Talk about Sewing Machine + Irish Chain DONE!

I’d like to share with you today my new “baby”.
Yes. I bought a “new” machine.
Why do I put an inverted coma around the “new”?
Because it is not brand new “new”, it is new to me, yet is older than myself.
Yup, I bought a second-hand machine which I can say now, worth every penny.

But before I show you “her”,
I’d like to take a detour and a little flashback to why I decided to go for it and get a new machine and how did I made the decision..

My Janome DC2050

So it began way before I left for our holiday break….my machine (Janome DC2050 – similar to this one .) was having trouble with being overloaded every 100-200 stitches. (The same problem when I quilt my first little man quilt too!). It was totally annoying. I couldn’t get my Irish chain quilted as I planned and had to sent the machine to the shop for service.

I thought things would get better as I received it back from my holiday. A day after I got it back, I eagerly start to quilt again on the Irish Chain and couldn’t be more frustrated to see that the problem hasn’t been resolved.

(updated: the machine was fixed and I then used the machine with my Hurs, and later upgraded to )

Which machine shall I buy?

It was decided– that I needed a spare machine. Something that could do a lot of quilting. Of course, if I had THE money–this wouldn’t be too much of a hassle, I have had an eye for Janome Horizon for like forever.. or Bernina 550 QE. Hm.. but..I don’t have the budget for that yet. 🙁 . So keep dreaming.

So, the best I could get was probably the professional straight stitch machine. Like or . Around here in Australia, this would still cost about AUD1500. Which is still a big investment I must say. So, I decided to go on a test drive Janome 1600P at one of our local dealer (not the one I bought my last machine though – the after service is unsatisfying). Well, not too bad. It look strong, steel made and very fast. It will probably be best for piecing and quilting only. I hardly use any other stitches, so I think it should be good. I left the shop with quite a strong intention that I might buy it after Christmas.

Then, I went back home, calculating in my head. AUD1500 is a lot. I already have an industrial machine for straight stitching back in Malaysia (the one attached to a big heavy table) and would prefer to save for the Bernina 550 or the Janome Horizon. So, I went back and look up on the net on Gumtree.com.au (something like Craig List in US). And there the “she” is.. my “new” baby. And she cost less than a fraction of 10 to the new Janome 1600P. I called the advertiser and went to inspect “her”. I must say from the moment I saw her, I fell in love. From there I knew, I had to own her. I tested her and bought it with confidence, that this “baby” will make do for me.

Hursqvarna 6690

So, here she is, meet my new baby. “Hurs”.

She is Husqvarna 6690. May not be appealing to you, but by her age, she is totally awesome. Made of steel and still amazingly clean and in mint condition. The previous owner has definitely taken care of her very well. And that is why I love her! I even did a little research. Husqvarna 6690 is the 1980’s first ever writing sewing machine. And it cost about $900-1000++ already during those years!  And it was made to last a lifetime. So possibly it is equivalent to Janome Horizon these days. LOL.

<–the Ad – its an Ad from 1980’s newspaper.

The best thing about it is that it sewed like heaven to me. Fast and strong. I’d say the feel of this machine is definitely 10 times better my Janome DC2050. The only downside for the moment for Hurs is that the speed can’t be controlled like new modern machine. Its either fast or 1/5 slower. But I am practising with it.

I finished my Irish Chain Quilt – FINALLY! Thank you Hurs for saving me from a long draught without a sewing machine. LOL..

I’ll cover that in full in another post. I need to take better photos of the quilt.

Anyway I was thankful that the open toe free motion foot and the walking foot I bought for my previous Janome fits Hurs perfectly. I had fun free motioning and can’t wait to get my Jack Attack quilt quilted too soon.

So, I guess, that’s it. My long story of machine hunting. Thanks for staying.