Crafter Down

When my sewing machine bit the big one last weekend I experienced a moment of sheer panic. I had just bonded with the darn thing. I had figured out her quirks and learned to give the old girl what she really needs to perform at her best. AND, I was right in the middle, and I mean mid-stitch, of a huge project that was time sensative.  I'm starting a new job soon and I know that my days of endless free time (minus time spent job hunting) are going to disappear. So, I was determined to do as much production for my June craft fair as possible THAT DAY. I was just like that movie Black Hawk Down ...I was a Crafter Down (without anyone dying, of course).

My first thought was to take her to a repair shop. I had invested a lot of time getting to know this machine and I didn't want to throw that down the drain. I looked up the address of the closests repair shop, threw the machine in a giant bag and hauled it to the car. I drove like a mad woman to the shop and rushed to the front door ready to throw myself on the mercy of whomever was on the other side. Sadly, this was Sunday. I had forgot to check the store hours and the sign in the door said CLOSED.
"NOOOOOO!" I screamed at the door before realizing I was standing on a busy street actin' a fool.

I texted the one person I thought would know what to do. My good friend Amy who is my sewing idol. "How much did you pay for it? It might be more cost effective to buy a new one," she said.
She had a point and I wasn't sure why my brain had not come to this conclusion. I owned a basic Singer machine I bought on sale an JoAnns about three years ago. It cost me $120. The repairs would likely be at least that amount.

So, I made the rounds. I hit every store that carries sewing machine to do a thorough price comparison. This was an unexpected and unwanted expense and I wanted it to be as painless as possible. I finally found the deal I could afford at Walmart. They had their Singer Simple (pictured above) which was actually around $100 and something ...but it was mistakingly sitting in front of a sign that was much less. My thifty self took over and pointed out the mistake to the nearest Walmart Associate, ranting about false advertising. In the end, that machine came home with me for that reduced price.

Now, me and the new machine have bonded and I actually like her much better than that other hag who quit on me (don't tell her I said that). We finished a big stack of peasant blouses and tie-klaces for the Fremont Festival on June 16.

Now, I'm a Crafter Revitalized!