Here She Comes, Ms. Universal

In the spotlight

When she came home from a garage sale in October, Ms. Universal was in need of some work before she would be ready to compete in any pageant competitions. Since then, she has had her chrome polished, paint shined, motor cleaned, belt changed, insides cleaned and lubricated, wiring checked, and foot controller cleaned.  Now she is ready to take her place on stage with all the other contestants.

Her facial treatments didn't eliminate all the age spots, but as a senior competitor in the pageant she looks fantastic for her age. 

She has a slim and angular body with a distinctive stitch-length selector surrounding the reverse lever.  The feed dog release knob is on the right, below the made in Japan badge.  

The upper thread tension wheel is on the back of the machine

The teal motor matches Ms. Universal's outfit

You can see a bit of Ms. Universal's built-in sewing light peeking out below her nameplate on the back.  There is also a well-polished access panel above the motor and an adjustable-height spool pin located on the top of the machine.

Hand wheel and bobbin-winder all shined up

For the talent portion of the competition, Ms. Universal executes flawless stitches in a variety of lengths moving both forwards and backwards.  She is careful not to miss a stitch and keeps consistent tension at all times.

Flipped back on her hinges

A quick glance at Ms. Universal's undercarriage reveals inner workings that are clean, strong, and efficient.  

Attachments and foot controller

Ms. Universal comes with her own entourage.  A color-coordinated foot controller and accessory box with extra feet, attachments, and unused bobbins are included.

Ms. Universal insists on using her own private travel service.  And while she is not a dainty lady with a featherweight physique, Ms. Universal is often conveyed about town in her own personalized teal case.  She travels in style.

I have had fun getting to know Ms. Universal.  The judges are still counting the final votes, but I really do think she has a chance at the crown.  After all, in the interview when asked what she thinks our society needs Ms. Universal answered "more people who enjoy sewing." Yes, that and world peace.  

Ms. Universal

This machine came from a garage sale last weekend.  In between rain showers I made it to three sales. At one house, I approached a man sitting in his lawn chair patiently waiting for customers determined enough to come out in the rain. I asked if there were any ‘sewing things’ available.  He pointed to a case under the table and said ‘there’s a sewing machine in there.’  I opened it up and found a delightful teal colored Universal machine.  He said that both of his daughters sewed, but they were grown and out of the house and there was no one left to use the machine now.  A hand-written note on the carrying case said ‘new belt needed’.  There was no user manual included, but it did have the original carrying case. We talked for a bit longer and then I walked back to the car with my new Universal friend.  

A woman never reveals her age, but maybe I can find some clues online

As soon as I got the machine home, we had a quick photo shoot on the kitchen floor.  Ms. Universal (yeah, this lady is going to be pageant-worthy soon) had a noticeable layer of grime on her and plenty of lint under the needle plate, but she also had a fair amount of chrome that will polish up nicely. The hand wheel turned freely, but I didn't plug in the machine to see if it worked. I’ll see to cleaning her up and replacing the crumbling belt first.  

She looks good coming and going