Sometimes taking out the trash can lead to opening an Etsy shop.
Once upon a time in March 2020, I was taking out the trash and there was a sewing machine and foot pedal sitting on the side of the dumpster with a sign on it that said - FREE. I thought to myself I bet it’s broken, but maybe I can fix it. I picked it up and brought it back to my house. I gave it a bath and realized that I knew absolutely nothing about sewing, let alone sewing machines. I plugged it it and turned it on. I pressed the foot pedal down and the needle hit the plastic and jammed up. The needle was not aligned to the machine. So I turned to my good ol’ friend YouTube. This kept me busy for awhile. I ended up taking the sewing machine apart, messing with the moving parts inside and getting frustrated. The next day I went to work and we got the news that all staff was furloughed for the next 6 weeks due to Covid-19. I thought to myself, if I can get this sewing machine to work, I can teach myself to sew and make masks.
After getting very frustrated by my lack of mechanical expertise, my determination got the best of me. I turned to a friend and he had it fixed within 4 minutes. Turns out I didn’t need to tear into the sewing machine. I just needed a flat head screw driver to turn the needle adjustment screw on the back of the machine.
Then it was off to Hobby Lobby for fabric and all the supplies I would need to start sewing. I had no idea what I needed or didn’t need, so I just purchased a bunch of random stuff before the doors closed and the retail world was shut down due to the global pandemic.
Before I knew it I was sewing.