New Machine!

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I learned to sew on the same sewing machine I still use today - an Elna air electronic SU.  This is a workhorse little machine.  The thing weighs a ton, does a great straight stitch, and is as reliable as can be.  You will have to pry this machine out of my cold, dead hands.  It is, however, having one issue, which I'm told may be its death knell.  Yes, I nearly cried when I found that out.  The presser foot is air controlled, and apparently after they reach a certain age there is an internal gasket that can no longer be replaced. 

So I've been saving up for a new machine.  My Elna still works, and is great for apparel, so I wanted to get something new for the quilting.  My Elna has a small throat space, and isn't really designed for quilting, especially FMQ.  I also didn't want to spend a fortune (very easy to do on a high-end sewing machine, I'm discovering!) so I finally settled on this:





It's a Brother 1500.  All mechanical, straight-stitch only.  But has very good reviews, and was reasonably priced, so I'm going to give it a whirl and see how it goes.  According to the reviews, it does FMQ quite well, and straight line quilting as well, so I'm anxious to try and do a little more quilting of my own, rather than sending them all to the long-armer.  That gets expensive! 

So I'm excited for it to arrive, and get it set up in my sewing room.  Some reviews have said that it may take a bit to get the tension dialed in, but I'm anxious to see what it can do!

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