New Life for Quilting Machine...aahhhhh

Here is the horrid foot I've been using for at least 3 years on my machine-quilting sewing machine. Why is it horrid? When I purchased the antique machine, the seller ground down the foot because I said something about not having much visibility. He did not consult me before changing its shape. Sewing with it like this is so frustrating. Every time the foot bumped into a seam (which was frequently), it wouldn't smoothly go over the seam. It would tend to just push the seam over and keep sewing a million stitches a minute. Each little faux pau was 20-30 minutes of unsewing while hunched over the quilt frame. It got so frustrating that I just haven't used it for a really long time. Which was a shame seeing it was taking up a lot of room in my bedroom. Here I am replacing the faulty foot with one identical to the original. I tried (in vain) to find a replacement myself, but the machine is just soooooo old. Nobody I contacted had ever seen a machine "that old". I finally decided to see if the man I bought it from could locate one. Of course he could--matter of fact, he had one somewhere there at his shop (although after he said that and we disconnected, I did wonder if he was burning up the phone lines locating one).
Here it is ready for the maiden voyage...vroom vroom...ladies start your engines.

Here I have quilted one width of the quilt. It was so much easier! Hooray!!

I had to park on the French fries while I advanced the quilt in the frame. I do love I Spy quilts.

I just did a simple meandering so I didn't challenge the system right from the get-go.

Usually when I have finished a quilt even this small, from the muscle strength it takes to move my heavy (80 lbs.) machine and the frustration of ripping out 6 zillion stitches nanometers apart (I always get sarcastic and exaggerate when I'm stressed), my shoulders are north of my ears (to quote my b-friend, Lisa) because of the strain.

I am ecstatic to report that my ears are in their usual south of my ears location, and I finished this in record time. This is an I Spy for some lucky baby girl at our church. The backing fabric is white with tiny yellow rosebuds. I have had the backing so long that I can't remember if I bought it or if someone donated it to me. I usually put a simple baby-friendly fabric on the back in case the mother thinks the front is too much for use in public.

~Joan