Compact sewing machine suggestion

Ah, I see. Must have been hilarious!

Karen Maslowski in Ohio

Kate Dicey wrote:
I ended up one afternoon with 3
blokes sitting in my room with no trousers on while I sewed bits back on
their breeks!

Which explains why my girls are always taking up with that type! LOL

Karen Maslowski in Ohio

small change wrote:

and the outdoors types are always so .....healthy...tanned...
muscular..fit...fun....g

Marcella Peek wrote:

I have heard several quilting teachers who travel love the Elna Lotus
machine. Lightweight and durable. I see that there are several up on
E-bay currently. Perhaps something like this and have it shipped to
your daughter?

marcella

I adored the one I bought for a friend: it's on my web site. Loved it
so much I have my OSMG looking for another for me to keep! Light as
the Featherweight, small as the Featherweight (has integral case, so
lighter and smaller than a boxed FW), stitch quality matches the FW's,
and with more stitches... It's nearly as cute, too! Can only be a winner.

--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

Karen Maslowski wrote:

Ah, I see. Must have been hilarious!

Karen Maslowski in Ohio

Kate Dicey wrote:
I ended up one afternoon with 3

blokes sitting in my room with no trousers on while I sewed bits back
on their breeks!


Yup... Sitting there, slurping my tea, gobbling my biscuits and fruit,
and telling hair raising tales of narrow escapes from narrow ledges and
huge waves, and leering horribly at all the girls who passed by my door...

Mmmm... Hairy legs with muscles...

--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

Karen Maslowski wrote:

Which explains why my girls are always taking up with that type! LOL

Karen Maslowski in Ohio

small change wrote:

and the outdoors types are always so .....healthy...tanned...
muscular..fit...fun....g



The thing with these guys is that when they threaten to sweep you off
your feet and carry you away, you *know* they are physically capable of
doing just that... But you never know where you'll land!

Mine swept me off my feet in Durham and landed me in Kent!

--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

Atom1 wrote:
I was able to wrap in a box very solidly packed my machine as checked
luggage. The drawback was I was not allowed to buy added insurance in case
of it's demise.

Yeah, but she already had two suitcases full that she was taking, and it
wasn't worth $80 to send it along and have her have to handle that much
at the other end of the airport by herself

Kate Dicey wrote:

Mmmm... Hairy legs with muscles...


Pant, pant, pant. LOL

Karen Maslowski in Ohio

Seems like it would be easier for her to look for a used one where she is
than you paying for one and postage there. I know most machine stores have
some trade-ins for sale.

On Tue, 01 Feb 2005 09:44:01 GMT, Melinda Meahan - take out TRASH to
reply wrote:

I am trying to figure out what kind of compact-sized sewing machine to
send my daughter at college and thought I would take suggestions here.
I doubt she is going to be doing a lot of sewing over there, but she
does split seams, rip pockets, and tear out hems a lot, and she might
sew a skirt or two if she really got desperate. The following issues
are pertinent:

* I am a single parent (she is paying for her own college education
herself, BTW), and the most I have ever spent on a sewing machine for
myself was about $300, so please don't suggest a $1000 machine, because
I'll never be able to afford it.
snip

* I live in California. She is in South Carolina. The postal charges
to there are pretty steep from what I have mailed her, so I don't want
to have to mail anything terribly heavy to her.

snip

Any ideas would be gratefully received.

Ask her to look at small cheap repair type sewing machines at a
Walmart local to her and then send her the money. IIRC the machines
I'm thinking of cost around 30 or 40 dollars in Virginia, but do let
her know it's not the tiny cheapie 10 dollar hand-held jobbie. No one
wants one of those things. Sure the machine will have plastic gears,
but it won't cost much and you won't have to ship it and wonder if it
gets across the country in one piece. Sewing machines often get
damaged in the mail. It won't take up much space and if she saves the
box it will be easy to pack it for the plane ride home at the end of
the school year and to take it with her to school next year.

Debra in VA

I know several people who have Gems and are really happy with them.
They are lightweight and sew well. I'm trying to decide if I can
convince DBF that I need a Gem as a take along machine.

Maureen

Melinda Meahan - take out TRASH to reply wrote:

I am trying to figure out what kind of compact-sized sewing machine to
send my daughter at college and thought I would take suggestions here. I
doubt she is going to be doing a lot of sewing over there, but she does
split seams, rip pockets, and tear out hems a lot, and she might sew a
skirt or two if she really got desperate. The following issues are
pertinent:

* I am a single parent (she is paying for her own college education
herself, BTW), and the most I have ever spent on a sewing machine for
myself was about $300, so please don't suggest a $1000 machine, because
I'll never be able to afford it.

* She was not interested in taking my Featherweight, which I would have
been willing to give up for her to take. (I don't think I can afford to
buy one just for her on my budget.)

* She also was not interested in taking her own sewing machine. I am
not sure if it's because it is too big, because she never really liked
it after we got it (although she liked it perfectly well before we got
it), because there's something wrong with it that she doesn't want to
tell me about, or because she is not happy that I didn't pass my lovely
70s or 80s era New Home (which I am *VERY* emotionally attached to) down
to her once I got my Singer 500A -- or maybe it's a combination of all
of the above.

* I live in California. She is in South Carolina. The postal charges
to there are pretty steep from what I have mailed her, so I don't want
to have to mail anything terribly heavy to her.

* It's got to be something noticeably smaller than a full-sized machine,
because she's living in a dorm room and doesn't have a lot of space.

* We have a Singer 99 here, but I suspect it's too heavy to ship (see
distance and shipping cost comments below).

* Ditto for a Singer 66 that my son never converted to a handcrank
model and I might be able to talk him out of, but I think that might be
a full-sized machine anyway.

* I also have a Singer 301, but not only am I moderately attached to it,
but I think it's bigger than the 99 in size by the time you include its
carrying case, so I'm not sure if she would want that or not, but then
again, if there is a soft-sided case somewhere that would fit it, I
could probably afford to buy one for her off of Ebay or somewhere
similar (sew-rite.com?).

* I am pretty sure a Singer 400 or 500 series machine is out due to size.

* I also have a Singer 185K in a nice hard plastic case that may or may
not weigh less than the 99, but I haven't ever compared their weights. I
rescued it from a thrift store and it runs perfectly except that it
needs a new belt, which a local sewing machine store can provide. I
have no emotional attachment to this machine, so apart from possible
weight issues it is a good candidate.

* I see Singer Genies -- those "flower power" machines from the 70s or
80s or so -- on Ebay off and on, and I could try to convince a seller to
pack it well and send it directly to her instead of to me, and the price
would be right.

* I could also save my money for a few months and get her a Janome Gem
($249 USD new or I also see them occasionally on Ebay) and have it sent
directly to her.

* I've been off the beaten path on older machines -- if anybody could
point me to a list of which Singers were more compact in size, that
might help me select one from Ebay or somewhere.

* I really would like to send her a machine that has ZZ on it without
needing an attachment, but that's not a 100% requirement, just a strong
hope.

Any ideas would be gratefully received.