Friday, July 6, 2012

Coronado Blue

Shortly after arriving here in Saskatchewan, I realized that I was going to really miss being without a sewing machine for the entire summer. So, the hunt was on for a new-to-me vintage machine that was inexpensive and that wouldn't require a lot of work to get up and running. After stalking Kijiji for over a week, the perfect machine finally appeared:


Isn't it gorgeous?! I paid just $25 for this handsome blue machine. It's a Japanese-made machine, badged Coronado, and was "Sold Exclusively by MacLeod's Limited" (according to the round badge on the front). It came with a bunch of extra bobbins, and not much else, no manual or anything. These machines are pretty straight-forward, though, and take standard needles and low-shank feet, so I'm not too worried about it.

It's by far the cleanest vintage machine I've ever come across. The finish is nearly impeccable, no scratches or chips in the finish anywhere. The chrome is shiny with no rust or pitting. Even the case is in fantastic condition. The only things marring its perfection are two "seam guides" drawn on with permanent marker (ugh!) and this weird brownish stain on the machine bed, that almost looks like a kind of flash/burn mark. Hopefully I'll be able to remove both of those without ruining the finish. I'm open to suggestions on that!

On a side note, how do you like the green background? I chose it because it reminds me of summertime at home, with the trees all in full leafy green-ness. There's a severe lack of green out here on the prairies!

5 comments:

  1. Have you tried isopropyl to get the "seam guides" off? I know most finishes can handle a bit of ISO and perhaps the permanent marker wont be as stubborn as you think. I know many of the machines that come through our house have the dreaded "tape seam guide" which comes off mostly with some work, but this is the first I've seen of a permanent marker guide. Sad.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Melissa! Thanks for the advice, I'm totally going to try that. I'll let you know if it works!

      Delete
  2. Hi Angie,

    I actually googled you to find out where (and if) you have a store presence somewhere for the scrapbooking materials that you design. Lo and behold, the first post came up with a blog about vintage sewing machines. About a year ago, I was given Singer sewing machine, circa 1965, by a lady who bought while she was a librarian on Okinawa, of all places, because I myself had lived there with my family in the mid-1950s when my father was stationed there. It's really a small world, isn't it?

    Anyway, I'm ashamed to say that I haven't done a thing with this machine since she gave it to me. I was hoping to use it for my paper scrapping hobby, only now I'm mostly digital though I would like to get back into paper scrapping and maybe hybrid scrapping.

    I don't know if it even runs. I'm missing bobbins, but I'm pretty such I have several -- maybe even a bunch -- that I can use at my house back in Texas. I'm currently living on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where it's difficult to find repair persons and parts.

    It's definitely made to last. I honestly think that it could withstand a thermonuclear blast ... it's that heavy ... probably solid iron. I don't know what to do with it, frankly. I don't want to throw it away because I can't find someone to repair it, yet I can't use it as is. It's gone through many journeys in its lifetime ... comes with a case that is somewhat worse for wear, a button holer, and other goodies.

    Any suggestions?

    kmulhoon

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey there! Thanks for stopping by :) I love hearing about other vintage machine finds. I'd love to see photos of yours. You'd be surprised at how easily most of these older machines can be made functional. Most of the Singer machines and the old Japanese made machines use fairly standard parts and are easily repaired and maintained with a bit of knowledge and some elbow grease. I'd be happy to help you out if you want to share some photos (or even just the model of your machine) and what the issues are.

      Angie

      Delete
  3. Hmm, I should have done a little proofreading before I sent my post to you. I guess I was just so excited about meeting someone else who loves vintage sewing machines. LOL!

    There should have been an "a" before "sewing machine" and an "it" after "bought" in the first paragraph. In the 3rd paragraph, please substitute "sure" for "such."

    Thanks for reading my posts. I'm looking forward to hearing from you. I can supply photos if you'd like to see the machine, case, etc., in the hopes that will help in determining if this sewing machine has a future life somewhere.

    ReplyDelete