I found out something about myself.

I think you know that I converted a Bernina 1008 into a treadle powered sewing machine. I haven't really gotten into it to any large degree, until now. I am in the middle of the process of quilting another of my "use up all the solids" quilts. I heretofore have only played around with the treadle for short periods of time as I didn't really consider it a serious machine. It was mainly an exercise in retro-technology that I had wanted to do for some time. Ok, so I decided to devote an entire quilt to this machine and see how I liked it. The change to manual, or foot power, required a different group of skills to do the things that I did with an electric machine. You do the same things but just do them differently. I think I have found a new love. This method of sewing is so much more relaxed and yet precise that I may never go back to the modern electric machines again. I know that is a bit much to say after only doing one quilt. But suffice to say, this experience has given me a whole new focus, about quilting. You know the whole argument about slow food? Well I am here to make a plea for slow quilting. At least as it pertains to machine quilting. I am even thinking of converting the other 1008 I own into another treadle but with a different cabinet to use it in. This has been one of the most enjoyable experiences I have had in a long time that involved a sewing machine. It does take a few different techniques when it comes to machine operation. You have to do some things a little differently, in handling the mechanics of sewing. But the slower speed gives you a chance to focus on the precision of placing the needle in just the right place as you guide the fabric through the pressure foot that it produces a wonderfully clean stitching line. I know I was prone to sew too fast, sometimes, with the electric machines. I was sometimes forced to rip out and do over some less than perfect stitching lines. Not so with this older technology. You get it right the first time. Being as how I am not trying to accomplish any great volume of quilting by any set deadline, this type of quilting seems to appeal to my sense of doing something right and precise the first time, and enjoying it. We will have to see if the bloom comes off the rose as I continue along this path, but for now I have discovered a wonderful way to do something I enjoy and that is not a bad thing. It places me in a time frame of mind that I think of as simpler and maybe more pure, if that is possible. Maybe it is just the romantic in me, but it does work. Just thought I would pass along my observations. I will post the pictures of the quilt in a couple of days when it is done. We now return control of this thought to the 21st century.

John

Reply to
John
Loading thread data ...

John, some of my most serene memories from childhood are of sitting by my Granny, my feet making the treadle go and her lovely, strong hands moving the quilt under the needle. I got to sew on the machine a couple of times, tiny things I'm sure involving straight seams and no margin for error. But I still remember the feel. When I was grown, I got a spinning wheel and fell in love. It was the same incredibly serene feeling. Much like meditation, except easier to find myself in that "room" where I go. I sadly gave up my spinning wheel because I had nothing to do with the yarn I was producing. I don't knit or anything, and tried to learn but failed miserably. Using my hands is nothing like the interaction of my food on that pedal, wool strands slipping between my fingers, twisting into yarn....

I have considered a treadle machine because of my experience with my Granny's machine and my spinning. I understand your instant love and have no doubt that you will find yourself using the treadle much more than the motorized machines. Sometimes we try to make something go fast when instead we should be slowing down. I believe if enough of us slow ourselves, maybe this rush of the world into a cold and perhaps frantic future might slow just a fraction and give us time to contemplate, learn, and truly choose.

Sunny

Reply to
onetexsun

Sunny, I would think you would find weaving to be very rewarding. Especially since you were into the production of the wool yarn. I built a loom a number of years ago and loved the rhythmic sound of the beater moving back and forth and making a solid bolt of fabric out of a collection of strands of yarn. I sold that loom because of space considerations when we moved to a smaller house, but now that I have a larger house, it is back on my radar for things to do again. I would think you might give it some thought, as to your possible interest. Or to put it another way, You can never have too many interests.

John

Reply to
John

True, John, one can never have too many interests. But one CAN have too little money. LOL. A return to spinning (and maybe weaving) will have to await the entrance of my Fairy Godmother.

Sunny

Reply to
onetexsun

Ah yes, the old conundrum of Champaign taste complicated by a Beer budget. That has affected my most of my life.

John

Reply to
John

One of he things I've always wanted to do - even when I was a little kid (must've been the Rumpelstiltskin story) was to learn to spin and then learn to weave what I spun. Probably never going to happen, though we have a museum somewhere around here that might have lessons.

Judy from Mass

Reply to
judyanna

A very low-tech (ie old-fashioned) way to do spinning is with a drop spindle - someone in my guild showed us one she made from a dowel and a couple of cd's. And there are some good how-to video's on youtube. I think once you get the rhythm and learn how to draw out the fibers then it goes quite quickly. But you probably have that part figured out already. Ah yes.... just one more thing that I don't have time to do but would like to do more of :) Allison

Reply to
Allison

Allison I have a gorgeous maple wood drop spindle. When life has hit me a little hard I pull out a tine piece of my very small roving stash (truly small, just one rove from long ago and it's dwindling) and spin for a few minutes, savoring the feel of good lanolin rubbing into my fingers as the fibers twist and become something whole rather than a bunch of wild individuals.

Sunny

Reply to
onetexsun

What a lovely way to describe it.

I was also struck by the age of the technique.....to be able to do something that women were doing thousands of years ago. Somehow very satisfying.

Allison

Reply to
Allison

Perhaps these are silly questions but, never having used a treadle, I have to ask. Is each swing of the treadle one stitch? Or multiples? And can you stop quickly or does it "coast" to a stop? And how fast do you have to pump to go at "full speed" - is the treadling part tiring, in other words? Allison

John wrote:

Reply to
Allison

Howdy!

John said: "Being as how I am not trying to accomplish any great volume of quilting by any set deadline, this type of quilting seems to appeal to my sense of doing something right and precise the first time, and enjoying it."

Which is why I handquilt. ;-)

Ragm> I think you know that I converted a Bernina 1008 into a treadle

Reply to
Sandy Ellison

Would that I could hand quilt. I have never been able to master the technique of rocking that stitch into any semblance of nice looking, even stitches. Possibly with enough practice, I could master it, but machines are fine for me as I have no problem with handling machinery. I guess it is a case of whatever works for you.

John

Reply to
John

On Mar 31, 3:18=A0pm, Allison wrote:

With the conversion of the electric Bernina 1008 to treadle, the treadle only provides the power for moving the needle up and down. The number of stitches, of whatever length, is 3 per full cycle of the treadle, on my machine. Not sure if it is the same on the older Singers and such. The stitch length is governed by the setting on the machine, just as if it was electrified. It can coast to a stop but a quick hand on the hand wheel will stop it in it's tracks. After a bit of use, you develop a feel for the treadle movement and can control most of the sewing with the treadle alone. It is the same on the old Singers and like machines. The difference with my machine and the old Singers, is that I retain all the stitch selections of the electric version of the machine, and I have a free arm. You can not sew as fast with a treadle as you do with an electric machine, but with any familiarity, you can get it going at a fair clip. For me, it is not about sewing fast. I have a Janome 1600 straight stitch machine that will sew at 1600 stitches per minute if I need to be fast. A treadle, is just a type of sewing that appeals to me. Not better or worse, just more appealing. I would say, that if you sewed for 4 hours or more on a treadle, you would be more tired, than if you had done the same sewing on a modern electric. But, it is less stressful as it is slower and the exercise is mildly aerobic not muscle straining. Probably better for you than just sitting in the chair and making mistakes by sewing too fast on the electric.

John

Reply to
John

My wife was in the Peace Corps in Turkey, in the 1960's and she talked about all the old women in the village who used to do spinning with a drop spindle. That was a constant that you would see as you passed through the streets of the village. The women would be sitting around and using the drop spindle to spin yarn. Probably the same type of thing that they did for a thousand years.

John

Reply to
John

It's a good thing I know what you're talking about. Someone could/ might easily think it's a whole lot of other things... 8^P

Reply to
Dr.Smith

Then it appears that you're still plugged in for everything but the needle going up & down, or am I misreading that? Which then begs the question, what possessed you to make the conversion? Some kind of breakdown? Or did you previously have this preference for treadling (not that there's anything WRONG with that... I still prefer to draft with pencils on vellum on a board rather than a CAD system - it's slower, but I just like the feel and control, which I assume is your case with treadling.) BTICBW

Just for the record (and kicks & grins) we don't own a microwave oven, and we're very adept at heating/cooking with wood (even though we don't resort to it except in case of outages...)

Reply to
Dr.Smith

The Bernina 1008 is a totally mechanical machine. There is no electricity going to the machine whatsoever. The conversion was made as a result of my doing business with a local Old Order Mennonite family that sells Berninas. They make the parts necessary to adapt the power source to treadle as a result of the Amish and Mennonite communities desire for such a machine, due to their religious belief in withdrawal from the modern elements of society. I always thought it would be fun to do one of the conversions and, while not Mennonite or Amish, I am somebody who does woodworking by hand. It is more in keeping with that approach to craft skills, and I just thought it would be neat. Here is a picture of the machine in question, with the cabinet it sits in, along with the treadle mechanism.

formatting link
John

Reply to
John

Singers and presumably other SMs such as Nationals and New Homes and so on produce three stitches for each revolution of the handwheel. The speed at which the handwheel revolves depends on the size of the treadle drive wheel as well as the stamina of the operator. Domestic treadles have wheels in the 12 inch range, while industrial treadles have 16 inch wheels, and consequently spin the handwheel much faster. Yes, there are still industrial treadle machines around, and people who like to people-power their models 31-15, 44, 95 etc.

I would guess that the upper limit for speed when treadling a domestic SM is 500 spm or less. Probably much less.

Maria in NE PA

Reply to
Maria O

On Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:14:19 -0500, Allison wrote (in article ):

I have a drop spindle (that I've never learned to use) for the same reason. I also like quilting for the same reason--I feel connected, especially when hand quilting, to women in the past. It's a nice feeling.

Maureen

Reply to
Maureen Wozniak

John, As Ragmop/Sandy said, this is why I hand quilt. I like to have some machine piecing going as well but I like the concept of relaxing with the hand quilting. I may not be particularly good at it but the recipients haven't complained so far. I've always done some form of hand work - knitting, crocheting, cross-stich, etc. for as long as I can remember. It's the old 'take time to smell the roses' for me. I'm trying to get a treadle together from bits and pieces. I have my great-grandmother's case/table but the machine has mysteriously disappeared so I keep dumpster diving looking for one to 'restore'. I have one that is beyond hope (at least for me) but there seems to be a plethora of them in this neighborhood. Just don't have much room currently.

Kim in NJ

Reply to
AuntK

InspirePoint website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.