I bought a new sewing machine! Her name is Gertrude!

 

My ADHD won out. I have a new project... I bought a sewing machine! I will probably end up posting the learning process.

Meet Gertrude!

I’ve been growing restless lately and trying to buy less and buy second hand. I keep buying yarn, which is fantastic, but my primary store likes to sell bundles of used yarn. This is fantastic and all but then I end up with tons of colors I don’t like or virtually unusable quantities of colors I would actually want to use. I’m sure some of my brain itch and restlessness comes from a general sense of stagnation in life and frustration with well [flapping arms madly] life, the universe, and everything. That said, I’m trying to lean into productive crafts that consume items around the house so I can justify bringing something else home, feel maybe a sense of accomplishment-at least more than I would after playing an idle clicker for several hours, and really just take my mind off of everything.

Which brings me back to the scrap thrifted yarn issue. I decided to use some of my least favorite colors to practice knitting and reading patterns from the 1940s and 1950s and knit items like dish rags. I can’t decide if I will move on to vintage styled creepy toys, modern fashion, or alternative fashion once I feel more confident with my skills. I will definitely go through the books my MIL got me and make whatever styles I might want to wear from there. Or... I can always find donation centers who might want homemade items that pass the limb hole QC test. I can't show you that corner because it looks quite shameful. You may see some thrift or laundry items make an appearance in pictures though, apologies!

That all sounded fine and dandy in my mind. That is, until I went to a second thrift store that had not one but two sewing machines. I ended up walking out $39 minutes lighter and about 50 lbs heavier. I have so many questions though! Like, what make/model is it? How do I operate it? I don’t even know how to sew!

 

Gertrude at home in her sewing table. 

 

I bought some replacement needles, bobbins, and per-threaded white and black bobbins, and some replacement needles. I hope the empty bobbins I bought work, they’re metal though. The plastic bobbins were just... Affordable. I want/need to buy thread but I figured buying the pre-filled ones would prevent me from spiraling down a (more) unnecessary shopping spree.

 

Gertrude being salacious without her bobbin cover. 

 

Anyway, It’s a Kenmore Model 15, Part # 158.151 and was made in 1966. That’s all I know about it so far. I was able to dig up a user manual though. It’s about 36 pages and will challenge both my attention span and my reading comprehension. So far it looks like I will need a bobbin cover. There is a gaping hole between the needle plate and the cabinet itself. I’ll be back once parts arrive and I’ve made some progress. Bye!

 

So long, Gertrude, until next time!