Readers, behold my latest vintage sewing machine, an Elna Supermatic I purchased on eBay!
Take a good look, because it's going back to the seller next week. Long story short, it's a dud, nothing like the machine described in the original listing. If you're interested, here's the video of the machine supplied by the seller:
Here's what my machine sounded like:
Trust me that this was not simply an oiling issue; there were other problems with the machine as well (due to poor packaging most likely).
To make matters worse, the seller never responded to my inquiries. I reported the seller to eBay, eBay decided in my favor, and in a few days I will receive a pre-paid shipping label so I can return the machine. If the seller doesn't reimburse me for the full cost, eBay will cover it. I wish I could say this is the first time I've had trouble with vintage sewing machines on eBay, but it isn't. I've had a lot of good luck too, of course, but I'm thinking from now on I'll limit myself to flea markets and Craigslist, where I can test my machine before purchasing it and don't have to worry about sub-par packaging and expensive shipping.
In other, happier news, I've started Zack's dress shirt. I'm making it out of a beautiful cotton paisley with the olive and salmon pinks Michael, Christina, and I agreed were his most flattering colors. So far it's coming together beautifully.
The only challenge has been matching the pattern across the two front pieces (taking into account the the left piece will lap over the right), and figuring out how best to cut the yoke: in the end, I opted to cut it perpendicular to the selvage, not that anyone's going to notice -- there's so much going on in this fabric.
I hope to finish the shirt tomorrow and to give it to Zack on Monday. Lots more work ahead but I'm really enjoying the process and find I'm working more calmly than usual.
Hope your sewing projects are going well.
Have a great day, everybody!
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| Saw this old Singer industrial at the flea market this morning. |
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