin use which would be sort of like this concept.
Happy Rob's Birthday. I hope you all enjoy the day immensely.~
Lucy
The machine in the video is a beaut. I hope that you can get your's up and running that good. Too bad other sewing machine companies don't try and duplicate the 2 spool idea - it would be a huge hit.
Happy Birthday to Rob on Sunday.
Thanks for sharing.
cindy
Are you sure that badged National is a true "Two Spools"? It states it's a rotary, which is different from the "Two Spools". I have 2 "Two Spools". One is made by Eldredge and the other by National. National bought out Eldredge. I have never seen a "Two Spools" that stated Rotary or had different decals. National did make rotary machines that used the same body/bed and was used as a badged machine. I once owned a Graybar that looked like yours( different decals), see my post Oct.2010 the collection continues. I don't FMQ with my "Two Spools". I use mine for piecing since the foot is the perfect 1/4 and the feed dogs are equal lengths, which your machine should have. Sorry this is long.
The machine on picture is not two spools
because the shaft for winding the bobbin is
very short, and in the rwo spools is big
for obvious reasons.
My parents have a Eldredge two spool I am planning on posting on ebay (doing research on it's value and ran across your blog) it looks just like the one in the video link. I have pictures but I wasn't sure how to post a photo here. Let me know if any one is interested and I can send you some pictures.
hello there, i have been searching for old sewing machine, similar to my great grandmother's. it is made by national, and came across your blog when i have been tearing my eye over the images and i mean a lot of images in the internet as i googled my way.... well im not posting on ebay for sale.. but instead im looking for a parts.. which i really do not know how it looks like and im sure its round but its big.. since singer's bobbins are small.. if you know where to get one perhaps you can drop me a message. :D thanks!!!
check my grreat grandmother's machine here http://bellatheresa.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-sewing-machine.html
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