Let me apologize in advance for this e-mail being so long.
Lately I have been thinking that I sew enough to be able to justify buying a nicer machine. I was reading a magazine and saw an ad with Eleanor Burns and went online to check out the machine she was showing. It was a Baby Lock, Espire. She said that it was the machine she used to make her quilts. I found it online and compared it to others and I think it has everything that I am looking for in a machine. Of course there were no prices. The site said that I should consult a dealer near me.
I put in my zip code and what do you know, the quilt shop where I buy fabric here in town just happens to be a dealer. So I think to myself well that is just a coincidence. Then when I got home from work that evening, there was a big ad in the mail saying that the shop was having a big sale on sewing machines. I just smiled to myself, and thought maybe?
Then last weekend, my mother-in-law brought over a big ad from the quilt shop that she found in the paper and what do you know the machine is on a closeout sale. So I finally get to see the price of the machine $3499, but they are listing it for $1799 (12 months same as cash). I think, now this is more than a coincidence, this is meant to be. I just keep ignoring the ad, it sat on the table all week. It is too much money, I just don't think I can justify that much.
Then this evening, my DH and MIL agreed to go to the quilt shop so I could find some fabric to make a border for my current project. While my MIL and I were looking at fabric, DH went to look at the sewing machines. I had mentioned all of these coincidences to him, so he figured he would check it out. He came back and told me that there was a Baby Lock Espire that was being sold as "used" because Eleanor Burns had just done a show here and it was one that was used in her class, and they had knocked the price down to $1,399. He even found out that they would finance it for 12 months same as cash. My budget would allow me to pay it off within those 12 months, but I would have to be very careful with my spending. The sacrifice would be worth it to me.
It was closing time, so I asked them to hold the machine for me and said that I would be back in tomorrow morning. Does anyone have any thoughts on this machine? On Coincidences? Fate? Can Eleanor Burns be trusted? Mostly, I am wondering if anyone has experience with this machine. I want to rush back to the store in the morning and buy it, but it is a major purchase and my mom who knows everything is out of town. I suppose it wasn’t a coincidence that I had to sleep on it one more night.
Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated. Thanks.
Linda