Anker RZ Deluxe

It's hard to believe that it's been well over a month but on a day that seems just before yesterday, I had a small one-day vacation in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho with my friend Janet Szabo from Kalispell.  It was a great day.

I drove to Spokane Valley (a suburb just east of the city of Spokane) and met her in the morning of July 8th.  We decided to do our sewing machine exchange then and so I received an Anker that Janet picked up for me in Post Falls (I had been watching it on CL) and I produced the promised Singer 31-20 industrial that I had been saving for her.

One of the reasons I have been slow to blog about this July 8 trip and this particular machine is that I wanted to get it really clean prior to taking pictures.  It's kind of a mess: missing parts (slide plate and needle clamp screw -- haven't found replacements yet), paint loss, and a shellac-like glaze over the machine that has hardened to a ceramic-like shell.  I have tried several methods of removal short of alcohol and I haven't been able to soften it.  I have yet to try Gojo and that is next.  If that doesn't work, I may try rubbing alcohol on a small portion of the underside to see what happens.  If the shellac dissolves and the paint remains intact, I'm in business.

Cool machine, isn't it?  It's the higher end version of the green Anker RZ I already own, the RZ Matic.  This machine has an automatic buttonhole function as well as a cam drive under the cover that raises like a car's hood.  They don't build them like this anymore: this machine is a total tank and once I found a belt that works (13" - 15" stretch belt) and plugged it in with a borrowed power cord, it ran like a thoroughbred.

It runs so well in fact that it would be a prime candidate for permanent zig-zag in my future stable, ready to sew at a moment's notice.  I might consider repainting it just because of all the dings and it would look great in a high gloss black, don't you think?  Some would be horrified that I would get rid of the beautiful green (and truth be told, it's really not in such bad shape) but there are so many of these out there that I think one repaint might actually be preferred.  I'd have to try to reproduce the painted labels, though; the machine doesn't have decals and I'm not sure how I would deal with that.

Back in Spokane Valley, Janet then drove me (in her fabulous BMW 3-Series wagon) to Idaho where we parked, walked to the lake and around town.  It's a beautiful place, very well-maintained, and people were friendly everywhere we went.  We had a nice, long lunch where we caught up, discussed deck architecture, sewing machine architecture, friends, family, and a whole lot else.  She's a great listener and talker.

After some delicious ice cream, we then hit some thrift stores and I scored several good menswear patterns I didn't have, we looked at sewing machines(!), and other odds and ends, and just enjoyed walking and driving around town.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Here is a machine we spotted and after a few minutes' hesitation, I decided to snag it, an Elna 62C in very good shape in a cabinet.  The store reduced the price further because I didn't want the cabinet, so $19.99 managed to get me yet another of these great free arm machines.  If you've never sewn with one, I highly, highly recommend them.  Attachments were included.

We then made the trip back to Spokane Valley, said goodbye, and went our separate ways.  A day trip like this one was just what I needed.  Hot temperatures by a cool lake and with a cool person.  Janet, thanks again for picking up this machine for me and spending a day giving me a tour of a town I haven't seen since I was much younger.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to our next adventure!