Well, it’s done. After weeks of trawling Craigslist, an hour-long phone call with an intelligent stranger about a different machine that wasn’t going suit my needs, and a two-week delay… ...

Sewing machines like the one you have were manufactured in massive quantities by numerous companies. Current potential dollar value is low. If you got close to $200 for yours, it would be a lucky day.

John Niles sometimes puts a simple sign — white background, black letters — outside his house in a woodsy subdivision in the St. Augustine suburbs. SEWING MACHINES, it reads. No kidding ...