1/14/14

Why won’t she sew, part two

Do you remember that I broke my good quilting foot just before the thread painting class?  I had the Bernina feet and they worked just fine, so it was all good.  But, the old foot was never going to work on that powerful Bernina again.

So, I started using it on my Grandmother’s 15-91, which was the machine I broke the foot on, so now, it fit that machine just fine. 

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There’s a little piece of metal that comes out of the top of that foot and catches on the needle screw of the machine and causes the foot to hop or bounce along the surface, holding it down when I need it to and letting it lose so I can keep the quilt moving. 

I used the machine without a foot and that worked fine, except the quilt popped up and down a bit with the needl in thick seam allowances.  So, I put the foot back on, without that little metal bit.  I released nearly all the presser foot bar pressure, like you would to sew silk, and it kept the foot just on the surface of the quilt and was working fine. I finished the center of my quilt. 

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Before I started the border, I decided to use a piece of metal from a very strong paper clip and see if I could fix my foot.  And, yes, adding that and twisting it til it was tight against the spring shaft worked great.  And, it bounced up and down like it was supposed to.  It has that piece in the photo.

But, the dad gum machine would not make a stitch.  And, ohhhhh, that was making me mad.  So, I packed the whole thing up and moved to my Bernina and finished the quilting.

I woke up yesterday morning, knowing why it wouldn’t make a stitch and I tested my theory and it was true.  Without any pressure on the presser foot bar, the bouncing of the foot with the needle was raising the whole presser foot assembly, just like flipping up the lift would.  And, that releases the tension.  And, a stitch won’t form without tension.  I tightened the presser bar down and now, she quilts like a dream. 

Who knew there was still so much to learn in my 50’s. 

Have a great Tuesday.  Tomorrow, I plan to talk about something I learned about binding.  I have to say I love working on a little “nothing” project like this one.  It started as some inspirational scraps and became what it is and I’ve learned three things from working on it because I wasn’t so focused on making it come out perfect.  I could enjoy the process and be open to learning more about what I was having trouble with instead of just being pissed that it wouldn’t work right. 

Lane

3 comments:

Linda said...

I wish I were as clever as you! Your quilt is beautiful!

lw said...

Good fix. You know, you could consider repairing sewing machines whenever you retire, for fabric money. You've come so far just by needing to keep your own machines running well.

Elizabeth said...

Sometimes it is good to work in a no-pressure environment.

Beautiful quilting & awesome job Mickey Mousing the foot!

xo -E