Features: 1. The spool and thread are a separate prop so you can change colors. 2. Motion is controlled by a PZ2 file that runs the moving parts through one "cycle" in concert. 3. Drawers open and close. Go to my web storage: http://briefcase.yahoo.com/occam24 and find the Sewing folder; download SEWING.ZIP. This zip is not folder-specific; just open it in some temp spot and put the files into appropriate locations.

Believe it or not, I learned to sew on a sewing machine similar to that one. No, it wasn't new when I was learning...it had been my mother's and she gave it to me and I think it still runs. That's a great freebie! Thank you.

In fact this model is based on a machine that I inherited from my grandmother, who made (at least part of) her living with it. I keep it next to the computer as a kind of totem..... hoping that Grandma's seamstress talents will somehow jump through the ether to improve my own digital "stitching".

LOL! If it is any comfort, my mother's talents never jumped to me. :) But she would probably be pretty proud of what you accomplish on the computer, so the creativity got handed down even if the skills are different.

It seems to be a rule of thumb that qualities (good or bad) tend to skip a generation.... most folks come closer to resembling one grandparent than either parent!

I learned on one of these, too. (Still have it in my shed someplace, I think.) For some intricate sewing, it's actually a lot easier to control things with a treadle than with an electric motor.

My mom also made a living on a sewing machine like this! Rasied 6 kids with money she earned from sewing :) Thanks Ockham :)

I had one of those, a long time ago. Didn't get much use out of it, though.

Some of these sewing machines were nearly works of art in themselves. I remembered the enlaid wood on the top of my mother's machine, and the beautiful engraving on the wheel and treadle. That's when craft approached art.

thanks for this ockham :) my grandmother had one of those and i remember pumping with the treadle to make the thingy go up and down, hours of fun! till i got walloped. hehe :)

dilyn: Yes, those were the days when they put lions paws on the feet of bathtubs and barber chairs. Sometimes I wish I had been there.

oh man... we need a whole house of european antique models guys hint hint CDG and ockham

thank you very much ockham.

April, what specifically are you thinking of? Ideas are welcome!

the master bedroom with alcoved windows complete with lion's head and paws bedposts, chests and drawers, opening out to a bathing room with that lion's paw bath tub and antique vanity/dresser ... or the parlor with the round table and chairs with lion's paw feet and other bits of working furniture that would be stashed all together in the one room back in those days like the excellent sewing machine above, a cooling cabinet... a loom? a grand piano, um... running out of ideas :)

Okay, the image is clear, and it looks a lot like my grandparents' house.....

LOOM! Yes, please!! Tapestry loom would be lovely, too! (Darn you, April, now I want to do a scene and have to make a prop for it. Grr. :P ) I learned to sew on one of these as well. I have one of the first electric models stashed here somewhere, and the machine itself is still identical, black enamel and gold overlay.

Sam's 3D has an old 'candlestick' phone as the latest freebie put it on a side table in the room with the sewing machine :-)

oh yes, lots of Sharen and Mike's scroll work stuff would fit right in too. :D Pooka, will be looking out in your gallery then! lol i get very confused about the eras though, so when i'm thinking antique i might mix up victorian. so don't mind me too much :)

Attached Link: http://www.wg3d.com/Poser_Propsx.html

Cal has 2 or 3 CDs crammed full of lovely antique furniture and props... including some older cars and horse-drawn carriages. He just finished an antique bathroom last week. I used his loom and spinning wheel (both beautifully detailed )and the scissors (dial open to any degree desired) in one scene for a demo. He has already done washtubs, mangle-wringers, butter-churns, and antique chambre pots. He also has a lovely sewing machine from 1908. You may have seen the Victorian child's hearse used in a couple of last year's Hallowe'en renders? That's his model. So is the graceful Cinderella's carriage I've seen around the galleries. Lannie's has a fair selection available on her site, but the CDs are a bargain. I'd suggest that you download a few props to check out their quality, then look through the contents of the CDs and compare them to the list of what you need. Cal seems to specialize in making stuff people actually used, not showy puffery, but kitchenware and houseware and the cabinet your grandma treasured. I hope this is the right link.... Carolly

oh yes, i downloaded his old bathroom and IM'd him my thanks - i had an idea for an image and the day after his full set was in freestuff 8) he's got great models. i have his child's hearse and cinderella carriage :)

Oh, my husband is going to hate you come payday, hauksdottir. More toooooys.

Whoa! Looks like Cal has been there first on just about everything in this era.... I'll have to get his CDs just to avoid duplication on future projects!

I've got my mom's old treadle machine down in the basement. I even used to sew (sort of) on it. My wife always wants me to get rid of it, but I just can't bring myself to do that. It's in pretty rough shape, but maybe someday I'll get it restored. Cool freeby. Thanks. jon

Cal is pretty thorough, too. He has mainly concentrated on a couple of decades, and a lifestyle for that time. If you need to illustrate a farmwife and her elder daughters doing laundry or the interior of a smithy, he probably has all the tools ready for you. For fantasy work (a troll-wife doing the laundry), that mangle-wringer can just mangle things a bit more. ;^) The underpinnings are real, so the image is more believable. Except for special requests, and his own interests in machinery, most of his models fit into a relaxed country lifestyle... and that is "Heartland of America" country. Even within this time period, there is still room for models pertaining to coastal living (Winslow Homerish?) or city living (they used lanterns and chamber pots, too!) I believe that San Diego was more resort town than anything (Prince Eddie stayed at the Hotel del Coronado), but am not sure what was happening in LA... or in Louisiana/Florida. There was an article in Smithsonian about Thomas Edison, showing his Florida (IIRC) home & lab... lots of furniture and stuff. Graceful beds draped with mosquito netting reminiscent of old royal beds? Furniture with a French influence? Beaded lampshades? Red lampshades? Anyway, I suspect that if you went north or south coastal you could find all sorts of useful and beautiful things from the first decade which haven't been modeled yet. If you moved further back to the Victorian or forward to Art Nouveau or Art Deco, you would certainly uncover troves worth (at which point, you would have to decide whether to concentrate or to be a diletante). I'd suggest that you model what you love most, even if you intend it for the Marketplace. If you ask people what they want, it will be more of what they already have. Carolly