Originally Posted by mpeters1200
I am so darn ticked off!! Something happened to my machine last weekend and it is broken and now in the shop. I wasn't very pleased with my owner's manual. It doesn't really show how to clean and oil it well and I've been so scared of breaking it trying to do it myself, so I send it in for maintenance once a year.
I've pieced more in the last 15 months than I have in my whole quilting "career". I'm in the middle of piecing a 25 block sampler for my DH for our anniversary this year (our tenth), I have all this pretty boy scout fabric I just ordered for a signature wall hanging cut out and ready to go.
I have been piecing 2 days a week 4 months in a row last year, and again from January this year working on my projects. Now I have no machine. I don't know what happened to it. I don't know how much it's going to cost or when I'm going to get it back.
I feel like I'm going stark raving mad!! I cut all my pieces for the next few piecing sessions, that didn't help. I redid my list of things I need to buy soon and things that can wait a while yet. I've looked through patterns. I've hand mended some of the older quilts around here. I don't have a quilt in the frame yet cause the DH quilt isn't completely pieced yet.
Hubby told me when I get this one out to take an old one my late MIL gave me, get it serviced and in the house so I am never without a machine again. He thinks I'm nuts and I'm right behind him. Have any of you felt like this? What helps you?
You emphatically need a second machine for when your good one goes into the shop. I never had the luxury until 2 years ago and suddenly I've gone from one to 3 but it's ok. I needed a light weight one to take to classes with my quilt chapter and it's a work horse that I doubt will end up in the shop. It's the Baby Lock Maria but I should have gone the next step up and bought the Audry but didn't want to spend $600 for it so I bought the Maria for $400. The only feature I don't have is the ability to mirror stitches but my other machines have it so it's not a big deal. I couldn't see spending $200 more for the Audry but if you're in the market, my recommendation is to checkout both.
I ended up with 3 when my Pfaff 2034 had to go in for it's annual cleaning etc last Sept. I was sputtering about the glitch in that model that requires it to go to the shop annually though I love the machine. He told me about the new Pfaff Quilter Expression 4.0 that has the longer arm and I said no thank you. The 2030 is only 5 years old and has to go another 5 minimum. Got home and my husband who was with me in the shop checked our finances and suggested I consider looking into the machine because the annoying glitch in my 2034 is NOT part of the 4.0 (Viking is now building the Pfaff and has put in the drop in bobbin which is so nice). When we went to pick up the Pfaff I asked the price and wow, it was too good a price to walk away from so I now have 3. Actually the owner wanted mine as a trade in (suspect he has a buyer) but I refused to do the trade in telling him it would be a great back up for when the 4.0 has to go into the shop. I can go seamlessly between the two machines and they even use the same feet which means my 1/4 seams are exactly the same.
Maybe one day you can get yourself a second machine or get the older one going. The members of my group prefer them for piecing anyway it seems.