oh YAY! thank you! i think the needle must not have been in all the way. I couldn't find a number on it, but i replaced it with a new 15-1 schmetz that i had in its labeled container. the ones i'd had in were unmarked but with the machine when i bought it. they appear to be the same size. in any case, the new one isn't hitting anything and everything is working as it should.
thanks for the help!
Last edited by oregongirl; 10-11-2012 at 01:34 PM.
Reason: correct typo