Saying Goodbye to Elsie, the Singer 401A

   I received Elsie from a friend about 4 years ago who asked if I wanted it and I immediately said yes.  I love vintage sewing machines.  This machine has a lovely history.  My friend's mother bought it new in 1959 with inheritance money from her father's estate.  She made dresses for her four daughters with it and my friend learned to sew on it and made her own clothes until she graduated High School.

   While we were loading the machine into my car, my friend say that I should never sell it.  If I ever wanted to get rid of it, I should contact her so she could take it back.  I agreed.  

    At the time my friend gave Elsie (I named her after my friend's mother) to me, she was moving in with her daughter and downsizing.  The machine was out of its cabinet, (the cabinet was taken as a piece of furniture by a family member, whereabouts unknown) kind of moldy, missing the power cord, with rusty attachments.  I had the machine serviced, bought a new power cord, and cleaned up the attachments.  But I never really bonded with the machine.  I used it about 3 times.  I think the reason I never bonded with the machine is because it was never completely mine.  It always belonged to my friend.

   So I emailed my friend today and told her I needed to get rid of this machine for space and I would gladly meet her halfway (about 100 miles) and give it back to her.  I haven't had a response to my email yet.