Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Beast To Beauty?

I'm deep in the middle of a serious case of the "I wants" today. And the funny thing is, I have the money to make some - but not all - of those wants come to pass. The trouble is deciding what to do!


Meet my old sewing machine. Well okay, this isn't exactly mine. I nabbed the picture from the ebay listing where I found one almost identical to mine - and it had sold for $83. Eighty-three bucks! I'm seriously considering listing mine - if I even get half that amount, I'd be thrilled.


This is the one I'm considering buying, a Janome MC3500. It's retailing for $900 AUD (though, like any good frugalite, there's no way I'm paying retail, LOL). I have nearly that much cash in the play money fund and could probably swing the rest if I'm extra sweet to Talented Hubby. But...

How much do I really need a new sewing machine? The old one worked and was plenty fine for my sporadic sewing attempts, but I'm feeling like I want to branch out and experiment a bit more and the old machine couldn't do a whole lot. I'm excited to think that I could be having fun on a new machine. I don't sew every day though, and therein lies the sticking point. I go through fits and spurts of interest, sometimes ignoring the machine for months at a time. The way I'm thinking this week though, a good, solid sewing machine will always be a good investment - perhaps seeing me (and Miss Moo) through for a good many years to come - unlike an Amazon shopping spree (not that I'd spend $900 on that, but you get the idea).

The other thing I've been considering these past couple of months - even before we knew we'd be getting a little cash bonus from the government - was TiVo, which is worth roughly the same amount. As I pointed out to TH, what would he prefer? A whole bunch of hours wasted in front of the box, or the same number of hours put into mucking about with sewing projects (which, potentially, could enhance the home)?

So what do you think? Buy the new sewing machine (remember, this isn't money I'm sucking out of the household budget, it's money of my own) or sit on the money and make do with the old machine? Is it worth the investment?

7 comments:

River said...

I'll leave the decision entirely up to you. heh heh, I can hear your brain buzzing from here.

whattodowhattodowhattodo.......

Lizzie (admin) said...

Well you're not help whatsoever then! LOL.

wjcsydney said...

Well, you know I LOVE my Memory Craft! I don't even know what a TiVo is! Yes, seriously! I know it has something to do with recording from tv. We don't watch much tv at all so have no interest in whatever it is lol

Lizzie (admin) said...

I forget what your model is Wendy - you mentioning your Memory Craft previously probably got me started on this particular model anyway :P

TiVo is a hard disk recorder with a bit of a difference...it can connect through a broadband internet fashion hence one of the features is you can download movies on demand. DH's Playstation 3 does something similar, ie, he can download new songs to try on his Guitar Hero game, all done through the net connection. That's not what I was attracted to with TiVo though - there's a whole range of features in regards to the recording that seem more useful than your random HDR - there's something called 'season's pass' for example, which means you program the thing to record any episode of a show for the entire season (ie, one time programming) even if they switch times or go on hiatus mid-season etc.

Must admit, I'm kind of moving away from the TiVo idea though. Sell me on the Janome!

Tanja said...

I know I use my easy to use machine far more than the old one simply because it is easier and more appealing to use and makes me feel more successful and I credit it with being more successful and not so hit and miss - spoil yourself Lizzie - you are worth spoiling - and even then it will translate to a more homey home - I know too I love the sewing days with my girl - real mum and daughter time - wouldn't have missed those memories for the worlds........so I would go for the sewing machine over tivo any day

Sarah said...

i use a memory craft.. i dont know what one it is, but it cost about $3000 ten years ago... I LOVE IT. i am afraid of sewing machin es, but this one is brilliant.. put it on slow, and no matter how hard i push the peddle, IT STAYS SLOW. and all the other fancy embroidery stuff is handy too, of course...

gnometree said...

I have that exact same Memorycraft and I love it. I use it for everything from quilting to dressmaking to mending and it hasn't failed me yet. It is so easy that I have taught my 10yo daughter to use it. Naomi

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