Meet Bertha – my clunky, temperamental, utterly beloved sewing machine. She’s older than some of my readers, makes a noise like a dying lawnmower when threading the bobbin, and occasionally eats fabric for fun.
People keep telling me to upgrade to something newer, shinier, with more computerized bells and whistles. But Bertha and I have history. She’s survived three moves, two floods, and that time I accidentally sewed over a pin so hard it cracked her needle plate.
New machines might be fancier, but Bertha knows all my quirks. Like how to handle my terrible bobbin-winding technique. Or that if I jiggle the foot pedal just right, she’ll power through thick denim. Some relationships are worth keeping.
I have a 70+ year old Singer heavy duty sewing machine in the cabinet. My grandmother taught me how to sew with it and as a teenager, I made all of my clothes on it. She gave it to me 30 years ago and I wouldn’t trade it for anything!