Ruthie's "Pink" Singer Featherweight

Since before Ruthie was born, there has been this certain shade of pink that has followed her.  It all started with the antique shade of pink paint that softly adorned the walls of her nursery.  From there she had her patchwork quilt that I made her, a few special outfits, and as time went on, diminutives that she would find to adorn her room.  That certain color pink even earned the label by a friend as "Ruthie Pink".  So, now we spot Ruthie Pink everywhere and in the oddest of places sometimes.  This past weekend at a neighborhood Fred Meyer store I found these hydrangeas -- I didn't even know hydrangeas came in this color!  Ruthie, of course, was delighted when I gave them to her.

Which leads us to another story... Ruthie once saw a pink sewing machine (Featherweight) when she was about 18-months to 2-years-old.  She couldn't pronounce the "s" in sewing, so she called it a "pink oh-ing sheen" (that was toddler speak for pink sewing machine).  Her daddy then promised her that she would have one someday, and so this year we decided, at her age of 12, that it was probably the right time to finally have a Featherweight painted for her.  {We totally appreciate that there is some reservation about painted Featherweights, and for a very good reason, but for the sake of our little Ruthie and this blog post, we will save that for another day...}

Rick Armao at Singer Featherweights Revived is painting this one for us, and it all came down to the color.  It had to be "Ruthie Pink".  I went to the paint store and found the closest swatch to *that color* that I could find and sent it to Rick.  Carmon wanted her machine paint to have a pearl essence to it, and so we finally decided that "Pearly Ruthie Pink" would have the prettiest effect on her surprise Singer Featherweight 222K.  She still has no idea.

So, in the meantime, Rick sends us teaser photos (thanks, Rick!) and we are getting very excited to give it to our daughter!  We thought you'd enjoy seeing these photos along the way, too...

Before Decals

With Decals

(We opted to have a couple of parts replaced with older, more decorative Featherweight 221 parts - a chrome handwheel and a scrolled faceplate.)

Rick does fabulous work and we are anxiously awaiting those final photographs.  I know this will probably pique your interest and you may want to inquire as to having your own machine painted, but let me forewarn you... a couple of these professional Featherweight painters are booked a year or more in advance (we waited as long, too).  Prices vary depending on the restoration process, paint color, and any extra parts required.

We will be posting more photos as the story develops surrounding this surprise gift!

UPDATE:  We gave Ruthie her Featherweight at the Singer Featherweight Maintenance Retreat at Missouri Star Quilt Company.  Click here to read all about it.