A Fun Machine

​Yesterday, I went to a car show with my husband:

(Ok, that’s a picture from our cross-country trip this summer…. but we were so busy having fun together at the car show, that we forgot to take a selfie….)

Sooooo….

Car shows are ​not​ my thing. 

But, I love going to car shows with Dave, because it’s a great chance to hang out together… and just have fun. 

(He’s just as bored at the quilt shows I drag him to, but he comes anyway to spend time with me!!!!)

I also love car shows because you never know what nifty sewing machines will turn up!

Here are some pictures of the one I found, yesterday in the car-show-flea-market:

I’ve never heard of the Priscilla brand of sewing machine… and it has a few quirks that caught my interest.

As I was snapping pictures, I chatted with the vendor. This machine belonged to his grandmother, who had passed away about 10 years ago.

She was 102 years old, which means that she was probably born somewhere around 1904. If she got this machine as a young woman, or a young bride… the Priscilla was probably manufactured in the early 1920’s.

It JUST occurred to me, now, that I should have made the effort to look for the model and serial number on this machine!!!! Oops.  (Aren’t you proud of me!?!!!! I found a nifty machine, and ​I didn’t drag it home!!!!!​ You should TOTALLY give me brownie points for exercising restraint!)

The woman who owned this machine was from outside of Charleston, and was a life-long home-ec teacher. Can you imagine how many hours she spent at this machine over her lifetime?

This balance/hand wheel is larger than any I can remember seeing on a sewing machine. I wonder if it makes for smoother mechanics?

The case around the electric motor looks different from the ones I am used to seeing, as well.

It’s more petite, and looks like there are fewer places for the dust to enter.

It seems like this machine was motorized from the get-go, although Mr. Home-ec Teacher re-wired it for Mrs. Home-ec Teacher at some point…. You can see the bright red cord that definitely ​wasn’t​ original in the background of this photo. 

The machine that I own that is closest to the Priscilla is my Singer 3/4 weight, and by comparison, the Priscilla is… BEEFY. It was a fun little machine to look at, and I had a delightful time, trying to imagine who Mrs. Home-ec teacher was, and what kinds of projects she completed on this machine.

What is the coolest machine you have ever used?

Happy Quilting,

Jan

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