Presto Change-O

I FINALLY finished making all those pineapple blocks!

How's that for a stack of blocks? One hundred blocks, 29 pieces each, so 2,900 pieces. Now I'll need to get to work on the pieced border.

Any sewing will have to wait a little bit. I was trolling Craigslist for a handcrank Singer 99 (no luck yet), when I stumbled across an interesting sewing cabinet.

A cabinet that holds two machines, and for sale very reasonably??? Yes, I'll take that. I'll actually be selling my largest sewing cabinet now, which is worth quite a bit more than I paid for this one, so I should end up with some money in my pocket at the end of this rearrange.

I got the cabinet I'm going to sell (Arrow Bertha cabinet) out of my sewing room, but getting this cabinet in there is as far as I've gotten so far. I need to put my sewing room back together before I can sew anything else. I had a Gidget sewing table in my sewing room that's leaving too, so overall, I should have more space in my sewing room, not less. I can still have four machines up, but they'll take up less space. That's an improvement! If anyone is in Arizona and interested in my Bertha cabinet, leave a comment and I'll see if we can work something out.

Selling the Bertha cabinet is a little sad, since it's a great cabinet. The thing is, I've since bought the quilting extension for my Arrow Olivia cabinet, and that cabinet just fits in my space better. There was no extension for the Olivia cabinet available when I bought the Bertha cabinet.

My plans for the two machine cabinet are that is will hold two vintage machines, one with a fabric guide screwed into the machine bed, and the other without one. I'll use one machine for piecing with 1/4" seams, and the other for flip and sew corners and string blocks.

I mentioned I wanted a Singer 99 handcrank. I have a Singer 12 handcrank, but sourcing needles for it is a chore. It's a gorgeous machine, and DH got it running great last weekend. The thing is, I want a handcrank I can use. I looked through all my vintage machines, thinking of converting one to a handcrank. The only machine I have that would work is my Singer 99. None of my other belted machines have a motor boss to screw a handcrank onto. The thing is, my Singer 99 is in a cabinet, and 3/4 size cabinets are hard to come by, so I kind of hate to separate them. I'd be willing to part with the cabinet, if I knew someone was going to use it for a 3/4 sewing machine, but the thought of someone ruining it in some DIY project makes me shudder. There just weren't many 3/4 cabinets made, and I think the ones out there should be preserved. This one is in really nice shape too. I really love my Singer 99, and I think it would be a great handcrank option. I'm thinking if I wait, I might stumble across an original Singer 99 handcrank for an acceptable price. The ones one ebay are going for $300+ and that's too rich for my blood. I think my preference would be to keep the electric one in the cabinet, and locate an original handcrank. I'm not in a hurry, so for now I'll just keep looking.

I won't be sewing for a few days. Tomorrow I hope to work in the sewing room some, but we have a really busy weekend with company, so sewing is not in my forecast!