Hand Crank Sewing Machine

Well look at this!

While we were on our vacation back East we did a little poking around in antique shops...I was really looking for family related antiques.

My grandparents had a dairy and occasionally there are glass milk bottles floating around that say "Hayward Dairy", and I was hoping to run across one. I was looking over the glassware, when my husband started trying to get me interested in an antique spinning wheel. It was really nice, but here we were with 7 people in the van, and I have no idea how to spin... So to make him feel better I said, "Well, the things that really tempt me are beautiful old sewing machines, so I can live without that spinning wheel."

Next thing I know he is again taking me away from my diligent search for Hayward things, and showing me sewing machines. Antiques are so much cheaper out there than they are in Idaho!

To make a short story shorter, he twisted my arm and made me buy two machines! So I tortured my poor son by taking up his leg room and putting my machines on the floor in front of him - can I be arrested for abuse? Our agreement is that when I die, he inherits the machines. (I will blog about my other machine soon.) I got online and studied up on what you do to an old machine and took it out of it's case, cleaned it up and oiled it.

It was made by "Leader" which existed only from 1870 to 1899, but I don't know how to date the machine any closer than that. I do plan on learning to sew on it! That first picture was my "before" picture. Here is my "after" picture.

Yeah, I know, it doesn't look very different. It sure sounds different though! Turning the crank was choppy feeling and very sluggish and made clicking noises. Now it is smooth and quiet! I can't wait to learn to use it!