Also, I'm having a bit of a dilemma and am trying to figure out which is the most sensible and most frugal way to solve it. I have a sewing machine, a vintage Pfaff, that was given to us many moons ago by someone who knew we wanted to learn to sew and get into making our own clothes; a guy we knew when we lived in Seattle. He was a maverick of sorts, lived out on Bainbridge Island, made a lot of his own clothes; one of those people that marched to his own eccentric sort of drummer. The machine has seen better days, but it's one of the super heavy-duty, industrial, all-metal kind that you can't even buy anymore. Seriously - the thing weighs a TON. I'm not even sure if it still works. It's been sitting for years, so at the very least it will need a good oiling and tune-up. It's belt-driven, so almost assuredly those will need replaced. And we don't have a pedal, needles, bobbins - anything ancillary, really. So in order to get it up and running we are going to have an unknown cash outlay, even if we find a used pedal, cheap accessories, and can do any required repairs ourselves. Diagnosing what repairs will need done, however, will probably require calling in a pro and paying for their advice. There's something about that path, though, that's really appealing - the satisfaction of DIY and of turning something we already have to good use; of loving it and mothering it and bringing it back to life. And make no mistake, this is a good machine; there's one quite like it for sale on eBay now. Fourteen bids so far, the price is up to $165, and the reserve is not yet met (or you can buy it outright for $395 - my eyes pop at this bit). Another similar model is currently bid up to $110, so people know these are quality machines. And on etsy, another one for $250. Wow.
The flip side of this is that I have been, for years, coveting vintage Singer machines like the Touch and Sew with its cute little novelty stitch cams or the lovely aqua colored 338s... You can find these on eBay or occasionally at thrift stores or CraigsList. Failing this, there are any number of other used sewing machines readily available out there that are known quantities - that have all parts, are known to work, etc, and part of me wants to just go out and buy one of those. I can spend $20 or $30 and know what I'm dealing with and be up and sewing right away (or at least as soon as I find a machine that's the right price and worth buying).
Fixing the machine we already have seems like the most frugal thing to do, but it might wind up costing twice as much to get it running as if I just bought one I know already works. In that light, the second option seems like the wiser choice, but I'm afraid I'm being seduced down the paths of impulsivity by dreams of a sexier (at least to me) machine.
Sew... what to do?
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