Now What’s Going On With My Free Motion Quilting

 

If you read my blog with any regularity you know that I had one heck of a time quilting a charity quilt recently.  I finally finished it and donated it but not without some frustration.  I was having problems with my Brother PQ 1500 and skipped stitches.  I finally switched to my Pfaff and finished the quilt without further problems. 

I love Steve at my local sewing machine repair shop so I headed over there with my machine, skipped stich samples and lots of information about the thread and needles I was using.  I knew since it was an intermittent type problem, it was going to be hard to diagnose and fix.  After a long discussion with Steve I left it in his hands to resolve.  Sure enough a few days later he called and I went and picked it up confident that my problem was resolved. 

Yesterday I finally sat down to give it a try.  I didn’t have any skipped stitches but it was making an awful clunking noise and when I looked at the stitches I could really see the needle holes even though I was using the same thread in the bobbin as on the top.  (Notice the stitching near the bottom of the picture.)

The clunking noise really had me worried.  I was afraid the needle was hitting something.  As I pulled the practice piece out from under the machine, I noticed something sticking out from under the quilt sandwich.  Sure enough, I had a manila folder (with paperwork inside) stuck under the quilt sandwich.  Duh!!!!!! No wonder the machine was clunking away.  But by golly it wasn’t skipping stitches anymore. 

Notice the nice even (no skipping) stiches on the back of the folder.  Thank goodness I can replace the paperwork fairly easily so I don’t have to take the stitching out.  I think I’ll keep it as a reminder to check what’s laying around before I start quilting something for real. 

Now back to Steve, he really is a great guy.  He takes the time to listen to you so that he’s able to resolve any issues you might have.  Steve can be reached at:

Singer Sewing Center

11891 Valley View St Garden Grove, CA 92845‎

(714) 899-2739

He shares the space with Sheri at the The Quilt Cupboard quilt store.  If you live in the area, both are worth visiting. 

Enjoy,