Penncraft Swing and Sew Sewing Machine

Woo Hoo!!! Louie found a new toy for me!!!!  Well, it’s not really a toy…it’s a real sewing machine, but it is SEW CUTE!!! Please forgive me for the massive amounts of photos, but I just have to show you EVERYTHING! Here is it, all closed up.                                     Left end (needle end).                                                                         Right end (hand wheel end).                                                  Front panel dropped.                                             This shows the magnet which holds the panel up.                                        Left end panel dropped                                     Magnet                                                             Back panel dropped                                                  Magnet                                                                This machine is fashioned after the Elna Lotus, in my opinion. The panels are made to wrap around the machine, hence, Lotus, like flower petals. I also believe it was the competitions solution to trying to make a smaller sewing machine when the Singer Featherweight came out and was such a success. JCPenney copied Elna. This machine was made in Japan.                                                            I haven’t been able to find much on the internet about this machine, but I do know it was sold by JCPenney, and the brand name is Penncraft. There are no dates on the box or instruction manual (which I forgot to photograph), but I am making an educated guess, just by the design and colors of late 60’s to early 70’s.                                                                          These photos show that I have removed the front and back panels.                                                                                                  This is the little vinyl ‘bag’ that the foot control came in, and the little box of accessories.                                                       Here is the original box, in not such good shape, but original.                                                                   I walked by this box a couple times, and didn’t even see it. At Goodwill, the electrical aisle is usually a madhouse, with too many people who crowd the aisle and won’t move,  and sometimes I just want to scream, ‘GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!!’, Grrrrr!!! Before we left, Louie asked me if I saw the sewing machine in the box. NO! (I said with eyebrows raised and escalating curiosity!) I scooted right over there to see what it was. He thought it was a toy, and I don’t normally buy modern toy sewing machines, but this wasn’t a toy! Boy, am I glad he asked me!!!

I did spend a couple hours cleaning and oiling it, as it has sat for many years, I am sure. At first, I couldn’t get the zigzag to work, but I oiled, and pushed parts back and forth, back and forth, oiled some more, examined a lot, and just when I was about to give up and show Louie that it wasn’t going to zigzag, thinking it must have a defective part, IT TOOK OFF!!! WOO HOO!!!

Someone I used to know once, called me the ‘Sewing Machine Whisperer’. I usually can.

Here is the top of the sample piece I sewed (on a paper towel)…                                                                                                   and the back                                                                                        Here it is sewing!

Thank you for letting me tell you about my ‘new’ (old) cute little sewing machine!

Be blessed!                                                       Michelle

Friday Night Movie

Louie and I don’t usually leave the house when we watch a movie. Lately, we have been picking up a lot of DVD’s at Goodwill, but the movie we watched tonight was one I bought through eBay. It is a movie we enjoyed years ago on HBO, and laughed our heads off. It happened again tonight. Louie said it was the perfect cure for his stressful day.  Here is what we watched.

Walk Like A Man, starring Howie Mandel, Amy Steel, Christopher Lloyd, Cloris Leachman, and Colleen Camp. The movie came out in 1987. It’s a good one!

Click HERE to see the movie trailer.

What did you do tonight?

Be blessed,

Michelle

^{Psalm 143:8} 

⁸ Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you.

Nothing New

                               I thought I’d just drop in to say that there’s nothing new…. no junkin’ treasures, no quilting projects, no good news, and no bad news….only that I am still here, continually blessed, and thanking God every day for taking care of my every need.

Until next time…..

 

Be blessed,

Michelle

Sunday Clutter

I had every intention of having a ‘ME’ day today. I thought I’d go downstairs and dig out my old sheets and plan on how I was going to use them to make my next Stacked Coin quilt. I also thought I would get my quilt cut out, as we are going to each make a stacked coin quilt as a project at November quilting.

I had groceries to put away from my big grocery shopping trip yesterday, and before I knew it, I had made other plans. My kitchen cupboards were a mess, and held food and little kitchen appliances that we use all of the time (when we cook, for those reading this post who know I hate to cook.) Any time we wanted to get something out of the cupboards, something else had to be moved to get at it. I decided then and there, that I would make my front entry closet, which had served as ‘half pantry/half appliance closet/+whatever else had to be hidden for quite some time, a ‘Pantry specific’ space. Louie added some supports to two of the shelves I would use for cans, then he had to go to a meeting in Cedar Rapids. I think I started this project at 10:something am. It’s 5:31pm, and I think I’m pretty much finished, except for taking a bunch of stuff to the recycling center, and finding a place for a few mops, which are not going back in the closet. I have one dust mop and one broom, and that is all I’m putting in there.

I was reminded quickly how one job, leads to another, and another, and pretty soon I was tripping over ‘stuff’ all over the floors, and I couldn’t find my kitchen counters. Before I knew it, not only was I cleaning and organizing and building a pantry, I was also cleaning out three more kitchen cupboards, the refrigerator, and the freezer. Here’s some pictures. (Be kind, and please don’t notice the DUST!)                                               Have you ever seen the movie ‘Sleeping With The Enemy’? Laura runs away from her abusive husband, and when he finds her (but she’s not sure yet), she knows he has been in the house, when she finds the bathroom towels hung perfectly in a row, but also when she opens a kitchen cupboard door, and all of the canned goods are facing straight forward in perfect rows, so you can easily see what is in them. They are also organized by same same, together. (A little OCD going on here, huh? Well how ELSE do you know what you have?) As I was moving stuff from the kitchen to the pantry, I had no clue that I had 15 cans of Tuna and 3 cans of chicken, and Louie had no clue he already had 9 cans of sardines when he bought 3 last night.                                     Powdered sugar…we have powdered sugar???!!! YES, we DO! Well, what do you know?  There was some space on the floor under the last shelf, so I left the metal basket of cleaning supplies and a jar of touch up paint in the closet, but that stuff is pretty much hidden by the kitchen trash can that holds our empty soda cans which will be turned in and redeemed later…Oh, that Iowa deposit law. I’m sure it does keep a lot of cans off the highways and out of ditches…but sometimes it can be such a pain!                                                                One broom, one dust mop, and one extension cord, and hanging high up on the wall, a dust pan.                                                                      In the kitchen, my small appliances, like my crock pots and steamers are now easily within reach, and I don’t have to move a thing to get to them. Yippee! I did leave a FEW things in the kitchen cupboards, but not much.Things like jars of peanut butter (I like creamy, Louie likes chunky) opened bags of dried fruit, and trail mix, cooking sprays, and tea bags….                                                      …and soda crackers, under the steamer…                                                                 …and our countertop grill is also within easy reach….along with my egg cookers. I love my egg cookers. They hard boil, or poach, and I don’t have to mess the eggs up anymore, wondering if I cooked them long enough. When the cookers run out of water, the eggs are cooked! On the top shelf is a box of light bulbs. I had to use the cupboard above the sink for my electric skillet, because there was a bit more room in that space, compared to the top shelf above the grill, so the light bulbs had to move to this cupboard.                                       Other ‘new to me’ things are, my shelf above my mirror, and the floral garland between the shelf and mirror in my kitchen. Louie and I put the shelf up yesterday morning, and this morning, I hung the garland and put the teapot, pitcher and little pumpkins on the shelf. There was a smaller shelf there before, which held the greenery, so that isn’t really anything new on the new shelf. That shelf? Oh, I got it at a thrift store for $5, and it is solid, beautiful Oak! I have others in the house that are much like this, and when I bought them new from an Iowa Crafter’s store, I paid about 10 times what I paid for this shelf.                                                                                      Last week, I found a cute ‘Raggedy’ Angel doll. She had some ‘issues’ that I addressed yesterday, but now she is as good as new. When I bought her, I had no clue she would fit in so well among my other rag dolls, but she does, along with my Raggedy Ann/Andy/Pinwheel quilt I have hanging in my office.  I made this quilt before I started using my Juki and Hinterberg quilt frame, so it is only quilted ‘in the ditch’. The white blocks with the Ann and Andy characters were bought off eBay from someone who machine embroidered them.                                                          Yesterday I got a kitty! Ok, so he’s an Isabel Bloom kitty, and not real. I actually bought him for a gift (from an indoor flea market), but this morning, when I unwrapped him, he kept looking at me and smiling, so now he keeps me company while I am at my computer. (He’s now MINE, and he doesn’t poop! Yippee!) (Guess I’ll just have to find another gift now.)                                                                       I also managed to get my little bear dressed up for fall this afternoon. I’m really not into Halloween, but loved this little costume, and she looks so cute and colorful standing by the front door.                                                    Thanks for the visit! Louie should be home soon, then we can find something for supper and maybe we can get all of the cardboard and plastic over to the recyclers before we sit down for the night. I’m ready to just sit and ‘veg out’. I hope you all had a wonderful Sunday. Even though mine was a lot of work, the end result was well worth it, and hopefully, we can keep better tabs on what we need for groceries. Organization feels so good to me.

Be blessed, enjoy God’s gifts, and have a wonderful week!

                                         Michelle

Buyers BEWARE

Three weeks ago, Louie and I each bought ourselves a little Acer Aspire One netbook. I could say mine was for my birthday, but I won’t. We got them just because we have never had a laptop, thought they were neat, and just because we wanted them. No reason needed, so none given. They are fun.                                             Here’s Louie’s.                                                   Here’s mine.                                                     That was on September 24th, which was a Thursday night.  Netbooks don’t have an internal cd drive, so it did not come with a recovery disk, although, the instructions say that if needed, insert the recovery disk. What does one do when they don’t have one? One looks online for one, (and uses an external cd drive when needed).

So, on Friday, September 25th, I went online looking for a recovery disk for an Acer Aspire One. I looked for quite awhile, and finally found one. It was supposed to be free, but when I put in all my details, the cost, in the end, was $4.87 for a download. Free, my toe nails, but ok, I can handle that.

Shortly thereafter, I got an email thanking me for my Premium membership to Mega Flix Pass, and that I would be billed $89.73 every 30 days unless/until cancelled. I IMMEDIATELY SENT A MESSAGE through their website/support form requesting that I would not be using the download, and that I wanted to CANCEL IMMEDIATELY. NOW, FIVE MINUTES AGO!

Well, of COURSE, I got NO REPLY, even though the website stated I would get a reply within 24 hours. I sent another message, and again, NO REPLY. I was getting quite upset about it, and on Monday, September 28th, I asked Louie to help me see what we could do. We called the number on the email I got on Friday, and was directed to their www.customercarelive.com website, so we went there, and I cancelled my membership. ALMOST IMMEDIATELY, I got an email response stating that my subscription had been cancelled, and that I would no longer be billed. It also provided a 24 hour billing customer service  and a phone number.

Ok, so the deed was done…so I thought…..until this morning, when I decided it was time to work on comparing my bank statement against my check register.  On my statement, I had a $94.60 charge. HUH????? The charge occurred on September 29th, THE DAY after my cancellation request was confirmed. NOW GET THIS! The source of the debit was from CHIEFSUPORT COM www anals xx  NO, I DID NOT STUTTER, AND NO, I DID NOT MISSPELL ANYTHING. THAT IS EXACTLY HOW IT APPEARED ON MY STATEMENT!  I tried to look it up on the internet, and did not come up with anything. So, what does $4.87 + $89.73 add up to? $94.60!!!! 

Ok, so now, I guess I know where all my FILTHY, sex, spam emails have been coming from, which I have been furiously blocking EVERY DAY.

I got out my information again on the Mega Flix Pass, and tried to call the phone number. Guess what? It is all automated. It directs you to press #1, or #4, or #??? to talk to a person, then the phone sounds like it is ringing, then an automated voice tells you that the waiting time is 5 minutes, then a voice comes on and tells you that no one is able to talk to you. Oh, REALLY! I tried again, and I tried the second number they gave me. It rings to the same place. I have been told three times now, that no one can talk to me. I believe this is all a scam, and that no one works there. It is all set up to automated voices, and when people sign up, they charge a monthly membership fee (which I saw nothing about when I bought the $4.87 download, AND  which I did NOT USE).  Then, they cannot be contacted.

I have printed all the information I got from them via email, I have printed a letter I wrote them through their contact form on the customer care website, (I actually sent them three this morning, and one, I told them we would be contacting authorities TODAY) and we are going to the bank this morning to see what can be done. If I have to cancel my debit card and get a new one, I will, although I will be without one for two weeks.  If this is a lesson I learned, I guess I will take my lumps, but I will be contacting authorities if the bank does not help me.  I should contact them anyway.

So, on the lighter side of things, the sun is shining, and it is 30*. In a few hours, Louie will be bundling up and we will be taking our Goldwing to the storage unit for the winter (or until a nice day when we go take it out for awhile), then we will be going junkin’.  I am thankful for all the blessings in my life, and I consider this just a small bump, but it is scary to think about how quickly things like this can happen.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and remember to Enjoy God’s Blessings!

Michelle

UPDATE

Louie just got back from the bank. They said I did a good job documenting everything, and printing all the information I had, including the correspondence with 'no one on the other end'.  They said that these kind of places target people who never look at their checking accounts, and their activities, or any other accounts. The bank took copies of all my documentation, and credited my account for the entire amount.  They will be filing a report with Visa (my debit card), and new cards have been ordered.  UPDATE: CARDS ARRIVED IN ONE WEEK! My current debit card has been flagged to watch for anything coming from these people in 'nowhere land' and when our new cards come in, the old ones will be cancelled.DONE!  All I can say is PRAISE THE LORD! Now, my job is to carefully watch my account until the new cards arrive. Glad I don’t have to do that anymore!

The gal at the bank also said that we would be amazed at the people who never check their accounts and balance their checkbooks. I know a few myself. She said people come in to search for a resolution, when they finally DO realize something has happened, and when asked how often they balance their accounts, the bank gets the 'deer in the headlights' look from most people. I have to admit, that balancing my checkbook is not a pleasant task, but I need to know what is going on, as I don’t usually have much ‘to spare’.

Beware, take care, and have a wonderful weekend!

Michelle