A WINTER VISITOR

We have been preparing and planning this blog for a while now. Part of that has involved shooting literally hundreds of images of the projects in the shop. There are images of completed projects going back a few years that eventually will be posted along with the history we know about each one. Clients tell us that they enjoy seeing the process and final result. I enjoy each story that I hear about them as well.

This week I was getting ready for the next post, looking through images trying to decide what to write about next. In the process, I ran across some shots taken during our winter snow storm. Now I lived in the Midwest for a time and experienced real winter storms firsthand for a few years. I know that our storm wasn’t really that newsworthy. But in our area of Texas we are more likely to have three seasons a year – green, brown, and gone.  So, a twelve inch snow is news and it shuts down everything. When it hit I had a couple of days off work so I grabbed the camera and went out shooting.

Here are a few shots in our historic neighborhood.

Our afternoon temperatures recently have been in the high 90’s and 100’s. It has been pretty warm in the shop so seeing these winter scenes seemed to make me cool for a while.

The second or third day of snow cover, as things were starting to melt, we had an unexpected visitor to our front yard. A hawk landed in the tree outside our front door. Surprisingly he spotted and captured (meaning ate) a small snake. Afterward he sat in the tree for about half an hour or more giving me a chance to grab the camera. I shot these images of Mr. Hawk through the window so as not to scare him away. Not being a bird watcher, I have zero knowledge of what type of hawk he is, or if he is really a he or not. Nevertheless he is a beautiful creature and a welcome visitor.

While I was watching him and taking his photo, he seemed to be watching me and posing. I’m not sure who enjoyed it more  – the hawk or me.

I hope you enjoy seeing him and hope the winter wonderland will make you remember being cool for a few minutes this hot July. To you and Mr. Hawk, thanks for stopping by.

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FREE-WESTINGHOUSE SEWING MACHINE

Since we opened our doors to the public, we have restored the cabinets of countless sewing machines. In fact, in roughly the last 20 years, not a day has gone by that we have not had someone’s sewing machine in the shop either underway or awaiting restoration. Most have been early treadle operated machines that have been passed down from generation to generation within a family. Some have been more modern electric machines dating from the 1940’s to as new as the 1980’s.

Recently one of our longtime clients brought us a sewing machine like none we have ever seen before. This machine is also a family heirloom, having belonged to the client’s grandmother. It is a Free-Westinghouse machine in a beautifully ornate cabinet from the 1920’s. I was able to date the machine to 1926 and even found an image of the original sales brochure and operating manual.

The Free Sewing Machine Company has a very interesting history. The St. John Sewing Machine Company, which was the predecessor of the Free Sewing Machine Company, was founded in 1870. In 1883, it was renamed the Royal Sewing Machine Company. After the company relocated to Rockford, Illinois, it was renamed once again in 1897 as The Free Sewing Machine Company after the company’s president, William C. Free.

The Free – Westinghouse machine first appeared in 1926 after the company became associated with Westinghouse as the sole supplier of electric motors to Free. The name was used into the 1950’s. However, post World War II the company began having machines made in Japan.

Westinghouse was apparently not too happy about this as Free was no longer using their motors for their imported machines. In 1957, a lawsuit was filed by Westinghouse to stop Free from using the Westinghouse name.

Unable to compete against cheap overseas labor, the company was bought out by the Japanese in 1954.

Here are some before photos.

The walnut cabinet and detail work is an excellent example of the style popular in the 1920’s. Stay tuned for a look at the completed restoration of this diamond in the rough.

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