Відео

Thanks, Greta. Happy New Year to you too! Wishing you all the best!

It's actually being sung by Margaret Whiting. I'm looking at this now and I don't know why I didn't identify the song or artist! It's "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II.

@@BernardDauphinais Oops sorry. I did have my doubts. Beautiful anyway. Regards from the Netherlands.

Yes, I'm mostly vegetarian, but I have a bit of fish now and then.

​@@BernardDauphinais Same. Eating fish now and then. About twice a month. Salmon by preference.

Happy New Year, Caroline!

Happy Holidays, Greta!

Happy Holidays, Paul!

I do love how it just folds away. So clever. 😊

Yes, it's a treadle machine.

Oh how exciting! Congratulations! No, I don't have any tips on cleaning the machine and, in fact, mine needs a good cleaning. Maybe I'll make a project of it this summer. Are you familiar with Ravelry? (www.ravelry.com) There is a vintage sewing machine group there called "vintage sewing machines" with lot's of useful tips for cleaning and repairing old machines. It's a good resource. Have FUN!

@@BernardDauphinais thank you so much! Will check that group out 💕

Merry Christmas, Anna

The sewing machine (A White, not a While as I typed in the video!) has power and it's heavy being all metal. It's funny, because it's made as a 'portable' but it's portable in the same sense that early portable personal computers were "portable"--they weighed 40 pounds! I'm keeping my eyes open while thrifting for a table for it.

Ooh, your friend lives right in Times Square! The mat under the bird is indeed a bit of felting made by a local artist.. Yes, it's intended to be a thrum hat although at the moment I'm concerned it will look more like a clown's wig because I'm using multi-colored Romney locks. Maybe after it's felted it will fall on the side of being a hat! Thanks, Paul. I hope your day is peaceful as well.

@@BernardDauphinais 🤗

Oh yes, quite, Greta. They're around every spring and summer, off and on. I'm used to seeing them now but I'm always cautious and alert so as not to make one feel trapped, or worse, get between a mom and her cubs. Generally, they are quite skittish of humans. I usually only need to say something and the bear will run off. They run fast!

Really cool, my sister gets the odd bear.

Claudia, I live on 3 acres in a woodland area. People here are not fenced in and the bears are not fenced out. In my mind, this is their home as much as it is mine. :) Luckily, black bears are not typically aggressive towards humans. If they attack it's usually a mom protecting her cubs or feeling threatened. The last time anyone was killed by a black bear in NH was in 1784! But they are not to be taken lightly! There is a woman down the road who lost an eye to a bear a few years ago, it had got into her kitchen at night and it felt trapped when she went in to investigate the noise. The bear took a swipe at her head. I have found that most often, as soon as you mutter anything vocal the bear will run off.

Paul, I was rather surprised by vibrancy of the color myself. Yes, I'm spinning at the end using a technique called "modified long draw". Long draw is a one-handed technique and takes some practice, but as you can see I'm still using my left hand to control the twist entering the wool I'm holding in the right, hence it's called "modified". I often draft using a short-draw technique which gives one considerably more control but it's not as fast. Of all the fiber crafts I do, spinning is the most meditative and tranquil. Something about turning raw material into yarn, plus the connection to the past is very satisfying as well. The yarn is tied loosely in 3 or 4 places with scrap yarn in a figure-8 manner, but the yarn is never treated with any vigor while in the simmering pot because the result could well be felt! So tangling isn't usually an issue. :)

@@BernardDauphinais fabulously informative. Thank you. 😊

I've never encountered another W&W 8 owner! Yay! Dating is tricky and I've deduced rather than discovered. I actually mis-wrote, mine is most likely 1875 not 1878. I could be wrong, but my estimate is based on the fact that W&W began making the new model 8 in 1875 and they made 300,000 of them in the first year. The number on mine is 289,758 which puts it in that time period. Not very scientific, but there doesn't seem to be much documentation on the www about it. I got the 300,000 number from this article: sewalot.com/wheeler%20&%20wilson%20sewing%20machines.htm

@@BernardDauphinais Thanks Bernard! Your dating estimate makes sense. Mine is a bit newer than yours then. I suppose I could go with around 1877-78 on mine. Did you get a set of glass foot inserts with yours?? I was very lucky and did, plus most, if not all, of the original attachments. Love these machines!!

@@lunanwloons3082 You were lucky indeed! I have 3 glass feet: The basic one (thank heavens for that!), the sidecut, and the braider. I haven't used any but the plain one so far. They're like glass slippers aren't they. This machine is so beautifully designed, right down to the feet. I have several attachments and 2 original manuals.

Yes, Ciello was making sure I was on the ball! :) I have several old wind-up clocks -- old mechanical inventions, I love them. It's wondrous they still run, ditto the sewing machine. I bought a modern -- all plastic!-- computerized sewing machine 4 years ago for a pretty penny and it's had to go into the shop for repairs twice already, and it won't last. It's computer circuits will be obsolete in so many years. Shame. A real shame. But I've got my treadles and I expect they'll still be going strong a hundred years from now! :)

@@BernardDauphinais or maybe Ciello was making sure the ball of your foot was on the peddle! 😊

@@paulsavident :)