Gonna go against the grain here and give you some of the best advice I’ve received as a sewist: get your machine secondhand.

Thrift stores are a great place to look, or see if someone’s trying to get rid of a machine (talk to other sewists, we usually have extras), or even free piles on the side of the road. I got a fantastic machine from the 70s on the side of the road. You’re more likely to get an older machine if you go secondhand and older machines are more powerful, but delightfully, most secondhand machines function fine and are CHEAP. You don’t need to spend more than 100 USD on your machine. You probably don’t need to spend more than 50 USD.

Source: I patch and sew my own clothes as well as make quilts. I do not use an industrial or specialty machine.

you got this!! Become the pool guy you want to see in the world

good on you for moving away from Google!

that’s cool as hell!!

seconding makeup brushes!! Fluffy ones are great for delicate things and lightweight dust but a good thin edge brush will work wonders on stuck bits (source: my sewing machine seems to inhale dog hair every chance it gets)

Good work, it looks fantastic and your cats will love it, good on you for keeping them safe as well