My new machine

When I told Kevin I'd decided to buy a new sewing machine, his response was, "What? In CHINA?"

I see his point. If I got a regular one, it would be 220 Volts, which would basically make it worthless anywhere but in China. And if I bought it in China, it would likely be made in China-- and not for export. It would wear out and break within a month.

However, I didn't want a regular machine.

I'd seen these in the tailor shops when I'd go through, and while they're the old style, they're recently produced-- which is a good thing and a bad thing. So it's not an antique. But it looks like one. And I love it!

My new treadle machine!

The (ahem) world famous Flying Man brand! I saw one online that was Butterfly brand... but the store just had this one.

Butterfly brand wouldn't have had this! My very own flying man. (Shudder)

It looks like the hood ornament for a Bentley. But with a 人 (person) character in the middle.
Fantastic!

And the treadle itself. I'm excited!

The wooden part of the desk is probably the crappiest construction I've ever seen. It's flimsy plywood  with rough edges, and you can even see a staple in the drawer where they tried to put it together.
This will have to be replaced.
If I made my own, by buying crappy wood at Home Depot, nailing it together myself, and sanding it here and there, I know it would still be better quality. I'll be on the lookout for something in America.

I learned how to sew on a machine like this at my grandma's house, and even before we knew how to use it, we loved pumping the treadle as fast as we could make it go. I'm not sure Grandma loved that, but she was patient with us. As long as there wasn't thread to make a big knot, she'd usually let us tread away!
It doesn't do any fancy tricks or stitches. It goes forwards and backwards. It winds a bobbin. I'll have to check to see if I can use any of my other feet on it (walking foot, rolled hem foot, etc.). That would be awesome! One thing that I really love is that it has a much bigger space under the arm (the armpit between the needle and the machine base). On my current machine, that space is about the size of my two fists, which makes it so frustrating to try and machine quilt anything!
So... I'm excited about my new flying man!