A New Horn Sewing Cabinet!
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It’s well and truly winter here now.. as I am writing this, the rain is pouring down, the heater is on, and Sylvie the dog is keeping my legs warm!!
It was inevitable that I needed to bring my sewing machine back inside again… just makes more sense to heat fewer areas… and so it was time to bring my NEW Horn sewing cabinet into the kitchen!!!
NEW you say? What was wrong with the one you had?
Absolutely nothing.. but when I say “new”, I don’t mean brand new.. just new to me…
You see I was driving along one day and what should I see on the side of the road but a Horn sewing cabinet… Of course I pulled up and there was a lady in the front yard – I asked her if she was getting rid of it (I mean, I assumed she was, but who am I to judge if people like to air out their sewing cabinets on the pavement…) and yes, she was… so I promptly said THANK YOU and she helped me get it in the car!
I took it home and I was quite pleased because it was in relatively good condition…. it only had two issues – the door was falling off.. and the table didn’t go up and down anymore….!!!
Thankfully, I have a very clever DH who fixed it for me – new hinges, and he redid the bits for the adjustable sewing table to make it work again!
Baby B fits in it perfectly, and because it is smaller than the other one I have, it is the perfect solution for smaller spaces like the corner of my kitchen!
I must admit that in the past I have had my doubts about horn sewing cabinets, or any other compact sewing machine cabinets for that matter. I liked their space-saving features, and the idea of them being complete sewing centers with all in-one storage.
This is what I like about them in particular:
– the convenient drop leaf table
– the compact design
– the extra surface area next to the sewing machine (only one on this one, but two on my other one)
- wheels to easily move it around the room/house (you probably already know that I am constantly moving things around!!!!)
– shelves on the side to put odds and ends, including a spool tray (I am going to hunt one down that fits in this one)
A few cons for this little one are:
– While my bigger one has ample storage, this one doesn’t have much – but that is ok, because it is not my main sewing area.
– It has limited space in its expandable work surface, but once again, that is ok, because of the above… and I have my kitchen table next to it to use as a cutting table if needed.
– because it is a small model, there isn’t enough space for my knee lift to work when the sewing machine is dropped down:
It can work, however, if I bring the adjustable table right up and move the machine a little more to the left…. so there is a workaround… (I do love my knee lift)
And really – when you pick something up on the side of the road for free – who cares if it is not the sewing station of your dreams?!!
I googled and found what I thought was a similar new model of this horn cabinet and found this. It would have cost me $899 new!! And that looks like the base model – horn cabinets are not cheap! So you can imagine that I am pretty pleased to have picked this one up for free. Even though it looks dated, it still works and is perfect for my little “sewing room” or “corner” in the kitchen!
I managed to find some time last week to put the binding on DH’s summer quilt… yep, the one that was supposed to have been finished by last summer.. As it is now winter, it is now ready for next summer, haha!!
I finished the hand binding on Sunday, (with Sylvie’s help as you can see):
and DH is using it on top of his doona… he’s very happy to have it. I will get a photo of it one day, when it stops raining…..
Just curious… do you have a Horn sewing cabinet or something similar, and if so, do you like it?
Must admit to a great deal of sewing cabinet envy! All I have is (I think) Ikea legs that support a piece of kitchen countertop. I wish it had a ‘hole’ for the sewing machine to make it easier on my neck but when I price any sort of ‘proper’ cabinet I realize that my bank account won’t stretch that far. Free would be good, but that isn’t likely to happen. You were blessed!
Congrats on your cabinet, Joy! I have a VERY old Horn cabinet with a set of drawers, but it was built for a smaller machine so I can’t use the lift. I bought a larger table top that sits over the cabinet and drawers, and my large machine just sits on top, but that’s OK. I added an Ikea side table to the left and have an L-shaped unit with my Ikea counter cabinets behind me and on the wall as well. It’s a good set up for me. Have fun and stay warm! We are having 100+ heat index days this week!
Score! Talk about being in the right place at the right time. My cabinet is nice and all I’ve ever had. It is a homemade set-up that was my mother’s. There’s drawers and and an open area and a drop area for a machine. I don’t know how or where she got it but it does the job, nicely.
I don’t remember if mine is a Horn or not but I love it! I only have space to the left of my machine. But my handy woodworking husband made an extension for the right side and built a cabinet from scratch to fit under the ledge that is on the left side. It has three small drawers and one large drawer for things like extra needles, extra feet (I have a Bernina 200), embroidery cards, elastic, etc., etc. The ledge is made to fold over the other half, but I have never closed it. The machine can be lowered into the cabinet but I never do that either. I made a cover for it to keep the dust off. I have had it for many years.
What a great find!!!! I’m happy for you!
Wow Joy, what a score! Count your blessings that the woman did not have a clever husband – lol! My Hubs is handy like that too, and I have a sewing room with some of his “fixers”. I’ve not heard of the Horn table, but it looks keen.
Your husband’s quilt is quite lovely – I clicked on the link. Is a “doona” a blanket?
I have a knee lift for my Janome but have not used it, I probably should.