Thrifty Find ~ Pfaff 130 Sewing Machine

It feels like autumn here in Northern Illinois.  Great weather for hitting the weekend flea markets.  I know that my vacation finds still need to be posted (Plus, our semi annual jaunt to Baraboo Gas and Steam Engine show... Yipee!), but this little beauty had me so excited that its story must be told first...

 

Mr. Hollow and I rose early for a 2 hour drive on Sunday to a small weekend flea market in Wisconsin.  Usually, we find one or two small items and some produce.  I shudder to write that  my first extremely, and now a little regretting, "tempted to purchase"  pass was on a spinning wheel at a great price...  Hmmm... Do I really need two?    Then, I talked myself out of some cool jars.  (Makes you wonder why I got up at the crack of dawn doesn't it?)   Finally, my hubby waves me over to a pile of goods laying in the grass in front of a pickup truck.  He must of asked me three times what I thought of the item in the farthest corner.  Maybe it was the sun glare, but it took me all of the three times to see this Pfaff 130 sewing machine.  Did I really need another sewing machine? ;)

 

I skeptically walked over while the vendors, a man and his teenage son, stood watching.  Wow!  This machine was really clean.  Definitely someone's baby.  The decals shown absolutely perfect with the paint smooth and shiny without a  single chip.  The man nodded to his son to walk over and do the haggling... Yep, me versus a very sweet teenage boy. 

 

The young man assured me the machine worked.  Pointed out that the handle was broke on the cover.  (Hard to believe that the case belonged to this pristine machine!)  He also stated, the machine was very heavy to carry, since he was the one who loaded it in the truck to take to the market.  Poor kid... After that confession,  I am sure Mr. Hollow was afraid he could talk me into any price! :(   I decided at that moment to just ask the price, figuring it would be hideous, making my  polite get away a little easier.  So, I did.  The young man replied 5 dollars.   Seriously, how do you bicker over that?  I really do not need another machine but are you kidding me 5 DOLLARS?   I looked over at his Dad.  He was smiling -very proud of the job his son was doing- nodding in agreement.  What kind of heartless quilter would say "let me think about it" to such a duo for that price?  Long story short, I have a new machine in the fold!  :)

 

We arrived home by afternoon, and the Pfaff was humming away an hour later.  I consider this heavy duty machine a "he" that until a few minutes ago was yet to be named... And yet to be cleaned!    I am just floored by the immaculate shape of this machine...  His previous owner's address label was still adhered to his under carriage, along with the shop that he was purchased from in Janesville, Wisconsin.   

 

I have had to do some research on the Pfaff 130.  The sites say it is from the 50's and can plow through 4 layers of leather.  Now that my friends is a work horse!  Not really sure if I need this kind of a machine... But my projects are continually changing, so it could very well be a future life saver.  You never know with me! :)

 

 

I notice that only a few have the "Made in Western - Germany" decal.  Most are Germany.  Talk about a blast from the past! 

While adding captions to the photos, I was reminded that his previous owner's name was Fred.  Being the spur of a moment kind of gal that I am (which explains all of my pets' weird names!),  this Pfaff is going to have the name Friedrich in honor of his previous owner.  Sounds very distinguished doesn't it?  Welcome to the Hollow, Friedrich Pfaff.   :)

127 Corridor Yard Sale 2015

The 127 Corridor Yard Sale is over for another year.  *sigh*  Mr. Hollow and I ran solo, since Farmerboy decided to stay home and house sit.  Our starting destination... the tip top of Kentucky.  (While planning our trip, we decided to run for 2 days -- ending near Crossville, Tennessee.)

 

During the week, the weather forecast called for warm temps, possible storms and 40% chance of rain.  Mr. Hollow and I remained positive.  If there is one thing the weather has taught us this year, it is to make the best out of a wet situation.  So... we arrived filled with optimism at our motel in 80 degree sunny weather and woke up the following morning to rain... A torrential downpour actually. 

 

Taking advantage of our dry room, we delayed our departure.  When the rain suddenly turned to mist,  our search began!  :)   A few sales had to be passed, since the proprietors decided they did not want to greet the morning weather.   No worries though... There were plenty other venues open.  The mist let up periodically, and we had blessed overcast skies with temps in the mid 70's!  Yippee!!       

 

 

 

The first day would see us arrive at our motel around 4 o'clockish, which is not out of the ordinary.  After having a light supper, I made use of my Kindle loaded with newly purchased episodes of "Flea Market Flip".   Kind of appropriate,  right?  ;)

On the second day,  the weather man promised skies of blue with temps in the 80's.  This pic is the only sun our travels would see for the day...  The very last venue attended.  I am not complaining though, the temps stayed in the 70's under overcast skies.  Beautiful mild weather that mocked Fall.  Our hunt lasted until 6 o'clock and was an absolute blast. :) 

If you have not attended a 127 sale, I highly recommend it.  One little tidbit of advice:  Around mid afternoon, figure out the town you would like to end in, call ahead and book a room.  The motel stays are few and far between. 

Today, I am finishing my unpacking, cleaning some finds and getting some groceries.  With a quick peek at the local thrift store thrown in!  ;)    It is always nice to be home and unwind a little before heading back to work.  I feel like I have been gone for months!  A post will follow soon with some of my finds for this year.

A huge thanks to all the vendors, old and new,  who endured the torrential rains.  You are all the greatest!  And to the fellow scavengers that we laughed and talked with at breakfast and met along the route, we hope to see you all happy and well next year!  :)