Letting Go

It can be hard to let our children grow up and take flight. I've always felt it was my job as a parent to prepare my children to leave, to grow up knowing how to take care of themselves and have an inkling of who they are or could become. That made it a tad easier when the time came to leave the nest because this was my goal and it was a success! But there are still moments that tug at our hearts.

The same can be said of some of our sewing machines. I know, I know, they are machines, not people, they don't have emotions, but I do think they have personalities. How we have acquired them, the time we spent fixing, coaxing, reading about, and sharing with other enthusiasts, have given them some degree of value in our lives. I remember my first Viking, now with my friend Ann, my second Viking, model 1100 that is currently not being used since I have a Viking 1200 now in its place. An early acquisition was a Brother Select-o-Matic, a hidden gem of a sewing machine that I quickly grew to love. Her biggest downfall was her full-metal body and innards: she was hefty! This kept me from using her since I had to hoist her up onto a closed cabinet and then it was too high for comfortable use but I still continued to drag her out and use her from time to time. It was love as only a mother could love because she was pretty beat up with nicks and chips from some pretty hard use but I said I didn't care.

Brother Select-o-Matic (my first)

Until a golden opportunity arose when one appeared on our local Craigslist: she was mine! Not only was she a Brother Select-O-Matic, she was in pink and teal plus was in perfect shape. She came home with me and is now installed in a cabinet for easy use.

Brother Select-o-Matic in cabinet

This model works no better, no worse, than my first one but she is much prettier. I almost hate to admit that as it sounds so superficial but it's true. It took several months before I had to admit I didn't need two and it was time for it to find another home. Fortunately, there were more calls than I had machines for but the first contact was from Linda. Linda lives in South Dakota, not real far away but not exactly in my neighborhood either. I think we both laughed it off a bit but Linda was serious and I knew this was too heavy to ship. But Linda is inventive.

If I could connect with her brother-in-law who makes frequent trips to the Twin Cites, she would send me a check and we would get this scheduled. Thursday was the day when my Brother meets Linda's brother and takes that long trip to South Dakota, outside of Sioux Falls.

Brother in case has to wait it out in my car all day

Through a series of emails and texts we finally met up; Linda said it wouldn't be hard to find Dale's truck and she was right:

Dale in his truck, ready to roll

As I thanked him for his very big part in this adventure, he said he was more than glad to help because Linda has done him a few favors from time to time, too. Just looking at the outside of the case he thought it looked familiar, just like the one Mom used, maybe even Grandma. Since it's from 1954 that's very possible. I was glad to have it go to such a good home but there was a bit of a lump in my throat as we drove off and I even have tears in my eyes as I write this. Sometimes those vintage sewing machines just find a place in our hearts. So Linda, from my heart ot yours, you know have a Brother like no other.

My Brother on left, Linda's on the right.

See the next post for the Brother Select-O-Matic in its new home!