Letting Go

Last night I went downstairs to sew after I finished work. I finished cutting my latest pattern, Butterick B5781, last week, so I was excited to start sewing.

I got through some stay stitching and was putting the bodice back together when the machine got stuck. The needle is in the locked down position and the bobbin assembly won't turn.

I took the whole business apart and examined the belt and the inner workings. Everything looks fine. I took out the bobbin and cleared the fuzzies out of the bobbin case. I put the whole thing back together. Still no dice.

I'm a little frustrated. I was so excited when I got my machine repaired in late September (my handy dandy ticket tells me I picked it up on Oct. 1.) I spent nearly $100 getting it repaired then and afterward it worked wonderfully. Three months later? Not so much.

At the time I had a major dilemma -- fix the machine or put that money toward a new machine? It's the same dilemma I'm having now.

Should I start visiting dealers and squirreling away cash for something new? I had been lazily saving for a basic serger, but it looks now like that might be a bit farther off.

One thing's for sure, I can't drop $100 on my beloved 338 every three months. That's just insane.

Repair it once more and hope for the best?

I'm not leaning toward that option.

I suppose the best idea is to start visiting various machine dealers and saving my pennies and looking for sales. Buying a sewing machine seems like one of those things, like buying a car, that's best done in person.

The thing is, I'm just so sad about it the whole thing. I finally got my old bookcase from my parents' house and got the whole room set up nicely. I got a dressform for Christmas and a padding set and I spent an entire afternoon measuring and padding and measuring. I should be ready to sew!

Letting go isn't easy, but I think it's what I have to do.

What do you think?