A Spoonful Of Sugar Makes The Medicine Go Down

This has been a busy season of sales so I'm a pretty happy woman these days. Then there is the problem child, someone who makes an appointment and doesn't show. I thought I had gotten better at figuring these kinds of things out by not responding to emails that didn't have name and phone number, or at least asking them to provide it before I would proceed.Then I got a text where it sounded so sincere that I didn't ask for their name and already had their phone number so all seemed fine, right? Wrong. I got stood up. I sent an email 45 minutes after the appointment but didn't hear anything back until the next day when I got a couple of excuses. They still wanted to come over so we tried again but just like the first time, no text, no apology, no show. You win some, you lose some and I was surprised this didn't bother me too much as it was just inconsiderate. Oh well, there are plenty of other people who would like this nice Pfaff serger at a bargain price.

Pfaff 4760 or 788

But these things have a way of evening themselves out, don't they? I had a last minute call the next night asking about a Singer 404 and Matt lived nearby so came over to hear how sturdy these metal gear slant shank sewing machines were and he was sold. Turns out he needed to sew some light upholstery and his buddies told him an industrial sewing machine wasn't necessary. They were right and Matt went home a happy man.

Singer 404

The next day a Singer 403 was picked up by Anne from Iowa in the middle of the afternoon. She was driving up to the Twin Cites for other reasons and wanted to know if she could buy a Singer 404 for her mom. After many emails back and forth her mom finally decides on the Singer 403, even though her mother already has one, she was sure she needed a back-up. We are both willing to indulge her mom, knowing this was important to her. Besides, her mom is 89. Yup, still sewing. I hope that is me when I'm her age.

Singer 403

After I get home I get ready for two appointments: a Bernina 1001 was first up before supper when two young women come over from a far western town so it was an hour drive in our foggy weather. Our purchaser was encouraged by her girlfriend who said she needed a Bernina, nothing else would do. They both loved the 1001 as it was not only a great sewing machine but an even newer model than the girlfriend had so there was a bit of new-model envy. Berninas sell themselves so it wasn't a problem and they happily drove off in the fog.

Bernina 1001

Next up was a last minute appointment for a Kenmore 148-1560, a lovely sewing machine that was packed with goodies and all metal inside. It had a nice array of stitches and moved through its paces with ease. She wanted this particular sewing machine because her mother had a Kenmore so the learning curve would be less. Of course, and this machine even had a purchased manual, something I rarely do. Sometimes Kenmore puts several of their models together in a manual and this time I thought it was just too confusing, especially if a beginner bought the sewing machine. I'm glad I did because the buyer was a beginner. Isn't it nice how that works out?

Kenmore 148-1560

And finally, I get a text from Gary who wants to see the Pfaff serger. Oh, you bet, as I now want this one gone after setting it up several times with no sale. Gary comes over Sunday afternoon and not only wants to buy it, he's never used one before so needs a lesson, too. He's a quick learner and asked good questions so I'm pretty confident he'll be fine on his own. Why is he buying a serger? He's been helping his daughters learn to sew and discovered the overlocking stitches on their Janome sewing machine took way too long. He knew a serger was the answer and he sure got a good one. Gary had used sewing machines before though: he's a firefighter and they need to repair things so he had used their industrial sewing machine for seat covers. I'm so glad this good serger went to a guy who is helping his teenage daughters learn to sew.

and in its final appearance, the Pfaff 4760

There is no moral to this adventure this week but just maybe when things are looking a bit down, you get blessed in a way you hadn't expected. Plus, each one of these machines, with the exception of the Singer 403, were handled via text messaging. Looking back at the messages I see I didn't have names for each of the buyers either. Guess I just throw caution to the wind sometimes but, hey, let's be safe out there. Bring a friend with you when you answer Craigslist ads and I'm sure none of my readers would ever stand someone up. Ever.