We have been home from our trip for about 3 weeks now and I have the Red Eye in running order and I must say I love it – it does a perfect stitch and I barely did anything to get it that way other than all the normal stuff – clean it well, oil it several times, change the needle and get plastic bobbins for it! Other than the bobbin winder only wanting to fill the metal bobbin about 1/4 full or less everything else is working on this 107 year old machine. I’m sure if I explored it further I might be able to get the bobbin winder working but seeing as the “bobbin side winder” fills the plastic bobbins that fit it I’m not going to worry about it. Right now I am using Connecting Thread’s Essential Thread and it is working fine. I did try Aurifil 50wt but had trouble with the thread breaking – the Essential Thread which is also 50wt but obviously thicker is working just fine and I have quite a few spools in the box so that is great.
It does have a light at the back of it but it puts off some hot heat so I use this clamp on when I need it but most of the time the light in the room does great. I keep a quilted table mat under the machine that I made some years ago and then I pull it to the front of the table when I use it and push it away to the back of the table when I am done – I really do not know how heavy this machine is as I haven’t tried to weight it but I do know that my almost 66 year old arms are not strong enough to lift if often or carry it far!! I admit I have skinny weak arms maybe some of you who have this machine don’t think it is heavy at all.
The flannel quilt with no name (but 4 suggestions now) has been made entirely with the machine and it is now half way done unless I decide to do 7 rows instead of 6.
These are the colors left to use. I do have left overs though so I do think I could do 7 extra blocks if needed.
Tumalo Trails came along really well on Thursday night and I got a bit done on this final section to work on.
Some more of soft book pages were done but we have a lot more we want to do – Melanie will be picking these up today to use for Saturday morning story time for a group of children that will enjoy them I hope at the library – numbers one to 7 will be added above the string of beads on the “octopus” or is it something else – I really don’t know – but the numbers will be written above the string so no mouth or anything added to that spot. This weekend we will try to do more and I will continue to work on some of these each week until we leave on our next motorhome trip towards the end of August.
Sale at Accuquilt on selected dies until July 31
Sale on supplies and kits through July 15th
So glad you’re enjoying the Red Eye. I have room for only one machine at a time, but I would love to get a Featherweight sometime. A friend buys/sells/reconditions them, and I learned to sew on one. But my Elna is working just fine right now. I finished a quilt top (88″ x 88″) yesterday and will deliver it to the longarmer as soon as I piece a back for it.
I love the soft book pages you’ve made and am sure the kids will enjoy them! What a nice idea!
I only intended to have one machine out at at time and never intended to have more than one machine at a time – weird has this happened in one year winning a brand new babylock and then finding a Red Eye for so cheap and it works! I’m glad I can them out on the tables at the same time
Glad you have gotten the Red Eye all figured out and it’s working so well for you! The blocks you’re sewing on it look great. I really like where the corners of four blocks come together and different backgrounds meet – I think having different low volume backgrounds gives a quilt lots of depth and interest!
I wish they would have included more than 2 background fabrics it would have made it more interesting.
You are turning into a machine collector! Glad they all work so well. Fun to see the end of TT!
no more for me LOL – I don’t have anywhere to put them! Never thought I would own 5 machines
Hi,
What lovely fabrics you choose for your projects and of course, your quilting is beautiful. Happy Stitching to you!
thank you!
I’m so glad your machine is running well! I love mine and use it to make all of my quilts. I just ordered a replacement light bulb online that is LED and won’t get as hot. I received it just before we left on vacation and haven’t tried it yet. I’m looking forward to trying it soon.
I need to check for one. So far though the clamp on light at the table works well when I need it – this machine does have a large throat space doesn’t it I don’t know if I would want to machine quilt with it but I guess it would work out ok it certainly pieces good
Oh Karen, it starts with one vintage machine and pretty soon you have quite a herd, lol! That’s exactly what happened to me, I had won a $2500 shopping spree at the base exchange and spent it on a Singer sewing machine and serger and was so satisfied until I got my Red Eye and than my downfall started. I fell in love with the stitch and than the antique machines just started falling into my lap too. I just like to fix them up and take turns sewing on them. We have to get a bigger house if I get any more for sure. Your quilting is beautiful & I really like the colors of the flannel quilt.
LOL – well I don’t have room for a herd for sure 🙂 I do think this will be enough for me – one day maybe the featherweight will work again too and I have 3 modern machines
I’m so glad you are enjoying the Red Eye. I have mine as a hand crank conversion since it didn’t come with a motor. It will also fit in my treadle irons, but I have a Singer Model 15 in them already. I’m glad you’re having good luck with modern bobbins in yours. Mine get fussy about them sometimes.
I’m really liking the flannel quilt. Doing one of those is ‘on the list’. But there’s a lot of quilts in line before it.
You are making me want one of the Red Eyes!
I love this machine and I’m so glad I found one at this low price that I did . I have found out now that there are a lot of them available for low prices on ebay – I wish I could find a treadle table for it but really do not have any room in the sewing room for it and would end up putting it in the living room if I found a cabinet and then I probably wouldn’t use it as much as it wouldn’t be handy. So I think for now I will just keep it electric and on this table in the sewing room
It’s a jellyfish silly mama!
Of course! don’t know why I didn’t think that