Say 'Hello!' to my new friend Elly! - Elna Supermatic

A couple of weeks ago, I was reading BareThread's blog about being a Sewing Machine hoarder. I was so fascinated at the way she was explaining she came into a few of her machines. I see on the blogs quite a bit how people find vintage machines in thrift stores and estate sales and I'm always so.... confused (?) because I have never not once seen a sewing machine in thrift stores around my way. And I usually search through estate sales and have never found anything sewing related. She reassured me by saying that the path to discovery isn't usually disclosed and these things happen over time.... a long time lol and lots of rummaging.

So the day I read her blog, I decided to hit Craigslist to see what was really what. Lo and behold! I come across an ad selling an Elna Supermatic with accessories and original instruction manual included! *Wahhhhhh*!

I wish I could find the post that I saw maybe a month or two ago by another blogger showing off her vintage Elna. I didn't even know that "Elna" existed before her post. My eyes lit up at her case-to-table transformation! I thought it was SO COOL. I can't believe that I have one now!

Meet Elly!

My Singer is finally in tune!

You see what I did there? lol

YES! I FINALLY took my vintage Singer to the shop to get it cleaned and tuned up and now it is ready!

To be honest, when it was given to me, I didn't even really explore what was in the box. Not the original box. The box full of dust and cobwebs that was reused to house the sewing machine and it's bits and pieces. I never even plugged it in to see if it works because of all of the dust. I'm a little bougie lol I decided when I found a shop to take it to, they would deal with all of that lol.

Anway, this Singer 5528 was gifted to me by my mother. It has 6 different stitches and 4 more for creating buttonholes. All metal everything, this joint ways like fifty-eleven pounds forreal.

Two for the price of ... NONE

So let me tell you a little something about God:

If you ask, he'll give it to you.

A few months ago, (few = 7+ lol) when I first starting seeing the serious change in how my clothes were fitting, I already knew that I wasn't going to take the amount of things I had to the cleaners to get them taken in. I figured I could just do it myself.

I mean... why not? I already knew how to sew with basic needle and thread. But in all seriousness, who has time to just sit with NEEDLE and THREAD and hem more than one or two items of clothing??

*cue Sweet Brown*

I wanted a sewing machine. And a good one. After watching a zillion youtube DIY tutorials and reading plenty of inspo blogs, I want to take on the world.. one stitch at a time.

Anyway, I went looking online for what people would consider quality sewing machines and the two brands that kept reappearing were BROTHER and SINGER. Both looked amazing and had plenty of different models with the capabilities that I was looking for.  But of course when you look for quality, the quantity of the change you have to put up, GOES up.

So I let it go.  I had a little chat with the Lord and was just like,

"I really want a sewing machine"

and I left it there.

A month or two later, I'm just shooting the breeze with my mother and I'm like,

"I really want a sewing machine."

And she's all like,

"I have a sewing machine. You want it?"

*FLAG ON THE PLAY*

MA'AM.. you mean to tell me all these years we've been TALKING about sewing and not ACTUALLY sewing, you've HAD a sewing machine?!

*woosa*

So deep deep down in the basement closet, behind OLD Holiday decorations and behind boxes of fine china used many moons ago is a box with a completely unused SINGER 5528 sewing machine! Well, amen to that!

Perfectly content with my new discovery, I go on with life.

BUT WAIT. When God blesses, it's never ordinary. You should always expect EXTRAordinary.

A month later, I'm at the church and this wonderful woman comes to me and says

"I heard you were looking for a sewing machine.  I have one completely unused. Do you want it?"

Uhh.. YES

And wouldn't you know.  It's a computerized BROTHER brand sewing machine!

WON'T HE DO IT!

So I never had to choose. And I didn't have to spend a dime either.

I got two for the price of NONE.

I'll show you them: