You gals crack me up! I usually change mine in the middle of the night as well when the screech! LOL
I have a very funny machine, she is like a kid that doesn't like to have her diaper changed. Every time I take off the throat plate and clean, I can never get her to sew correctly without wrapping the thread around the bobbin case and then fiddling with the throat plate to get it in just the right spot. It is how the throat plate and the workings fit together is what I was told, but do you think I could get her to do it at the Dr? NO! .. damn thing is that I love this machine or I would trade it in on another one. (Brother QC 1000) I have always sewn on Brother machines because you can stuff them full of lint and they keep on going.
To Sharon, yes, I have been a busy bee. I think it has been over a month or maybe 3 since I have cleaned this baby out and that was before quilt camp, my son's queen size Christmas quilt, 2 mystery quilts, 1 baby quilt made out of camo fabric (see my pictures under ugly baby quilt) and the Blue Skies Mystery I am designing for the QB before she started skipping stitches. I am a badddd machine mom, I change the needle all the time, does that count?? She is all happy now.
One problem, she creaks when I sew. I can watch one of the parts that moves the feed dogs and it is rubbing on the plastic body of the machine and when I sew slow, she creaks, kinda like me, stitches just perfect, except for this creak. Any suggestions and taking her to the Dr is out of the question as I can't afford a Dr visit right now.