Wednesday, October 4, 2017

New member of the Herd

     Don't ask me how many sewing machines I have, I won't tell you. I don't ask my husband how many pairs of sneakers he has, and he doesn't ask machines. However, I do not own a free arm machine. Sometimes, I need to sew a pocket on a tote bag (already made) or some repair and it is difficult to do it on any of my vintage ones. 
     I certainly was not buying a new one- already made that mistake about 7 years ago with the $2000 Pfaff. So, I consulted a few machine people I could trust, and started looking. Andrea sent me a bunch of ideas and I started pursuing a Bernina 830. I found a very fine one on ebay, and the seller is a sewing machine store who knew how to pack a machine. They were super terrific. It came unscathed and I could just stare and drool at the innards- metal, machined, not chintzy, and it worked. It came with all the feet (except walking foot), manual, case, etc. I immediately made a tote bag and it sewed like a dream. I am in love with it.


Some kind of foam that conformed to the case, sides and bottom





Just gorgeous and runs so great!

6 comments:

Sarah said...

Congrats on the Bernina!!! I love my 430. I take mine to a mennonite family in Penn Yan for service since they will make appointments, unlike the more local stores who will finish in a week or 3. They are prob a tad too far for you but let me know if you want contact info.

Missy Shay said...

Congratulations on your new machine!

Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson said...

I used to have one of those and you are right, it sews like a dream. The biggest problem they encounter as they age is that the cam stack deteriorates and then you can't choose some of the stitches however it will still straight stitch. The other failure is the foot control on some of them but it can be replaced for a price. I hope yours won't encounter any of these problems and will last a long time. I always loved how the top opens up so you can oil any metal parts that move.

Debbie said...

Nice addition to your vintage herd! Love how the case folds. Enjoy it!

The Joyful Quilter said...

My friend has one of those. Enjoy your new addition to the herd!!

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

Nice! I don't have a Bernina in my herd. I do have several free arm machines.