Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Before and After

I've been working on cleaning up and restoring my old sewing machines to working order. I showed you the before pictures of Eliza (my "new" treadle):

Very pretty, but a little dull and worn.

And the top of the cabinet was splattered with paint and had water damage.

Here's the after:

All cleaned, oiled, and polished!

Look how pretty this scrollwork is.

And the hand wheel is shiny again. I also installed a new treadle belt and completely cleaned, greased, and adjusted the treadle mechanism.

I managed to get the paint splatters off and remove most of the water damage. There's still a dark splotch in the middle of the top where I'm guessing someone had a plant sitting.

She sure cleaned up nice. :)

12 comments:

Tracy Purtscher said...

All dressed up, now where is Eliza going?

Wanderingcatstudio said...

She looks great!

Anonymous said...

I thought she looked really good before, but now -- stunning!

Lucie said...

What a beauty. I hope you start sewing with her.

sophanne said...

Have I mentioned lately that you're amazing. Also thank for your thoughtful comments on last night's post. I appreciate them.

Fibra Artysta said...

Gorgeous! I so love those old sewing machines, they are so beautiful and they last forever.

pdxknitterati/MicheleLB said...

Beautiful! I love old sewing machines, not that I sew much any more...

Jean Baardsen said...

Eliza is a lucky lady to have found such a good home!

Melissa Morgan-Oakes said...

Lovely!! You are making me want to eliminate a piece of furniture so I can do the same. You don't want to know where my treadle lives...

Lisa said...

The cabinet looks exactly like the one I have and your Sphnix looks like the one I have in my cabinet. What did you use to clean it?!

crochetgurl said...

She's gorgeous with all that gold detailing!

Kay said...

Seeing your old treadle sewing machine made me tear up. My paternal grandma taught me to sew on one of these. I love that I hold those precious memories of her. She also gave me my love for flannel nighties and the smell of Ben-gay. I know it is crazy, but these always make me long to see her.