Introducing "Francene" - the Featherweight Sewing Machine!

This is "Francene" - my birthday present! How lucky am I?



She's a February 1951 Featherweight model 221K, made in Scotland. And she's just about perfect!



When I first unpacked her, the needle wouldn't go up or down, but removing the 2" piece of thread caught (or really just snagged slightly) in the bobbin case and the lint from around the bobbin saw her sewing like a dream - such lovely tension and perfect stitches (I used 2 different coloured threads to test her out - much easier to see where the tension needs adjusting). Her bobbin area may never have been cleaned, but all in all, she's been very well looked after.



And she's got the most beautiful scroll work on the face plate . . .



Her paintwork is in pretty good condition - see her reflection in the bed extension?

What is it about older things that holds such appeal? I mean, I can't speak highly enough of my Janome machine (which is about 23 years old). It sews like a charm - always has. But Francene . . . she's got a feel all of her own. Such a gentle rhythm, not to mention way toooo cute. She's aged pretty gracefully for a 59 year-old! I guess my husband feels the same way with his cabinet making - he has the "new" tools, but there's something about working with vintage equipment - mentally it seems to take you back to simpler times, a less rushed pace somehow. Whatever it is, I like it!

So there she is - Francene the sewing machine!