Sewing machine review: Bernina Minimatic 807

As inspired by Sew Mama Sew and using their set questions.

Sewing Machine Review

What brand and model do you have?

Bernina minimatic 807

How long have you had it?

My mother bought it from a local high school in the 70s (think they got it 2nd hand too). I acquired it from her after I left home, soon after 2001 (4th hand?).

How much does that machine cost (approximately)?

These days? Not much. Less than $300 AUD at a guess.

What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.)?

Clothes, softies, mending, home deco projects, some quilting

How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get?

I sew maybe 5-10 hours a month.

Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name?

I love my machine for its longevity and nostalgia.  I love that the daggy clothes my mum made me come from this machine.  I love the look and the tone it gives the room.

I like the simplicity of the diagrams and layout, as well as the ruler on the front and little things like the way that bobbin winding is done, and the little thread cutter on the foot lever.

What features does your machine have that work well for you?

It's simplicity, it's sturdiness and that I can generally work out what's wrong if it goes wrong.  It's mechanical nature is comforting - I can have we go at gently fixing it and servicing it myself.  It's not very mysterious.

Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine?

It's a bit noisy, so it's hard to share a room with others. It does tend to shuffle itself when the right frequency is reached, adding to the noise.  

It's almost too simplistic - if it had 2 or 3 decorative stitches, I'd never consider replacing it.

It does have it's limits with thicknesses, so I haven't attempted bags.  It also seems to munch fine fabrics, no mater how sharp the needle.  It's as though the feed is too coarse.

It's heavy - about 12kg.

Would you recommend the machine to others? Why?

Yes, it's a great starter machine and it lasts.  There's nothing cryptic about it. It's like a beta model they got right.

What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine?

It's cost to benefit ratio, which is hard to predict this when a new machine might bring about a new range of projects.  If I were to have done my last 18months of projects on a new machine I imagine it would've been worthwhile, and would continue to be. It may be even more valuable if I continue with that frequency and add trickier projects such as ones that need a walking foot, or use stretch or fine fabrics, or decorative stitches.  

Any score given for a new machine would be x1.5 if it were quiet!

Do you have a dream machine?

Bernina 830! Or, if I was on a budget, the Bernina 740 QE.

Bonus: Do you have a great story to share about your machine (i.e., Found it under the Christmas tree? Dropped it on the kitchen floor? Sewed your fingernail to your zipper?, Got it from your Great Grandma?, etc.!)? We want to hear it!

Well, it's my only story, though I'm not sure it's a great story ...

A few years ago I was working in the city (Melbourne, Aust.).  My partner and I were without a car those days, and my heavy Bernina Minimatic 807 had died beyond my surgical skills.  I asked a colleague who drove past my home if he would be so kind as to give me a lift to work one day, via a sewing service centre, so I didn't have to pay for a taxi or haul the machine around town.

My colleague was pretty old school and rather sexist but generally well meaning and harmless.  It seemed to take and lot of conversation for him to wrap his head around the idea that I needed my machine serviced and that it wasn't easily portable.  "What do you mean, it's heavy?" he asked, about three times. "It's heavy, like, 12 kilos. I can't do 12 kilos on public transport." 

"And what's wrong with it?" he asked again.

"I think the compressor's gone."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean it has a compressor and it's stopped working."

"On a sewing machine?"

"Yep. It's old, and sometimes the compressor cacks it."

"That's what's wrong with it?"

Good grief, I thought, which bit is confusing him?  Last try: "The hamster died."  

Of course, on the day, he was very gentlemanly and offered to take the machine out of the car during the drop off.  But he put it on the footpath for me to take into the store, saying "Gee, it's heavy isn't it!" 

"Yes. Yes it is." 

D75: Vanille

These are sablés diamant vanille - french shortbread - from The Cook's Book. It's really an excellent cookbook, done by The Weekly-Times, but it's also a bit funny.

Each chapter is written by a different chef, some of which are a bit different, and they aren't really in a particular order - neither alphabetical nor chronological-by-order (as in, the order you might eat them over the day). Some parts are very thorough, like the meat sections with their careful instructions about bones and preparation methods. And then there is a chapter on Foams, and one on Sauces & Dressings, which is different to the Flavourings chapter. Latin America, Mexico, the Middle East, India all get their own chapters, as well as Japan, China, Thailand AND Asia (Asian Noodles & Dumplings, which is different to Pasta & Dumplings). The chefs also pull no punches on ingredients or style. If it needs leaven, chilling twice, acacia honey, a no.9 plain nozzle, Cox's apples, kirsch or mirepoix, they'll say so. Which is kinda cool. I also love the cooking tables of all the different timings for baking, steaming, syrups, etc.

This book was a gift from my sister. I hope it wasn't found in a newsagent, where I would expect to see a Weekly Times cookbook sold, as I imagine it wouldn't get the respect this one deserves. It's really very good.

I've used the ol' burnt orange and cinnamon sugar for the edges. I swear the instructions make bikkies much bigger than the little buttons in their pic (5cm diameter they say. Hmmm.) My father-in-law is unable to have chocolate (tortuous existence) so I try to make sure there's at least one non-chocolate thing should I have done any baking.

I also got a bit of sewing done but I'm not able to share pics just now - hopefully more tomorrow :)

Cookery the Australia Day Way

What an appropriate book to review today!

This book has been used as a secondary school Home Ec text for years. It was first published in 1966. My mum had an old dark blue cover edition and she gave me this 6th edition in 2000.

I'm not too sure what makes Australian cooking Australian. I could say it's lightness, but we love fish and chips and rich British puddings. I could say the diversity, but we still label Lamingtons and pav as our favourites. Maybe it's the use of metric and Celsius, a lack of salt, and our massive sweets sections, especially chocolate.

Maybe it's because it includes damper.

Reasons I love this book in no particular order...

Bless you AWW and your Cooking Class Cookbook

When I left home I took the liberty of collecting a few cookbooks from my mum's shelf. I'm pretty sure I asked, but now I feel a bit guilty: I took the gold.

We had a pretty extensive set of Australian Woman's Weekly Home Library - the stapled, glossy kind. Far out they're awesome. Generally a recipe per page with step-by-step photos. All I could ask for further is a list of cookware for each recipe - a 'you will need' for tools.

I've entry been trying out a few recipes from my favourite of the series: Cooking Class Cookbook. It's such a daggy bible but just to prove how awesome it is - how nostalgic, romantic and somehow a teeny bit racist* - I'm listing the recipes for you.

Have a look at what they chose for each section - especially the short ones.  Just try not to get a copy for yourself.

Poultry: Beggar's Chicken; How to joint a chicken; How to roast a chicken; Chicken Chasseur; French Herbed Chicken; Chicken Kiev; Duck with Orange; Chicken Maryland; Chinese Chicken Sticks; Coq au Vin; Chicken Liver Pate.

Meat: Wiener Schnitzel; Beef Stroganoff; Beef Wellington; Crown Roast of Lamb; Veal Cordon Bleu; Moussaka; Sates; Osso Bucco; Boeuf Bourguignonne; 
Brawn; Pot Roast.

Fish: Trout with almonds; Crisp Fried Fish; How to fillet fish; Garlic Prawns; Baked Snapper; Chinese Fish; Salmon Croquettes.

Soups: Hot Sour Soup; Minestrone; French Onion Soup.

Vegetables: Potato Scallops; Chips; Fried Onion Rings.

Rice & pasta: Spaghetti Bolognese; Fried Rice; Lasagne; Ravioli; Gnocchi.

Batters: Waffles; Crumpets; Yorkshire Pudding; Pancakes; Prawn Cutlets.

Sauces: Béarnaise Sauce; A good gravy; Caramel Sauce.

Pastry: Pizza; Greek Triangles; Chinese Spring Rolls; Sausage Rolls; Hunza Pie; Salmon Quiche; Melton Mowbray Pie; Custard Tart; Vanilla Slices; Indian Samosas; Greek Baklava; Australian Meat Pie; French Fruit Flan.

Bread, Buns & Scones: White Bread; Hot Cross Buns; Berlin Doughnuts; Scones; Damper; Sourdough Rye Bread; Chelsea Bun; Bagels; Cream Buns; Croissants; Indian Puris.

Desserts: Strawberry Shortcake; Lemon Meringue Pie; Cream Puffs; How to flambé fruits; Chocolate Mousse; Brandy Snaps; Apple Strudel; Biscotten Torte; Baked Rice Custard; Sweet Soufflés; Rum-caramel Pineapple; Zabaglione; Brandied Oranges; Almond Peachy Pie; Crepes Suzette.

Cakes: Lamingtons; Sponge Cake; Chocolate Roll.

Biscuits: Italian Biscotti; Gingerbread Men; Toffee Crisps; Shortbread; Monte Carlos.

Confectionery: Butterscotch; Turkish Delight; Toffees; Italian Nougat; Toasted Marshmallows; Toffee Apples; Candy Popcorn; Marshmallow Eggs; Buttered Brazil Nuts.

Something Extra: Making your own mixed peel; Italian Polenta; Melba Toast; Herb Butter; Caesar Salad; Green Tomato Pickles.

And a page of conversions for electric and gas ovens and cup & spoon measures. In the back. Where it belongs.

WHAT MORE COULD YOU ASK FOR?
I love how there are just three for a few sections. Coz really, what else is there? I mean, what other kind of sauce could you need, really?
But then it's so diverse! Baklava, Turkish Delight (I mean, even a decent confectionery section), Crumpets! Pâté! Chips! Pot Roast!

Obviously, with books this size, they can't fit in everything, so these must be their top choices for each genre. It's no Cookery the Australian Way, but it does seem to say "These are the recipes of a respectably competent cook" as well as "You should buy a cake cookbook if you want more". I think it also presents a moment of Australian culture, whether it's reflective or aspirational. I suspect a lot of stereotypical 80s Aussie households hoped to be this diverse with their meals.


*I'm not sure how to clarify this. It just feels strange that they’ve specified the country of origin for some recipes but not for others, even if those recipes don't really come from anywhere else.  Spag Bol was obviously common enough to not call it 'Italian Sag Bol', but 'Chinese Fish' is certainly not the only way the Chinese do fish. Maybe there is Greek or Sicilian polenta, and Sri Lankan samosas... I don't know enough about food or those cultures to be sure.