I try and check out the local thrift store on the weekends, i usually spend about $20 dollars for about 20 yards of fabric. but this week i found a Euro Pro garment press sells for 499.00 and i got it for 10.
Also there is treadle for $51.00 but i just bought 2 new industrial sewing machines, one walking and the other pressure foot, kind of tapped me out, the reason i bought new ones is, i have no patience for things that need repair,or constant adjusting, i have 6 machines already plus the two new ones, should i go back today or let it go driving me crazy

Would you really USE a treadle? Otherwise you can let someone else find a great deal. But, if you would use it .... I passed one up years ago due to lack of funds and it has haunted me ever since! Big help, right?

I would love to find a treadle! I have been kind of looking for one local to me. I can find them on Craigslist, but they are pricey.

i keep telling better half that if the world runs out of power i could keep sewing or he will have to turn the wheel on my electric-still can't decide

You have 8 sewing machines, 2 of them industrial, and no patience for repairing machines. I guess the key question for me is, why do you buy sewing machines? It can be an addiction just like anything else, with no real ongoing value for *you* of the things collected.

I used to collect vintage sewing machines. Just loved fixing them up, the nostalgia associated with them, etc. Finally one day my husband asked me if I ever used any of them, because they were taking up a lot of floor space. I got to thinking about it, and realized that I never used them because for "real" sewing I actually preferred my Bernina 1230. It was always reliable, never needed adjusting, was always ready to go when I needed to do something, the low hum of the machine was soothing, and I simply always enjoyed using it. I loved the vintage machines in terms of having them, but did not love using them.

It was hard, but I put an ad in the paper and found another collector who came to the house and bought most of my vintage machines (gave her low reasonable prices on everything). I kept a few that had sentimental value.

I'd still love to buy a treadle machine, but I won't unless I become sure that I will use it on a regular basis. I know from experience that vintage machines can become dust collectors.

When I was collecting, I did pass up a couple of great thrift store buys and was haunted by them for awhile. I think this is one of the costs of addiction. At that time, while still in the throes of collecting addiction, I think I should have bought them. Now it would not bother me to pass these machines up and let someone else have the thrill of "the find".

And of course you would sew by candle light, right? :lol:

I was in the same boat as PRISM99, I started collecting and could not stop. Then it dawned on me that I could never use all of them unless I devoted a project to each one, and then I'd have a dozen projects going at the same time, which seemed pretty unrealistic. And I hated not using them, seemed a crime to let a perfectly good machine that worked well just sit there unused.

So...started listing them on Craigslist for sale. I'm down to my last one for sale now, I asked what I had paid for them and recouped my investment on all of them.

Of course I'm not totally cured. I'm still on the lookout for the machine that I used when I was a kid, it was a 1940's Kenmore and probably the one possession my mom cherished the most. I just want to have one for sentimental reasons. I've seen quite a few but I want one in good working condition so still looking.

I too see machines at garage sales and thrift stores all the time and am "haunted" by them, but I know the feeling will pass in time. Sigh.