For about 12 years...

...I ran the business of HelenHowes-SewingMachines with the eminently practical and reliable and strong help of my Lovely Man John Stormes. In May this year he was taken ill very suddenly, and it looked like he might only have a few days to live. He had been having treatment for cancer, and his somewhat-reduced gut was failing badly. So, he had yet more surgery, and survived that, and I was reduced from a Fine Plan to Move the Business  Together and then spend a deal more time in a leisurely fashion, to a situation of having to reclaim, manage, rework, and remove the business from one place to another. Without his help, as he had to retire at once, and with a bad back, and 6 months to get everything right and moved and sorted  and out.

Reader, I lost him. We had a few more months, but he was gently slipping away during all that time, and for the last 8 weeks of his life (and after yet more bloody surgery, on his spine), he was more-or-less all the time in bed, and sinking into a diminishment and reduction-of-life that was extraordinarily hard to behold. I kept him with me, and we were much helped by the visiting nurses and doctors and palliative-care people and all and all, but it was me who got up in the night, emptied his various bags, and washed his shrinking body.. And sat with him as he gently removed himself from the world...


So, bear with me. I'm strong, and I have been mourning for so long that I'm almost done, but the house is an utter shambles, stuff is all over the place, and I'm only now beginning to get on top of the stocktaking. And there's a whole winter's worth of that, I think...

Slowly working my way...

...through the  Big Move Sort-out, and this week I have taken a whole lot of tool-boxes and extension tables, all online and updated (click on the links) - those of you who are subscribed to my Newsletter (click for the page to sign up) get a Special Deal on these...
And I sold a machine today, and one yesterday, and need to sell one each day until the Sculpture Trail is over on the 8th of September, all the machines in the shop have Clearance prices; at least 20-30% off

Still a few left - I don't want to have to scrap any of these due to lack of storage, so now is a Really Good Time to visit
I'm open every day until the 8th, 11 till 5ish each day. And the cafe is open, as is the Trail, so it's all good fun

Sort of Sortings

Oh, look, boxes of wires, pedals, and plugs... Probably about half of what I started with. I do wish people would keep their machines at least Dry...

Now, if you are on the Newsletter List (sign up HERE) you will know that life has bitten both of us in the proverbial bum somewhat. John has been forced to hand over his little part of the HHSewingMachines empire to my tender care, and retire forthwith because his health has fallen over. And, while I can do the electrical stuff, I am not the expert that he is, and the piles have somewhat developed breeding tendencies...  I'm desperately trying to sort and resort everything, because, at the end of October, I have to move it all home in some kind of tidy order and hand over the workshop to my good friend AitchBee

Here's a box of motors, being waiting to be photographed and numbered.. I did cull a lot of scruffy herberts before I started... I have actually made images for everything, and the page HERE will be updated tonight or tomorrow. Then the pedals will get the same treatment. And all will be cheap, most untested, quantity boxes available, and on-your-own-head-be-it...And I've been fettling and fixing and servicing and  preparing all the usable machines to go in the shop, and all have "clearance" prices for personal customers...
The pretty 128 above has lovely clean decals and a nice domed box.. Still practical after all these years, it comes with needles, tools, bobbins, manual, and all and all...

And the 99s have been breeding madly. I have older, younger, hand-crank and electric ones all ready to go
And 66s, 201s, and assorted lovelies beside

So, back to the lists

Not keen...

...on Toy Machines
But this one (A Muller I think) was pretty and rather well-made. It came in for a few small parts recently
I do think these are Most Unsuitable for Children, though

Difficult Times

We've had a Bad Fortnight. John was taken ill quite suddenly, and has had gut failure, major surgery for the third time in five years, and two very long weeks in hospital. He's home, and gently recuperating, but this has decided him very firmly that he will not be spending his time polishing cases and rewiring pedals, as neither are amusing (and the polishing is just not on with a belly wound 12 inches long).  Retirement looms...

Not, for me, I hasten to add...

So, the motors and pedals and lights we have that are ready or good-enough will be sold, then I will return to my original business plan, to be a specialist in parts, attachments, and all manner of stuff for the older hand-crank and treadle machines. I will be clearing some of the less-attractive machines from my waiting-to-fix-it pile and sorting some of the more electric ones for Freecycle..

If you can use motors, pedals, and the like for your own refurbishing, please get in touch - I will be sending out small batches at astoundingly reasonable cost.

And the ones like this can be merrily throw away...



And I'm still looking for an apprentice.. Want to learn some of this stuff? Talk to me, please

Old and New

New quilts and patterns galore, as we have been busy, busy (that is, Me and AitchBee) in preparation for the Scottish Quilt Show. Stand all set up today, and my usual Old Girl ready to demo tomorrow

And, with a bit of luck, she won't come home with me, as she is all ready to go to a new home
£120...

Pedalling away merrily...

(Edited to Add, all gone now, many thanks for asking. Bookmark here for further clearouts)

John has been Sorting-with-a-capital-S the motors and pedals. They appear to have been breeding in the dark, do not remember taking all these in..
So, here we have an interesting row
Free for postage, UK only please. Usable, complete, need wiring-up
(Edit - 2 have gone already. john @raindropkites.co.uk to request)


Now, I've been busy too. There was a most humungously messy pile of little toolboxes and extension tables under the Big Table, and someone wanted a particular one, so I had to pull these all out, sort, count, remake the page.. 2 days worth, but worthwhile, as there is nothing more difficult to use than a machine with its table missing. Sadly, we could not match the lacking machine. I'll keep looking. I do run a huge "Wants" list

In the process I threw away all the scruffy, oily, disgusting card boxes, washed all the plastic ones, and found all sorts of treasures. Here's the table at about the half-way stage, and HERE is the remade page of boxes
Tables HERE
And this little charmer came with a Frister Rossmann

Note "bodkins" - and who would have thought that Timothy Whites ( a chain chemist) would have sold matches...