It seems very likely that I’m going to have the “pleasure” of looking for a new sewing machine pretty soon here. I suppose it isn’t before time. I’ve had my current one for 28 years, and I sew quite a lot. Costumes, clothing, curtains, quilts – if it is created with fabric and needle and thread it’s likely I’ve at least tried it. What I’ve done the most of that on is the Kenmore my parents got for me when I graduated. It was top of the line for its time, and once we got past its general lemon tendencies and got it adjusted properly it’s done reasonably well for me.
Not that I didn’t consider others along the way, especially as different capabilities were developed. The problem was that I’d actually seen and sewn on the Rolls Royce of sewing machines. My mom had gotten a Bernina when I was about 10, taking me along and showing me how to choose a sewing machine in the process, lessons I’ve never forgotten. If I was going to spend the money for a current-model machine, I wanted a Bernina of my own, and I could never quite afford that. I still want one, and I still can’t afford it, though now that owes more to the exchange rate and balance of trade. Something about a price tag in excess of what I’ve paid for some of my cars along the way sort of makes that seem a bit less than reasonable. Even the used ones are out of range for the most part, and that’s if you can even find them. Like my mother, people who own those machines love them and keep them forever. So although I know what I would like, I still get to go shopping.
The problem is that my old Kenmore may have finally bitten the dust for good and all. That gremlin it acquired seems likely to be more serious than I’d thought. I took it in to a repairman I’d found, to be told that either it’s a very simple fix in the form of a stuck foot control, or else it’s the electronic needle position control and essentially unrepairable because Sears no longer makes the part and there is no aftermarket. Given what I’d noted in its function over the past year or so, he and I both suspect strongly that it will prove to be the electronic control. In theory the machine is still under warranty for another couple of years. But Sears isn’t good about honoring those, it turns out. Last time I tried to get service that way, they said I couldn’t because I wasn’t listed in their computer database. Huh? What part of “no buyer database in existence when purchased” isn’t computing? But really, while that is aggravation enough that I stopped shopping there long ago, it’s kind of moot anyway. They no longer make the part. The only thing they could do now is give me credit toward a new Kenmore machine, and I don’t want one, as the current crop aren’t worth the plastic they’re printed on. It’s not worth fighting about, pure and simple.
So I get to go shopping. If a Bernina remains out of my reach, at least an Elna or Pfaff or Viking isn’t now. I have my little back up machine, which removes the sense of urgency this project would otherwise have. It would drive me crazy if I had to use it as my primary forever, but does nicely for basic stuff and certainly will do until I find one I really like. (Best 35 bucks I’ve spent in a long time, that baby machine…..) Mom and I would never have gone to Sears in the first place, had we known what we learned over the course of the next several years. But that’s how one learns such things, by unfortunate experience, and having learnt the lesson I’m doing my homework so I don’t have to try to learn it again about another manufacturer. And Sears and their worthless warranty? They can go chase their own tail.
I got a Husqvarna Viking for Chanukah in 2006. I like it a lot, but don’t use it enough to tell you if you would like it. One note of warning… They say that you can trade it in within the first year for an upgrade, applying your sales price to the new one. When the embroidery version went on sale, I decided to upgrade. So I went to the store that sold the machine to me and asked what my final price would be on the new machine. The salesperson (the same one who sold me the machine) said, “well, you’ve had your machine for six months now, so we depreciate it to half of your purchase price and apply that amount to the new machine”. Silly me. I thought that when they said that they apply “the sales price” to the new machine for the first year, that meant the entire sales price. I did not get the embroidery machine, which is just as well, as I don’t know that I would have used that feature that much, anyway.
I hope all is well with you and J. and W.
Take care.
Love,
Kerry
I just check with mom and she has no extras. When grandma move in they had 4-5, But since grandma passed and mom moved….
Thank you for the thought!
Joan is also shopping for a new machine, as the tensioning mechanism on hers has permanently relaxed. You might compare notes.
I’ll do that. Many things are the better for relaxing, but sewing machine tension is not among them.
Kerry, thank you; I’m going to be looking at the H-V machines either tomorrow or Monday.
This is why I don’t tend to buy stuff from Sears if I can help it.
You don’t want to hear our Hunt For The Freezer Gasket story, you really don’t.