Thursday, July 30, 2009

Headache-inducing machine woes

So, I called the shop that I brought my sewing machine to for service umpteen weeks ago to see if it's come in yet. Initially, they'd said a week. Then it was two. Today makes three weeks.

I called just as the repair guy came in. No, he didn't bring it. Apparently the Singer Merritt I have was a very limited run, with a number of unique parts. He's done the service, but it needs a new presser foot, and is having trouble tracking one down. I told them that I have a walking foot for it--I really don't "need" a new presser foot for it, because I don't use it for anything (now that I've found the walking foot). So the upshot is that if that's the case, I may have my machine back sooner than next year, just, you know, not today. *big sigh*

Ultimately, if the machine is going to be this hard to get parts for, I may work to save up for a new one, and have the Singer be my backup machine. In any case, I'm off to look up sewing machines in Consumer Reports.

But let me ask you, dear readers. What machine do you use? What do you like about it? What don't you like about it? What would you have done differently when buying, if anything? Any words of advice?

2 comments:

Bethany said...

Just happened to come across your blog via Quilter Blogs.. Wow. Didn't know some machines had unique parts that were hard to track down. Hope you get your machine back soon.

I don't think there are any "bad" machines out there. It just takes time to find one that you like in your price range. I'm one of the few people out there that don't care for Berninas but have fun checking out machines.

Advice:

Always know you can negotiate prices for your machine. Never pay full price or ask for extras if the dealer won't go down.

Used machines are wonderful.

Keep in mind your goals and plans so you don't end up with machine you've outgrown in a couple of years that you've spent a fortune on. Been there done that..LOL.

Look at machines during less busy times. Call ahead so that you don't get left behind as customers keep interupting. Argghh..

Make sure the dealer has at least one Man Chair. LOL.

Good luck!

Anonymous said...

I have two machines. An Elna Quilter's Dream (circa 2002 or so) and a circa WW2 Singer Featherweight. Honestly, I prefer the featherweight. It does two things. It sews a forward seam, and it can reverse. That's about it. Why do I love it? The seam is always PERFECT. I also like the feeling of sewing on a bit of history. I like to wonder who owned it before me. I also like that even though they are old, the parts are prolific and even replicated, they run forever, and there is lots of information out there on how to care for them. It also has the coolest old black hard case.