I am in LOVE

I don't think hubby will mind at all ... I finally got brave enough to take Camster for a spin and WOW!  The difference between her and old Anchor are like night and day.  Here she is, all "loaded up for bear" as the saying goes:

Kenmore 1803 Camster loaded up and running

The focus is a bit funny in the pic, so I labelled the little seam allowance magnet ... it was still clinging faithfully to Anchor when I opened him up.  I can't use it on my computerized Brothers, and I haven't even tried it on poor Timex.

Ya know, if I had sewed on something like Camster instead of Anchor as a kid, I might have stuck with it instead of thinking I was a failure at sewing (Anchor still has way too much "get-up-n-go" off the line, as I discovered with the linen hat).

A couple random notes: I pulled a plastic bobbin out of Camster's holder ... at her age I don't think she ought to be playing with little plastic things.  It also didn't look like the metal ones that were in a plastic baggie that came with her, which makes me wonder if this is why she ended up in a garage sale with a paltry $10 price tag on her.  All the metal bobbins had who-knows-how-old thread on them so I had to unwind one to reload ... which drew an audience of cats who seemed to be amused that I was doing it "wrong" and they probably could have done it faster ...

One reason I took so long to fire Camster up is Mom told (ordered) me to not mess with her until I read the manual, because this is still a very nice machine ... and I have no doubt Mom would hop into her car and come confiscate it from me faster than I confiscated Camster from Dad's wife.  I'm pretty sure there is still a drool-stain on the corner of the cabinet from when Mom inspected it before letting me abscond with it.

I can't believe just how quiet Camster is, especially after giving Anchor a spin this summer.  Totally amazing both machines were on the shelf in Sears at the same time.  Last night I was asked if I'd be getting an "upper-end" machine anytime soon, and I replied I already have one (Camster).  Last night, I was joking ... today I am NOT joking about it.  If I could have found a heart-shape in Gimp, there would be little red hearts all over this pic of Camster!

Oh yeah, that is indeed my B5662 fitting muslin under her presser foot.  The seams are now stitched up, and I need to duct-tape cable ties and baste on a zipper and lacing panels now.  That will get its own post, though, probably after my appointment and errands ... or tomorrow.