alforddm":3rtbhu37 said:
My 14 yeast old daughter came to me the other day and said "Mom remember those dresses toy used to make me when I was a little girl? Can you make me one? "
The perfect dress, and nicely done! I bet it's as comfortable as it is pretty!
I've had dresses like that for myself as an adult, they are so comfortable.
alforddm":3rtbhu37 said:
MissM, how did the berninas turn out?
Well, the saga continued on the newer white one.
Apparently, when I got off the phone with my aunt, she told my uncle about it. He, having known me since I was born, told her, "She's not going to let it go."
He was right. I tried to just take what my aunt said, but I just couldn't feel right about it until I talked to her sister. We went back to the sale the next day, the last day of the sale, figuring she probably would be there. I managed to get her attention when she wasn't crazy busy, and told her what had happened the previous day, when I bought that machine for $30. I told her I couldn't offer her more, but that if she wanted, I would get the machine back to her so she could get a better price.
She was so glad I had come back -- her dad hadn't told her I was the one who bought it. She had worried all night. Apparently, her husband was the one good egg in a family of weirdos. They had been all over her about how much she was getting for things, and the disposition of his estate. It's not like they were rich or something! My aunt told me more later. They were a bunch of vultures fighting over an estate that wasn't even theirs to fight over, and wasn't even worth much. And the weirdness went much further than that... she was so stressed out. I felt so sorry for her.
She asked me how much it was worth, and I told her that machines in similar condition (but with more accessories) went for $550 - 750 on eBay. She thought that I had bought it planning to resell, but I told her no, Galadriel and I wanted to keep it to use. She told me to give her a couple of days to finish closing out the warehouse bit, hold onto the accessories box I'd found, and she'd get back to me about the machine.
So I waited. I kept calm and figured that if my part in this whole thing was to prevent a family feud, then that was it.
After two weeks, I sent her a text, and didn't hear back. My beloved Shay wondered if she was just quietly waiting herself, to see whether any of her late husband's family would remember the Bernina. I called my aunt again, and she said the same thing. So I continued to wait. After a month, I decided it would be a bit tacky for them to decide they wanted it back, so I pulled the manual out to clean the machine and learn how to use it. Problem was, at some point during its life, orange soda had been spilled into the pocket it was kept in, firmly gluing most of the pages together. I tried all sorts of things to separate the pages, finally resorting to using an X-Acto knife to cut them apart. Even that didn't work. Even the knife couldn't go between the pages, instead invariably ending up cutting holes in the pages.
Because the machine is still sold by Bernina, they don't make the manual available on the website for download. A new one costs over $30 with shipping, so I continued to wait... partly because I had to wait until I had the money, and partly because I was still wondering if I'd get a call asking for the machine back. I think I know her well enough, though, that if the family had pulled that this far out, she'd have told them no.
I finally have the money, so I'll be ordering the manual shortly.
Someone sells CDs of the manual on eBay for $10, but I'm guessing it's not with Bernina's permission.
As for the older green Bernina, I had to wait until I had money for parts (although I could clean it, I just have been extremely busy). Meanwhile, I checked in with the Goodwill now and then to see if they had discovered a pile of sewing machine accessories with no machine. Their stock room was stuffed to the gills when I bought the machine and for a while after, so I still held out hope. This past week, I checked one last time, though. Nope, no accessories. So I'll start ordering parts, now that I have funds.
I should be sewing soon!
The_Dutchess":3rtbhu37 said:
My mom is teaching me to sew. She is making an easter dress for me right now. (family tradition) we all dress in matching suits and dresses for church on easter.
That is so neat! What a wonderful tradition!
alforddm":3rtbhu37 said:
Heritage, I drafted this using a duct tape form. You can Google it.
I made one last year, for taking pictures to sell some of my grandmother's really nice clothes. I used my mom for it, and wrapped her tightly, because I actually needed a slightly smaller size. She was glad to be cut out of it. :lol:
