Blue White

In October I wrote about my new/old sewing machine purchase. I thought I had a very rare find because I could not find out much information about it with my internet research. 

Thankfully some blog readers came to my rescue.  
Angie emailed me to say she thought my machine looked a "Singer 15 clone". 
And Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting showed me a blog post about her new Victor which looks exactly like my White, except with fancier engraving and gold decals.
Using the search topic of Japanese or Singer 15 clone has provided a wealth of information, such as this posting on the Sew-Classic blog and this posting at Vintage Sewing Machines. Apparently these machines were mass produced (not at all rare!) in Japan after the war and then specific companies could put their own name brand/badge on them to sell to their customers. Check out this post over at Dragon Poodle Studio where you can see a wide variety of the clones in a range of colours that look exactly like my blue "White", but the brand names are "Royal", "Modern Age", "Remington", and "Elgin"... never heard of them!
I had two problems getting started with my Blue White:
1) When I plugged it in, the motor raced at top speed and it was sewing on it's own! Oh dear... I thought I might have a big repair bill on my hands right from the start.  But my trusty mechanic told me I had just reversed the plugs.  See the 'M' and the 'L' on the receptacle?
I had plugged the light into the machine, and the machine into the light, and it didn't like that! 

How much did he charge me for this assessment? 
Nothing!  That's a great guy that tells you the truth and teaches you something, when he could've milked the situation, charged me a bundle of stash cash for looking at the machine, and/or made up a story about what I "needed" to buy that was expensive and actually unnecessary. 
So home I went to try again with the plugs in their proper place.

2) Then I couldn't figure out how to thread the thing! 

This tension contraption was new to me and the instruction manual could have been written in Japanese for all I could understand. Again, internet research to the rescue. I found a Youtube video which showed me how to wind a bobbin and at about the 3 minute mark, it shows how to thread the machine.
Once I had conquered these two issues, I had to find the 1/4" seam, and then we were off to the races (or as my friend Cynthia says "Bob's your uncle"...whatever that means!)

I have successfully sewn my first blocks on my new/old  "Blue White" machine!  So fun to use and has a perfect stitch.
I am just loving these vintage machines!