iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

That yellow table photo of Alice was while I was working on her. Adding some photos from when I got her. These show the bobbin winder she came with (I replaced it), Alice and Sam together, and Alice's condition when I got her (as well as a mid-paint removal photo).

Greenish grey bobbin winder in a hand resting on a wood table with thread snips nearby.

Two black cast iron sewing machines sitting on a yellow table. The one in front is missing the hand wheel and cover plates. its decals are in rough, faded condition.

Black cast iron sewing machine with red and gold decals as it is having greenish grey paint removed.

Lastly we have Alice. This poor old girl has been Through It. Serial G4126949, Aug 10, 1915. Came with a motor, light, and solid wheel. Entire machine had been painted green and "updated" to the 60s. Now has a spoked wheel, same motor, same light. Side mount foot. Rear silver plate replaced

Rear photo of a Black cast iron sewing machine with faded and silvering red and gold decals with a motor, light, and pedal.

Premier sewing motor on old cast iron sewing machine.

Front view of a black cast iron sewing machine with very faded gold decals, the machine pedal sitting on its base.

Black cast iron sewing machine from the rear on a yellow table

Rosie is the machine I sent to my kids' school. I don't have many pics of this one. She came to me without a motor or table. Serial G9084127, Dec 6, 1921. Spoked wheel. Unlabeled tensioner. Current tensioner is a kit from Central Michigan Sewing Machine Supply in the same style as the original

Black cast iron sewing machine with faded and silvering red and gold decals in a hand made base.

Black cast iron sewing machine with faded and silvering red and gold decals on a workbench next to a tape measure, water bottle, and miscellaneous small items.

(Forgive the dust, Sam has been in storage for a while.)

Black cast iron sewing machine with red and gold decals in a hand made base.

Close up of the front silver filigree decorated plate of a black cast iron sewing machine with red and gold decals in a hand made base.

Spoked rear wheel with attached hand crank for black cast iron sewing machine with gold and red decals on a handmade base.

Rear view of black cast iron sewing machine with red and gold decals in a hand made base.

Found a closer pic of her front. Unlabeled tensioner.

Black case iron sewing machine in a cross-grain cut table top. The machine has gold and red decals. It is badged "Singer."

Mx Stabby @mxstabby.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

Ok, so here's Stella. She came with a table. Serial G5381963 (April 26, 1917). Came with a Hamilton Beach motor and pedal in a treadle table. Spoked wheel, rear mount foot.

Back cast iron sewing machine in a treadle table. Machine has gold and red decals.

Sales slip with the sewing machine to show the match between the slip and the serial number on the machine.

Large softball sized motor from sewing machine removed from the machine.

Shoe sole shaped pedal for the sewing machine.

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Video of the sewing machine lowering into the table when it is being closed.

Mx Stabby @mxstabby.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

Free No. 5 treadle machine in a parlor cabinet. Exact year unknown.

Black cast iron sewing machine in an open treadle table with both the original instruction booklet and certificate of authenticity.

Close up of a black sewing machine with a leather drive belt. It has gold decals with a bird and wing-like theme.

Mx Stabby @mxstabby.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

Singer 115 from 1915. First time I've treadled with this one. She's usually a handcrank machine. Her name is Mabel. She's temporarily in Stella's (Singer 66k, 1921) table.

Black 3/4 size sewing machine with gold swirling decals. It is in an antique wood treadle table a few years older than it. A yellow spool of thread sits beside it, along with an open container of pins, various colors of scrap fabric, and scraps of thread.

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Mx Stabby @mxstabby.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

Heeeelllppp...my machine is loosening itself as I sew. And yes, the screw is tight, the washer underneath is in right, etc. Sewing machine peeps, suggestions?

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Mx Stabby @mxstabby.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

Best snack: triscuits with tomato basil cheese curds toasted in the toaster oven for 10 mins. Dipped them in red sauce. Soooo good!

Four pizza looking snacks in a metal pan.

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Mx Stabby @mxstabby.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

Machine is badged Necchi National model 200.

White and blue sewing machine with two silver dials/buttons and one cream colored knob. It is sitting on a blue and red flannel cloth. The top is off and the needle plate removed.

The internal workings of the sewing machine as seen from above with the top removed.

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Mx Stabby @mxstabby.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

This machine is giving me trouble. Something is rubbing and I can't figure out what, even though I have oiled All The Things. The feed dog adjustment buttons also don't seem to be doing anything.

Mx Stabby @mxstabby.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

I was trying to photo the sewing machine so I can get a better ID on it and figure out why the feed dog adjustment mechanism isn't doing anything and the top dial makes the machine stop moving. But alas, cat.

An old skinny cat sits in the table in front of a white and blue retro sewing machine. There are attachments for a different machine and screwdrivers next to the removed machine parts to the left.

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Mx Stabby @mxstabby.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

Motor is loud, even not under load.

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Mx Stabby @mxstabby.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

Singer 285, I think. Might be a 275. Made in Great Britain, according to the print on the machine. The belt desperately needs to be replaced. The stitch length lever also drifts while sewing. This old thing has seen better days and is loud as heck, but makes very nice stitches.

A very 1960s shade of blue all metal sewing machine with its light on. It is in a plastic base. The plastic by the stitch length adjuster has been damaged. It has a blue spool of thread on top. This is a 3/4 size machine.

The orange gear style belt from the sewing machine. The belt is shredding with the rubber cracked and falling off of the outer edge.

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Mx Stabby @mxstabby.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

Kenmore 158.161 - she's going to be adopted out this week! Heavy machine, very nice stitches, condition is very good.

A white, grey, and sage green mid century sewing machine with two adjustment knobs at right. It has a wide sewing surface and a rounded front. It is sitting on an old treadle table with a floral placemat between it and the table.

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Mx Stabby @mxstabby.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

My cats in the bathroom. Morris observes as Bella works on opening the door.

An orange car sits beside a toilet in a bathroom next to a closed door. He is watching a mostly white calico cat with her head tilted sideways as her paw works on the crack in the door.

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Mx Stabby @mxstabby.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

This week, a friend and I fixed the motor on my Singer 201!

A sewing machine motor taken apart on a red silicone mat. There is a soldering iron, a set of clamps, and wire heat shrink wrap sitting beside it. It is all on a plastic floral tablecloth protecting the floor. Two black cast iron sewing machines sit behind the soldering setup.

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Mx Stabby @mxstabby.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

Been watching some comfort media today--Gravity Falls has this gem of wisdom in the Weirdmageddon arc from Grunkle Ford, "Being a hero means fighting back, even when it seems impossible." Apt, given our times.

Text, "Being a hero means fighting back, even when it seems impossible," over a translucent hand with an extra finger over a cartoon landscape of a rocky gully with pine trees at the top and a sunset overtop.

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Mx Stabby @mxstabby.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

I found my zig zag attachment!

A black chunky sewing machine attachment with a red button-like cam at center in a box with three silver and red cams.

A hand holding a sewing machine attachment with the top open and cam removed to show a ratcheting style gear.

Four cams that have raised red centers and the stitch patterns they create on the top.

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Mx Stabby @mxstabby.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

This is my puzzle box of sewing machine attachments. It also includes shuttle bobbins and needles still in their purple paper packaging.

Multiple metal sewing machine attachments inside the box, which has unfolded into four rectangular sections with triangle sides that fit together to form the box's square ends when closed.

The sewing machine attachments from the puzzle box lined up neatly inside it's blue velvet.

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Mx Stabby @mxstabby.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

This machine told me her name after knowing her a few days. This is Rosie, a Singer 66, "birthday" of 6. December, 1921. She came to me without a base or table, so I made one and added a hand wheel. She will be going to her new home at a school tomorrow. Minor repairs still needed, but she sews!

A black cast iron sewing machine with gold and red floral decorative decals. The gold has largely faded to silver on much of the machine head. The machine has a hand crank attached to the hand wheel and sits in a hand made wooden base. There is a ziplock bag with spare bobbins and needles sitting on the machine's sewing surface.

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Mx Stabby @mxstabby.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

Mended a sock with a speed weave style darning loom I love so much. I did not love my decision to use fluffy yarn on it, though. Not my best move. I purchased all my darning looms on Etsy from Alexonver. The quality of the looms are phenomenal and well worth the cost.

A darning loom on a red sock threaded with a fuzzy black yarn.

The completed darning job on a red sock in black and red yarn.

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Mx Stabby @mxstabby.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

Singer 66 in action. I was working on hemming sleeves I modified on a commercially produced shirt. I have a tendency to mod my fast fashion garments.

A black antique treadle sewing machine in a table with the belt engaged. The machine is decorated with gold, red, and green decals and reads "Singer" on the side. There is a black shirt with brown floral trim under the presser foot and the machine is threaded with pinkish maroon thread.

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Mx Stabby @mxstabby.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Not only do I collect sewing machines, but I also have 5 cats. These two, Morris Blue and Bella Spoon, are currently in bathroom quarantine due to needing a separate recovery space after their spay and neuter surgeries. This is also why Bella is wearing a shirt. They are siblings.

An orange male car and a calico mostly white female cat lay on a towel on the floor. The calico is resting her chin on the orange cat's back just behind his head.

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Mx Stabby @mxstabby.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Awww, beans! Here is Bella Spoon showing some bean action.

A mostly white calico cat laying on her back with one paw over her head, the other resting on her cheek, as she has her ears scratched. She is also wearing a pink shirt due to just being spayed.

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Mx Stabby @mxstabby.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

A motor and foot pedal that came with my latest Singer 66 treadle. The motor is labeled as a Hamilton Beach Home Motor. I love that the pedal is shaped like a foot! (And no, I don't know if it works, I don't want to plug it in without knowing a little more about the condition of the electrics.)

An antique motor formerly attached to the back of a sewing machine. It is about the size of a softball.

An antique sewing machine foot pedal. There is a cylinder can-shaped part in front of the toe that houses electrics. The pedal is shaped like the sole of a shoe.

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Mx Stabby @mxstabby.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

My Free treadle machine. It is in an adorable parlor cabinet. I got it from someone who wanted to rip out and discard the machine and turn it into a table. It has a nearly full set of attachments, oil can, certificate of authenticity, and manual with it.

A treadle sewing machine in use sewing a yellow floral dress. The machine has gold 1910s style decoration.

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Mx Stabby @mxstabby.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

Thankfully, I had this outlet blocked off, but it was still live. It fell apart when I took it out of the wall.

A broken wall outlet in someone's hand. The outlet plastic where one plugs in the electrical devices is detached from the bottom and the top outlet is missing some of the plastic below the hole for the grounding pin.

Mx Stabby @mxstabby.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

After cleaning, polishing, etc, this is the result for the previously paint-covered Singer 66. The green bobbin winder in my hand is what she came with. I have since found a replacement. I have reinstalled the motor and light on this machine.

A bobbin winder attachment for a sewing machine sitting in my hand that is resting on a sewing machine table beside some scissors.

Two black sewing machines with gold and red decals. The rear machine has much more intact decals. The front machine has faded, damaged decals and is missing the hand wheel.

A cast iron black sewing machine with gold decals as viewed from the hand wheel. It is sitting on a yellow table with sewing and machine repair accessories in boxes nearby.

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Mx Stabby @mxstabby.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

After realizing that the 66 under here had some slim chance of still having visible decals, I talked to a friend and decided to make the risky decision to use acetone nail polish remover to start very carefully melting off the old paint. Underneath, the decals were in surprisingly decent shape.

A black cast iron sewing machine in the process of having green paint stripped off it. The old gold and red decals are visible where the paint has been removed.

Mx Stabby @mxstabby.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

So this is where I began this summer with a Singer 66 I paid $20 for. I knew from the shape that it was far older than its color and badge suggested. When I got it, the serial number confirmed this was a former treadle and the second 66 in my collection.

An antique sewing machine painted green to look like it was from the 1950s.

Close up of black cast iron and gold paint under the green paint on the base of an antique sewing machine.

Serial number plate and repair sticker on an antique sewing machine.

A gold and red flower on black cast iron peeks out from under chipping green paint.

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Mx Stabby @mxstabby.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

I love this drawing so much. Here's a pic from my phone.

A collection of oddities around a nonworking printer. It includes two piles of tiaras, a box featuring the portal from the Owl House show, a collection of earrings, a little "I Read Banned Books" sign, a rubber shark, a Disney 2000 pin, and a small teddy bear. It is under a purple light and in front of the printer is a card with daisies on it.