"New" Machines

Last week the number of sewing machines in my house doubled.

First up, my parents gave my DD a second-hand machine for her 12th birthday. It's an old one - a Brother 803 (in fact I'm sure it's the same model I had in sewing classes when I was 10) and it doesn't have a manual, but it's simple and easy to work out. DD is very excited to have a machine of her own and has set it up in her bedroom. This did necessitate furniture reallocations and shuffling, but hey, this is encouraging another sewer/sewist and I need help getting that stash down. :)

Then came another second-hand old machine. A Husqvarna 6440 which, according to the original warranty certificate, was bought in 1977. This was on Trade-me and I got it for $26. Apparently the main cam is broken. I've phoned the repair place that looked at the machine for the previous owner (that's the advantage of a small city - there are only a few places to check) and I can expect a bill of about $90 to fix it. Even if I don't get it fixed, it was worth it for the extra stitch cams and the feet and bobbins. And parts for my machine.

My own baby (below) is a Husqvarna 6330. I love my machine - it may be old but it sews like a dream and seems to handle anything ( well ok, buttonholes may not be that great but that's operator error, lol). My mother picked this gem up at an auction for $5 (!!) when my son was born and all it's ever cost me is a couple of cleans and one repair when the thread take-up lever broke. Other than that, a dream. Even if I won the $30million Lotto this weekend I'd still keep this machine - although it would probably be joined by a few more. ;-)

So, add that to my backup Singer that sits packed away waiting for an emergency and we now have 4 sewing machines in the house. And 2 overlockers. When we do finally get a sewing room there's certainly going to be enough to put in it!

On another note, my Ottobres have arrived, woohoo! I have to say I'm impressed by how quickly Ottobre gets the magazines away and how fast they can arrive on the other side of the world. Now lets hope all the world currencies stabilise so I can dream about a few more issues.....