Meet the one of the newest, but conversely oldest, members of my crafting equipment family; my beloved late Ma-ma Sue's sewing machine. Miss Husqvarna has been sitting at my parent's house in Tasmania all boxed up for the past few years waiting for me to bring her home. Even though I have made multiple trips back "home" since moving to Adelaide 5 1/2 years ago, it wasn't until we took the car over last Christmas that I was able to bring her back with me (bit difficult to carry something like this on a plane so it had to patiently wait).
I haven't got a permanent spot to leave her out and set up and the last few days I have been pottering with making my light box and needed to stitch some fabric for it, so out she came! She did the job well and while she maybe very basic compared to the many computerised ones available these days, she is perfect for a novice like me!
I'll fill you in on a little bit of Miss H's history. My grandparents were known to keep most of their possessions in their old house in immaculate condition and she was no exception. Ma-ma kept her set up in her sewing room on the sewing machine cabinet ready for what seemed like daily use. When Mum and I got it out to check everything was still working in January we discovered that Ma-ma had not only kept ALL the original packaging, but she had kept the purchase receipts to even the A4 glossy brochures she must have picked up prior to purchasing the dear old thing back in 1982! Yes Miss H is 30 years old and doesn't look like she has aged one bit!
Anyhow she is in mint condition considering her age and consistent use over the years. Ma-ma used to sew a lot of her own clothes (and some of mine when I was little) and not to mention the numerous pillow cases, cushion covers, napkins, tissue box covers, soft toys and even Christmas decorations.
I sincerely regret not taking more of an interest in sewing when Ma-ma was still with us, I'm sure she would have loved it. I partially blame my teenage years when at the time "sewing was sooo not cool" and obviously life's other distractions, but I won't dwell on it now. So in her memory I'm going to make an honest attempt to continue her crafty legacy.
Enough of the emotional 'wish I could turn back time stuff' and tell you more about Miss Husqvarna! While she doesn't any of the mod cons of today's machines, she still has a number of features to talk about. She is the 5310 model, and as you can see in the photos she is cream and brown in colour. Her frame/outer body is all metal - no flimsy plastic here - so she is rather solid, but surprisingly not as heavy as one might expect. Bobbin winding, double spool pins for two threads/double needle. For the time I'm sure a lot of the little features were new and even revolutionary, but commonplace on machines today, what really stands out is the sense of durability, quality and solidness all wrapped up in a neat little package; every part is nicely crafted and well thought out and I think she sews just as smoothly and efficiently as the day she was bought.
She was cleverly designed to come with an extension table that slots around the arm as well as an accessories tray (with 10 bobbins along with various bits and pieces). All this along with the foot control pedal, everything slots/folds up within the machine so when the case slides over and on, everything is kept together as one package! Neat huh?
Well for now she is back into the box again, after performing brilliantly for my little sewing projects. I'm still just starting out but I plan on getting another 30 years worth of life out of this beautiful and well crafted little machine; I know she will continue to make more great work in the years to come as I learn to use her the way she is meant to be.
