“Sew” much for getting any work done…

I had a plan to get lots of work done today – admin, tax returns, y’know the important stuff. HOWEVER, my new sewing machine has just arrived! And we all know what that means – work goes right out of the window while I play around for hours with my new toy!

You may remember reading about my very rubbish day last week after four appliances in my home gave up and died all at once. I don’t mean that there was an electrical surge or anything – just that one-by-one they reached the end of their life. Planned obsolescence at it’s best. And you may remember that one of these was pretty essential for my working life (no, not the kettle this time!) – my sewing machine. I know I’ve had it for years, and my friends grandma had it for decades before that, but I wasn’t ready for it to go. Sure, it was clunky and temperamental, and the tension dial fell off once, so never really did its job after that… but it always worked and could sew through the bushiest tutu with ease. So it was a sad day when I realised that there was no way back for my trusty old Jones machine. Here’s a rather sad photo of it 🙁 :

So for the past week, I’ve had to make do with my straight-stitch-only Seamstress sewing machine. I suspect it’s even older than the Jones (based on the design, and the weight…) but it still works and I could plough on with my tutu orders and spend a little time looking around at new machines, reading reviews and finding the best prices.  On Friday last week, I stampeded all around the county looking for my ideal sewing companion, and I must have visited 15 stores, and phoned 20 more, (hubby was delighted that he didn’t come shopping with me) and by the time I was finished, I knew what I wanted – a Janome machine. I find it really hard to make decisions like this, especially when it comes to spending my hard-earned money on something – it has got to work well and be built to last – and the manufacturer’s warranty and store returns policy is just as important as the item itself for me. It actually came from the first shop I went to (isn’t that always the case?!) but I knew that I’d have to order it in, so I didn’t bother going back, instead I called them up, paid over the phone and waited for my machine to be delivered. And today, it arrived! Here’s my new friend:

So much for getting any work done… I’m off to play!

Related articles

• A day without tea – nightmare!
• My lovely sewing machine is in need of some TLC
• Inspiration Challenge for May – Vintage Sewing Machines