No Grasshoppers here - Elna Carina TSP cl. 56

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted something here (March to be exact, and now it's July). That's what happens when I don't stop at Goodwill stores. So, guess what? I stopped at the local Goodwill last night. And what did I find? Well, there was a Singer 404 for $19.99, some other generic plastic thing for $19.99, and this wonderful *Swiss Made* Elna for a paltry $12.99. As soon as I saw the price on the Elna, I promptly had to take the machine to the closest 120v outlet to see if it worked. Since the "air" foot control was missing its friction end plug, I could only get the machine to briefly go while I held the end of the tube against the air intake and simultaneously pushing the air bulb. The machine showed enough life that I felt confident that my $14.12 (after tax) was well-spent.

I probably should have also picked up the Singer 404 but I already have one and didn't want to spend the twenty bucks to have a second 404.

This Elna came with an owner's manual, sales brochure/booklet, a few small instruction manuals for various feet, and a bunch of feet including a darning foot and a buttonhole foot. Oh, and it also came with a small pewter "crouching cat" thimble/pin holder made by Metzke in 1979 (yes, it's dated on the bottom).

When looking online for a little information on this machine, I was inundated with things like SU, TSP, 65, 66, 55, and 56. Well, I think I have some of it figured out. My machine is a TSP (ok, so I still don't know what that stands for), and it is a "class 56". A "class 55" would be a portable model, whereas the 56 (mine) is designed to fit into a sewing table/cabinet. Similarly, a 65 would be a portable and a 66 would be for a cabinet. The portable 55 has an accessories tray that slides under the open free-arm to make a sort of flatbed. My "class 56" mounts into a standard sewing cabinet and it has a button that, when pressed, you can lift up the machine to expose the free-arm. Pretty slick.

Now I just need to find a cabinet to mount the thing into. Where on earth am I going to find one........