craftgrrl | Slight sewing machine problem/Sampler contribution

My Gram is letting me borrow her sewing machine that is older than dirt (old as in my step-dad was telling me how he remembers it from when he was little), but she had it refurbished not too long ago. It's threaded properly, no problems with the bobbin catching and so on. ~~But, everytime I go to sew, the thread come out of the needle. I checked the memories and only found stuff for bobbin and/or tension problems. Does anyone know what could possibly be wrong?~~ Problem solved, thanks everyone for your comments! Turns out I just need to pull a lot more thread through the needle, and hold it for the first few stitches. It's such a beautiful machine and heavy as hell:

And so this isn't a question only entry.....here's my contribution to the June/July Sampler.

Scrabble letter pins / Pins made from a vintage ribbon I found in my Gram's sewing box, this stuff is probably twice as old as I am / Miscellaneous hand-sewn pins