Service Call

Good morning, my friends. There was a pretty sunrise this morning. And, you know...red sky at morning...and all that. On the other hand, we're always expecting rain this time of year, and so the warning doesn't really surprise us.

After writing yesterday's late-in-the-day post, I spent some time stitching Tiny Treasure #17.

From there, I got busy with the last of the quilting for the Whimsical Garden. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, this was the motif I was attempting. I'd traced over it with a pencil several times, and it seemed simple enough.

Then I moved to the quilt. I had in mind to do a sort of more upsy-downsy version of this motif, and so I added two loops between each flower. And that was easy. Here's a look:

So there I was, happily quilting away, and looking forward to another finished quilt, when the machine started making a clanking/grinding sound, and then an ultra-sonic high-pitched whine. Then this message appeared on the screen.

Admittedly, it wasn't the first time this happened on this quilt. The quilt isn't to blame. First time around, I tried some things to clear it. Then I noticed the thread take-up lever was all coated with lint. I cleaned that off, and then I was able to continue on my merry way. But then, this yesterday refused to be cleared. I tried several things to clear it. I cleaned all the lint out of the bobbin area. Then I took the throat plate off and really gave it a good cleaning underneath. I used pipe cleaners to try clearing anything from the slot where the take-up lever is. I changed the needle. I rethreaded the machine and bobbin. Checking in with the Google, I followed the instructions on this page. This page is talking about the Handi-Quilter Sweet 16. My machine is a Baby Lock Tiara II, but the two machines are identical, except for the labeling.

Nothing I tried worked. When I could actually get it to a place where I could do some sewing, I used a practice piece to see how it was looking. The top looked okay, but the noise coming from the machine was concerning. Looking at the back, the bobbin thread was one big bird's nest. Okay. Clearly, it's dead, Jim. (Young people...ask your parents.) Having exhausted all the other suggestions on the page I mentioned earlier, it seemed I had no alternative but to follow this final instruction. The highlighting is in the original.

To say this was frustrating would be a colossal understatement. I had just this much left before I was finished! Look carefully, and you can see the thread tails where I started at the lower right corner of the image below.

So as I sat there considering whether it made sense to throw a tantrum when no one was at home to see it, I moved into "well, duh" mode. With such a small amount left, I could take the quilt to my domestic machine and finish it there. And that is exactly what I did. Consider that a big Harrumph. There's more than one way to feed a cat. (Did you see what I did there? I used a PETA idiom to avoid skinning any cats.)

Having vanquished the impediments to my finish, I laid the quilt out to have a look. It's pretty hard to see the quilting on this.

Here's a look at the border.

And here's a peek at the back.

Okay, and so now the quilt is folded up in the sewing room. I'll try to get the binding sewn on by machine today. While I was there, I took a look at my next project, "S" is for Sew.

These are the fabrics I pulled from my stash.

And then I went in search of the sewing machine panels. These were gifted to me. I forget who...if it was you, then thank you. 

I've been thinking of a way to incorporate the embroidered blocks with these five sewing machine blocks. The one at the lower left is the smallest, and the borders have been removed. I'm trying to figure out a way to use them to create a quilt top, but the math doesn't work out exactly. If nothing else, I might piece them together to create a back. I'm still mulling it over.

So from there, it seemed like a good time to quit. I was still feeling frustrated about my quilting machine. This morning, I turned it on again and did some sewing. It seems to be working fine, but we're going to take it in for service anyway. I think I've owned the machine for about ten years, and it's only been in for service one other time. Most certainly, it probably needs cleaning and lubricating, and I have a feeling the timing is what's causing the "needle sensor" failure. 

Since I won't need it again for at least a couple of weeks, it's probably a good time for a spa treatment. It's a heavy sucker, and it requires a big, strong man to heft it around. I happen to know a man, and I happen to know he's big enough and strong enough to get the job done. I'll buy him some lunch for his trouble. Also, I couldn't find sliced pancetta at the grocery store yesterday, and so we'll head to a local specialty market to get that. Also, we need some tequila to drown our sorrows. Sounds like a good day, huh?

If there's time for any sewing today, I'll blog tomorrow morning. If not, then I'll be back here on Sunday morning. Until then...please stay out of trouble.