One Day Later

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I thought I would make an attempt at fixing my sewing machine today. Whilst scrolling for a service instruction manual, I came across an advert for the same model on Ebay two years ago; it raised £16, so whilst it is clearly old, it is not an antique. I also never found a manual on the basis that it was too old to even feature amongst Janome/New Home's retired machines. I concluded, therefore, that I had nothing to lose by opening it up regardless.

Married to an engineer, one may of course wonder why I didn't use my powers of persuasion to involve him. The truth  is his reputation precedes him following an incident quarter of a century ago when, in an effort to dismantle a video recorder to remove a stuck tape, he ended up taking a hammer to the whole thing.

My aim this morning was to free a wedged stitch-length dial and see if there was anything that might feasibly resolve an inoperable reverse-stitch lever. I have to say that whilst I ended up very impressed by the build quality of the machine,  not to mention the number of hidden release mechanisms, there was no way I was ever going to work my way to the site of the issue without calling for Mister E and that hammer..

Life's too short as they say and I do think a lady deserves at least two sewing machines in her life, so I decided to take the plunge and order one. Now I did say yesterday that when I had taken a peep online, they appeared to be selling like hot cakes. This morning, the one I had my eye on was out of stock but I spotted a somewhat solid no nonsense machine on the Singer site instead, although there was also an all singing and dancing electronic appliance at a reduced price and with good reviews.

I thought I'd have coffee, mull it over with Mister E and then place the order. Returning to my computer, 20 minutes later, the crowds had got in before me and the heavy duty, no frills machine (Mister E was vainly hoping it might sew canvas for the retirement project) had also sold out! The easiest decisions are always those you don't have to make.

Anyway quarter of an hour after placing the order for the more exciting machine, the telephone rang. No telesales today, the world really is back in normal mode, as I picked up the phone to what was clearly a scam call when a pre-recorded message told me that 15 minutes previously my credit card had been used to make a foreign transaction in the sum of £600 and I should press 1 for more information. Of course, I knew that wasn't my payment to Singer (wrong amount and it is based in the UK) but just for a moment my heart missed a beat until logic took over again. Coincidence, but it couldn't have been more badly timed.

Onwards and upwards, I take delivery tomorrow.


Comments

Treaders said…
Ew those calls do make you doubt yourself sometimes don't they. And I've started getting them again now since lockdown was lifted on Monday. What a pain in the butt they are!
15 May 2020 at 15:58
Caree Risover said…
Couldn’t agree more and hardly surprising that so many people end up falling for them
15 May 2020 at 16:34
Bob Lowry said…
"Free a wedge-stitch dial and a reverse stitch lever"...gee, if you knew all that I bet you could have put it back in working order in no time! I don't sew but I am impressed by people who do (and know the names or the parts!).
15 May 2020 at 23:57
Caree Risover said…
On reflection, I think I’d have impressed myself if I’d fixed either! However, I was forced to conclude that, a little like the modern car engine, these things were not designed for mere mortals to fiddle with.
16 May 2020 at 07:47
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