$2 Tuesdays

At our local Goodwill stores we have colored tag specials: the color tag of the week is 50% off on Sunday and Monday but on Tuesday they are all $1.99. That doesn't work out well when an item is under $4 because you could get it as cheap or cheaper on Sunday or Monday but anything over $4 you are getting a bargain. Here's my story of $2 Tuesday:

On Monday nights I go to yoga class and drive right by my local Goodwill store so I stop in after class and check out specials but mostly look for any sewing machines and fabric. Last week the color tag was blue and I rounded the corner to find four sewing machines. I wasn't really very excited becasue there were there last week and I had already dismissed them. All were missing their power cords and foot controls and two were crappy Singers from the '80's. Another woman stopped to look at them and asked me what I thought about them and I told her my opinion. Then she pointed out they were blue tags and would only be $2 the next morning. I looked again. One was a Singer Featherweight 132Q, not a vintage Singer 221, known as the Featherweight, but a plastic model that was supposed to be great. It got terrible reviews so I figured I didn't want it. I took a look at the plug end, noted the weird configuration, and went home to check. Yup, I had a cord and foot control for it in my extras stash. Now I was in a quandary: do I violate my rule about plastic machines all being poor models or go for it since the price was right?

Having some work comp time coming, I was at the local GW when the doors opened, plugged in my set of foot controls to test it out, and it went home with me. I got into work an hour late but I had time so not too much fuss, especially when I spied an OttLite on the shelf for $7.50. It was just like mine and I have a friend who said "If you ever see another one like that, pick it up for me" so I did. I brought it in to work and she was pretty happy about my find, even if it wasn't a blue tag special. Here's my modern "Featherweight"

Singer 132Q: "Featherweight"

On my way home that night I was on my way to church where we run a food distribution program on Tuesday nights and I drive - you guessed it - right by another Goodwill. I don't stop there very often but I had an extra five minutes (I'm a fast in and out) so I stopped in to find, drum-roll here, an Elna 62C. My heart skipped a beat but then the disappointment set in: no power cord and they are pricey. But not only was it an Elna, even without the power cord, it was a blue tag. I ran my $2 purchase up to the checkout and figured I would sort it out later. Wow. Two for Tuesday for two dollars each: that's one for the records!

Elna 62C with broken gear

When I got home and brought those two specials into the house I could see my husband was trying not to roll his eyes but news that they were only $2 each won him over. The Singer 132Q needed a cleaning, oil, and bobbin tension adjustment before it was working but I didn't find the jamming issue that was the big complaint against this model. I will have to actually sew something with it to put it through its paces. Next up was the Elna 62C but I'm not real excited about getting it into working condition due to the expensive power cord. Not only would it need the power cords, it also needed all of the accessories like feet, bobbins, and cams that are are model specific and also expensive. Would I be able to get my money back? Probably not. Using a plug for a functioning Elna, I get it to sew but there's a hitch in its giddyap so I suspect it needs a new plastic/nylon gear. I cannot see an obvious crack or flaw in the feed dog gear but that's where it it hesitating. Maybe this will have to be a parts machine but for only $2 I can live with that, too.

$2 Tuesdays: gotta love 'em.