I need to introduce the newest member of my sewing machine family. It’s not a large family….but this one was a steal.

Next door to my studio is a used furniture store. Lisa Chastain buys “whole houses,” which means she buys everything in the house in one big purchase. She brings all of it to her shop and sells the pieces individually.  She has been in the auction business for a long time and knows a lot of people. I walked into her shop one day and this little Janome Harmony was sitting in a chair. I asked her about it and it turned out to be part of a whole house of stuff she bought. I asked her what she wanted for it. It was a ridiculously low price and the machine was in mint condition, so I brought it over to my place to plug it in and stitch. It’s a wonderful little machine that has been little used. I have always liked Janomes and had friends that had them and we sewed together on them. They are a decent machine and don’t cost quite what some others do. It’s got some embroidery stitches on it that my Bernina doesn’t have. But I really did STEAL this baby….

Another sewing machine. One would think that I am “collecting” them. Perhaps I am!

The 401A is a sturdy little machine with numerous embroidery stitches BUILT IN! No cogs to change, just change the settings…this machine is not for me. When we went to the sewing machine repair guy’s place, he had lots of used machines for sale. This is a present for someone. Shhhhh….she doesn’t know it yet, but will soon.

I’m thinking about sprucing up the case by spray painting it sea foam green. What do you think?

A couple of Saturdays ago, I made a trip to take my Singer 99k, purchased for (ahem) $1 at a yard sale a few years ago, to get a checkup and cleaning. I had to drive just under an hour because there is no one around here who does this kind of work anymore, which is sad.

Anyway, here is my Singer 99k. It sews great. This one doesn’t have the hand crank to make it work without electricity, but I found a place online that has created a hand crank to add to it if you want to use it without electricity. Not sure I will do that, but it does look kind of cool.

Isn’t’ it pur-ty? I am going to use some car wax on it and really shine it up. The repair guy says he doesn’t see the 99k hardly ever. It’s pretty much a workhorse machine, according to sources I read. So now she is working at her finest.

I took this photo of the sign the repair guy uses. I like this sign.

Pretty cool, huh?

We also visited some greenhouses ran by Amish families in that neighborhood.