2 new additions

Not much sewing has been going on (although I do have 2 finishes to share later) so instead, I've been adding to my sewing machine family.

I've been trolling Ebay for quite a while now looking at overlockers and old Elnas. I thought a second back-up overlocker would be a good idea and I could also keep it threaded with, say, white. I bid on a couple but they went for more than I wanted to pay. Then I found Gumtree. Oh my. So, I finally got myself another overlocker. It's a Janome 534D which is the model down from my current overlocker. I wanted an older one as I feel they are more solid than the current plastic ones even though they look pretty similar.

Anyway, I got her home and she was completely seized up! Needles wouldn't move AT ALL. No wonder as the woman said she hadn't used it for 8 years!! So I oiled her and left her to sit for a couple of hours and finally got some movement in there. Unfortunately, though the presser foot lifter didn't work either so she definitely needed a service. Here is how she looks now. All cleaned up and beautiful. She sews like a dream. But I am now the proud owner of 12 spools of white overlocker thread!



My next addition is an Elna Lotus. Looking at Ebay, I never thought I'd be able to afford one of these. They go for around $400! This one I found on Gumtree as well (note to self - stop looking there!). The guy told me that it worked. Well I discovered that one person's definition of working is not the same as mine. Yes, the needle went up and down but it wasn't threaded when I saw it and I didn't take any thread with me. Anyway, I bought it regardless. This is what I found when I opened the bottom section for a bit of a clean.



Egads! She's all clean now thank goodness but the bobbin tension is out somehow so it looks like a service for her. Mind you, the bobbins that came with it are not the right ones for this machine. I have no idea how they managed to wind them as they don't even fit on the bobbin winder!! Luckily, I still have my original Elna which uses the same bobbins so I now have a couple.


She has a bit of a rust mark on the front but that's purely cosmetic. Husband tells me it's just wear.



She looks OK all open though with just a few places where the paint has worn a bit. But, after all, she must be around 40 years old and we all get a bit worn by that age!



Unfortunately, the only accessory from the top tray I have is the teeny tiny screwdriver.


This is the bag of bits I got with her. Note the plastic bobbin!