Deal or No Deal?

I think it was a deal!  But aside from plugging it in and hitting the foot feed to see if it ran (oh, it purred), the jury is still out.

For less than the price of lunch, this Singer Model 600 came home with me on Wednesday from Goodwill.  We took a roundabout way home though.  

While shopping, I spied a mid-century sewing table, closed up.  The sign said "Sewing Table $9.99."  The table had seen better days, for sure, and I really wasn't interested in the furniture.  I lifted the lid, however, and peeked inside.  There was a machine in there, and I recognized it immediately!  

It was just like the one I'd passed up at a different thrift store a couple weeks ago, the only difference being this model had the button to wind the bobbin in a different place (this is a 600 "Auto Reel", that was a 600E).

I looked the machine over but didn't buy it right away.  Instead, I went home and—what else—Googled a bit.  Then I called a repair guy to find out if he still did repairs (he's been "retired" a while).  Sadly, he said his eyesight was failing and he didn't, but he gave me the name of another man he highly recommended.  I called the second man, and he said he'd be happy to go over it for me.  He just wanted me to make sure it was one of the models with all metal parts (it was).

So I went back to Goodwill and bought it.  The sales associate grabbed a screwdriver and helped me remove it from the table, and I "re-donated" the table (that's what they called it, because I didn't want the table itself, and they were fine with that).

I'll give it a cleaning, oiling and test drive this weekend.  Then, if it needs any other work, I'll take it to the fix-it man.  Daughter, if you're reading this, you may be looking at your "new" machine. 

As far as actual sewing, there hasn't been much happening here (work has had other plans for me), but I did make a scrappy courthouse steps block for the Sew Scraps Along.

I've got an idea for this block, but it involves cutting and piecing it into something else, in a way I've never done before.  I'll need some weekend time to play around with that scheme, though.  If it works, you'll see it again in another form.  If not, it was fun while it lasted!