Say Hello to My New Elna Grasshopper!

Readers, this has been a good week for me sewing machine-wise and it's only Tuesday!

As you know, on Sunday, I picked up a lovely Singer 15-30 from 1910 at the Chelsea Flea Market.  Her new belt should be delivered later this week and I'm excited to start sewing with her. 

Today my Elna Grasshopper arrived.  I wasn't expecting her until tomorrow, so you can imagine how excited I was when I saw this message:



She arrived relatively well-boxed, with lots of bubble wrap and styrofoam so she didn't knock around too much in transit.





You probably already know that the Grasshopper's case converts to a sewing table (you can see how this looks with my first Elna Grasshopper here.)  I don't expect to ever use the table, but it's a clever feature nonetheless.  I believe this machine was originally designed in Spain during the Spanish Civil War and was meant to be carried into battle -- or did I dream that?  Somebody fact check please!





My machine is dated 5-51, i.e., May, 1951.  Impressive!

I oiled her liberally at all her oiling points.  All in all she's in good shape though, unlike my other Elna, she's missing her accessories box and the (often lost) speed reduction gear.  A complete machine is nice but as far as my actual sewing needs go, they're just that much more clutter. 



Best of all -- and this relates to the reason I sold the other one -- her longest stitch length is nice and long.  Not as long as the longest stitch on my vintage Singers perhaps, but long enough.  My other Grasshopper could only manage a very small stitch no matter what I did -- and I tried everything I knew of at the time -- so I never wanted to sew with it.  This Grasshopper stitches beautifully.







You can hear the motor and see her run on Instagram here and here.  (Do those links work if you're not an Instagram member?  Hope so.)

In other news, I've also been busy sewing, finishing up a shirt I started before vacation.  Love how it's turning out.



My patternmaking class starts tomorrow evening, so I'm very excited about that.  What shall I wear?

And that's it -- time to go play with my little Grasshopper.

Have a great day, everybody!

Mom's impressed.