I sat down yesterday to sew a rip in DH shirt pocket. I started sewing and noticed my machine (Pearl by name) was making a popping sound every few seconds. Oh no, not my new baby! I pulled the bobbin, nothing wrong there. Pulled the thread, re-threaded, still popping. Checked tension setting, it's right. Getting nervous now. I hate to think what this will cost in a repair shop. Checked to be sure foot screw was tight, no problems there. I picked up the package of needles and put a new one in, still popping. Tried different fabric, getting desperate, still popping. Walked away. Came back to try again. Rechecked everything. Still popping. Changed thread, changed bobbin, new needle. Still popping, now I am beginning to wonder how long it would be before I could afford to get it fixed (fixed income). I gave in and took it all apart and put it back in the box. With tears in my eyes, I started clearing the table of sewing supplies, to get old faithful (Penny by name) out to used for the time being. As I picked up the needle case, I looked down, and realized I had been using the size 18! I had been practicing the day before and the last thing I worked on was denim! Dufus! Dufus! Dufus! :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: