As I finished the Ribbon & Lace quilt, I was struggling as I was doing the free-motion quilting of the feathered wreaths, in particular. The thread kept breaking when I was moving in one specific direction. I could make the interior feathers without much of an issue. I could do stippling and loops, again without much of a problem... but those outside feathers were a pain in my hiney!
I cleaned the machine... I adjusted the tension... AND I tried to slow the stitching speed... I had some luck with that for a while, but it became harder and harder to control the speed. Dave and took the foot control off of the machine and had a look-see inside. There really isn't much to the pedal, but he took it to his shop and cleaned the contacts. It was better than before, but still not as it should have been.
I ordered a new foot pedal, but it would be a week before it arrived. Dave made a small block of wood that he mounted to the foot pedal, creating a forced stop for the speed. As a temporary fix, it was taped to the front of the pedal, and he added a few layers of tape to the top to fine tune the speed that I was after. The new foot pedal is sooooooo much better! I just plumb wore it out!
Have you ever had an issue like this? Sewing machine maintenance is an important part of being a quilter or sewist. How often do you change your needle? How often do you clean and lubricate your machine?
I clean all of the fuzzies out and change the needle after each quilt, unless of course it is a smaller table runner or baby quilt... I'll do it after a few smaller projects.
Like when I was done making the small bags for several of the ladies at the Bible Study.
I heard from several of you that you made some as well...
Lynn White shared pictures of the bags she made... Aren't they cute? Did anybody else make a bag or two... or three or four? Send an email... I'd love to see them!
I have been working on this week's mini-quilt challenge... It is coming along. I'll share the finish when I get there. But it's been a while since I did a review of the mini-quilts. Since then, I have finished eight more...
 |
| Spring is in the Air - 12/52 |
 |
| Orphan Smocking & Applique - 13/52 |
 |
| Matchstick Modern - 14/52 |
 |
| Flight of a Butterfly - 15/52 |
 |
| Danita's Angel - 16/52 |
 |
| Peace & Love - 17/52 |
 |
| Tiny Windmills - 18/52 |
 |
| Dimpled Checkerboard - 19/52 |
This checkerboard mini was inspired by a small Trip Around the World block and the dimpled quilting in the center(ish) of each square gives it the texture I was looking for. 💙 It measures 6" inches... each one of those squares is approximately 1/2" square. And I love the fade of colors.
Mini #20/52 is coming soon!
Thanks for the visit and keep piecing,
Melva
Linking with:
Put Your Foot Down at For the Love of Geese
Free-Motion Mavericks at Quilting & Learning
Can I Get A Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Off The Wall Friday with Nina Marie
Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty
Peacock Party at Wendy’s Quilts and More
Friday Foto Fun at Powered by Quilting
Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts
Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework
Sunday Stash at QuiltPaintCreate
Slow Stitching Sunday at Kathy’s Quilts
Scrap Happy Saturday at Super Scrappy
Patchwork & Quilts at The Quilting Patch
m
Nice to see all your mini quilts - I see my beautiful Matchstick Modern. I had to pick it up off the floor yesterday when one of the kitties jumped up on the table! :D I don't maintenance my machine nearly often enough. I do clean the bobbin area every time I change bobbins. I don't change my needle often enough either. I did find out the hard way that I NEED to change it often on my longarm - it creates issues if I don't!
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed by folks who can quilt on their home sewing machine. I could never do a good job on mine so I finally broke down and bought a long arm.
ReplyDeleteThanks for showing my bags! Love your mini pieces, especially the windmills, lovely work.
ReplyDeleteGenius saves the day and a temporary fix is an awesome thing! Hope you find a more permanent fix. I am thinking of a new pedal for my featherweight as it seems a point of failure waiting to happen!
ReplyDeleteGlad you got a fix to help you through your quilting. I love your projects.
ReplyDeleteI've never had a problem with my foot pedal.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet husband to fix your foot pedal. We are so blessed to have fabulous quilt husbands!
ReplyDeleteYour bags are so cute! Yes, I downloaded the pattern…printed it our…oh oh…. 😊
Your mini quilts are so pretty!
Happy stitching!
Lovely collection of mini quilts! I try to do maintenance on my sewing machine, change needle, clean and oil ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing, and linking up!
I don’t change my needle as often as I should. I usually clean the bobbin area when I change color or need a new bobbin. I’ve never had trouble with my foot pedal, but several friends have. Fingers crossed, my machine is so old, I wonder if the foot pedal is even replaceable?
ReplyDeleteI hope you have found your fix on the machine! Frustrating!!
ReplyDeleteThose bags are just so cute!!!
So glad you figured out the source of your machine troubles. I must confess that I am not good about keeping my machine in tip top shape. I clean it infrequently, though I do change the needle fairly often. I like all those mini quilts.
ReplyDelete