Welcoming a New Addition! :)

Well, new to me, anyway. If we're counting such things, he's actually got a few years on me!

Some of you may remember "Peggy" from my "Where I Sew" post. Good ol' Peg. She was my very first sewing machine, a 1969 Singer that belonged to my grandma. When I moved to New York for grad school, my father (over) oiled it and my mother optimistically sent it across the country with me. Peggy sat in the front closet of my apartment for four years before I decided to start sewing this past January.

Peggy, in all her glory.

I can't really complain about her performance. I could never get the stitching to be quite straight, but it's very possible that owes more to my complete lack of understanding of tension rather than anything Peggy did wrong. She started slow and it took a bit of a special touch on the foot pedal to get her going, but like learning to drive a stick shift, you eventually get the feel for it. And though the bobbin didn't hold much thread, I liked that you didn't have to unthread and re-thread the machine in order to refill it.

But the past March when I was home, my mother, so excited by my re-entrance into the sewing world, took it upon herself to see what better machines might be available on Craigslist. Through pure luck, she found a Bernina Record 930 for sale, identical to hers and the one on which I learned to sew, except in even better condition. After she took me to the airport (I was home on Spring Break when this took place), she went to check out the machine and bought it for me (I have probably the best mother ever)!!!

 It came with all of this neat stuff too! (Terribly lit picture, so I put a fancy filter on it. That's what all the cool kids are doing, right? If you use an Instagram filter, it's not crap, it's art! Magic!)

Unfortunately, from the fact that I'm announcing this now and she bought it in March, you can tell that I was separated from my new toy for quite some time. Sewing machines are not all that portable in the best of circumstances, and all of this sturdy Swiss mechanical goodness weighs, by my estimate, a solid half ton. Shipping wasn't an option, so I just had to wait until I drove back to Nebraska again, which wasn't until July. It traveled back to New York with me (via a stop in Michigan, where it sewed a very quick beach blanket) and it is now happily set up on my dining room table.

It sews so beautifully, you guys. It is AMAZING how much difference it makes to sew with this machine vs. Peggy. It just feels different--it so smooth and you can tell that all the things inside the machine are moving just as they are supposed to. It's also really easy to thread compared to Peggy, which I appreciate. Even though it is 30 years old, I can tell that it's a machine that is going to be with me for a very, very long time. It is magnificent!

Bingley inspected and approved.

So thanks to my dear mother, I am sewing on something that I could have only dreamed about for many more years. It was a truly generous gift, and I am already enjoying it so much! I guess I should probably sew her something for Christmas, eh? :)

And we shouldn't feel too badly for Peggy in all of this either. Peggy went back to Nebraska with me, and then she took a trip to Kansas, where she now resides with my sister-in-law (recipient of this table runner) who is hoping to learn how to sew as well. So Peggy continues her role as a great starter machine!

All that's left now is naming the machine (and a walking foot--I really need one!) I've already figured out that this one is a boy. I want something Swiss-sounding, but I don't know what sounds Swiss besides "Roger" and "Stanislas" (tennis players) :) and I don't like either of those names. I know there is some German influence in Switzerland, so I'm picking a German name (I hope this doesn't make me sound totally "ugly American"!) Whether it's very "Swiss" or not, German names are pretty badass, and so is this machine, so it works.

Here are the leading contenders:

--Dieter
--Tobias (Fünke) ;)
--Gunter
--Hans
--Jürgen
--Torsten

It is important that it be just right, you know. :) Thoughts?

Update 3/18/13: This machine has officially been christened "Tobias" and I've since purchased a walking foot. We're all very happy together. ;)

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