Sewing Organization When You Have No Sewing Room? Part 1

Well, I've done a bit of shopping lately and have gone from one sewing machine to five. In addition, I've also bought sewing machine attachments and feet. I feel very disorganized because none of those are interchangeable, nor are they labeled at the moment. I do have them separated, thank goodness!

I started out with a Euro-Pro that was given to me. It's not vintage but does have all metal gears.

My Euro-Pro Sewing Machine

It came with quite a few feet and other paraphernalia. It didn't sew at the time and I fiddled with it some, flipped it on it's side and the gears in the bottom were out of line. I'm still not sure exactly what I did - but it sews fine now! LOL Still, I felt I needed one that would be reliable.

I remembered my Mom's vintage Singer that I learned to sew on. Eventually I started looking on eBay to see if I could identify which model it was. I'm also a member of Pattern Review and started reading their Singer thread. That lead me to vintage forums and message boards. My Mom's machine was a model 66 Singer:

This was the cabinet.

and this is an example of the machine:

Image courtesy of www.omgheart.com

I remember that machine fondly along with the time my Mother so patiently taught me to sew. At the time I didn't fully appreciate the machine and I regret it so! I was a spoiled brat that wanted one of the new Touch n Sew's!

Well, that little journey down memory lane just fueled my interest in vintage machines. In my last post you'll see pics of the Featherweight I just bought.

She's not even here yet but isn't she a beauty?

I wanted to have a vintage machine that would pay homage to my Mom and her sacrifices in buying her machine during the depression. Eventually that lead to eBay listings and posts on Pattern Review. I also wanted a machine that would be reliable and give me a few more options.

So I bought this:

The Viking Platinum Plus Embroidery Machine

It arrived yesterday and I can't tell you how much I love this machine! It's about ten years old but was barely used when I got it. First thing I did when receiving it besides testing the stitching was cleaning out the bobbin area. Sure to her word, she hadn't used it much because I only found the slightest hint that it had been used. Barely any fuzz at all!

It came in two boxes - the embroidery attachments in one and the machine in another. Between all the gear that was included, it's adding to my chaos in my sewing area.

What am I talking about? It's currently sitting on my kitchen counter because I don't have a dedicated sewing area! That's the reason for this post! I have about 500 sq. ft. I am living in and the sewing machine's are taking it over!

Oh yeah - I almost forgot! I bought a few more...

Last month I read reviews of affordable sewing machines and found the Singer 7258 to be favored among users. On Amazon and on the Singer website, it's hard to find anyone with negative comments. At around $200 at your local Walmart, that's a deal!

I hadn't quite made up my mind to buy one yet when I found a new machine at my local Goodwill for $100. They were just bringing it out when I was paying for a Coach purse and jeans. Needless to say, that ended up in my cart too!

One more machine! I bought a Singer Model 99. It's 3/4 sized and based on the model 66. It's in fairly good condition cosmetically but the cord is probably bad. I bought this off of eBay also and he seems to be a little slow in sending it.

Yeah - ok. I fell for the lace!

So - five machines and I don't even have a dedicated sewing space. I live in a very small apartment in a "55 and over" building. I love it here because there is so much character and looks like a castle from the outside according to my Grandkids!

Norman Towers

Norman Towers is a nice place to live and all of us are like family. When I live in a building such as this, is it any wonder why I love vintage machines?