Tag: writing

Quilting on my Singer 301A

March 25, 2025

I LOVE piecing and sewing on my Singer 301A. Like most vintage metal machines, the more you use it, the more it purrs. My 301A is a straight-stitch only machine. Locked away in someone’s shed for several years, it came with the trapezoid case and several presser feet. I purchased the buttonhole, zigzag and blind stitch attachments separately.

Machine quilting is fairly straightforward with a walking foot. You merely need to make sure that said walking foot is made for slant shank machines and will fit the 301 (because not all of them do). My walking foot does not have a place to attach a quilting bar. Bless the folks online who share their hacks for quirky sewing machines. Painter’s tape to the rescue. The sliding plastic quilting guide I use for my Elnita EC30 should work fine. I’ll need to experiment to find the best place to tape it on the 301A’s walking foot.

This machine also has the ability to drop the feed dogs. Original darning & embroidery attachments for the 301 are hard to find and pricey when you do find them. So, I searched for a modern alternative. I tried a plastic darning foot I purchased at a quilt show. Nope. Next was the common spring loaded FMQ foot but in a slant shank version. It works, but the foot will need to be modified with a rubber band (idea from Leah Day) so that it just skims the surface of the quilt sandwich.

While researching for a better solution to FMQ on my 301a, I read in a quilting forum (from nearly a decade ago) about an original slant shank darning foot that could be utilized on a 301. It’s Simanco part #161596. I found one for sale on eBay and it was mine within a week. The foot was made for the 400/500 series slant needle machines. I did have to modify the 301 just a bit so the presser foot would work. Once I hit on the right combination of needle and thread, the machine did its magic.

Machine straight line and FMQ tips:

  1. Oil any vintage foot before using. Anywhere that metal touches metal, douse liberally. Let the foot sit overnight on a paper towel.
  2. If using the vintage 161596 darning foot, you’ll need to remove the thread guide wire attached to the needle bar clamp. Simply remove the bottom screw on the right side of the needle bar clamp and slip the wire down. Set wire and screw aside for safekeeping. If you encounter resistance, it might be because the needle clamp screw is hitting against the right corner of the metal presser foot body. Tighten the needle clamp screw just a bit to rotate the screw head out of the way. Place a drop or two of oil on the edge of the metal part where it was rubbing.
  3. Insert a 90/14 titanium topstitch or quilting needle. Tighten with a screwdriver. My 301A will let me know with random skipped stitches that I don’t have the correct needle installed.
  4. Use same thread top and bobbin. I use Glide thread for FMQ.
  5. Test FMQ as you normally would.

Random fact: The 301 and 301A are the same machine. The “A” designation means that the machine was made in Singer’s Anderson, South Carolina plant. Mine is known as an LBOW – light beige, oyster white color scheme.

Good communication is key

February 20, 2025

Right now, I’m a little miffed, but I’m seeking first to understand instead of automatically blasting the company on social media like so many seem to do nowadays.

We hired a local handyman service to complete some odd jobs around the house. The service has mostly good reviews and is backed by a local consumer watchdog group, so I felt comfortable having them do the job. Work was completed on Monday and I received the bill this afternoon.

I have zero issues with the handyman or quality of his work. The handyman was punctual, personable and did good work. The office manager initially estimated 5 hours of work time. She communicated that this estimate included time to secure materials needed to complete the job and that we would be billed cost + 20% for said materials needed to complete the work. Okay, fine. We have 3 hardware stores within 10 minutes of our house. I already had the garbage disposal, power cord and any screws needed to relocate some door guards in the garage.

The loose tile project became more involved once the handyman discovered the cause of the loose tiles on the curb of the shower. We had a similar experience in our first house, so I knew it could result in 2-3 extra hours of work to fix. The handyman had completed the garbage disposal installation in less than an hour, so I mentally adjusted our estimate for about 6-7 hours of billed labor plus about $125 for supplies.

The final bill was for 8 hours of handyman labor (which included 2.5 hours of shopping time because I tracked the time away from the job) plus materials – which leftover materials the handyman took with him.

Any other contractor has left surplus materials that we’ve paid for when the job was completed. Painters leave paint. Tile folks leave extra tiles, grout, sealer and caulk. Porch repair folks leave extra lumber and screws. Is it different with handyman services?

I’ve asked about being charged for so much shopping time (especially the 2nd trip) and to see itemized receipts for the materials purchased as my recollection of what was purchased doesn’t even come close to what we were billed (even with the 20% markup). We’ll see how the office manager responds.

Don’t worry, the bill will get paid as the work was done.

The question is: will we hire them again in the future? Adjust the bill to what I think is fair? Yes. Explain why the bill stands as is so that I don’t feel like I’ve been taken advantage of? Maybe.

UPDATE: The office manager explained their policies and reviewed the materials purchased to complete our job. An adjustment was made for both time billed and materials charged, which I consider a satisfactory resolution to the matter. I paid the revised bill upon receipt. So yes, I would hire them again.