Don't use canned air on your machine, or blow into the bobbin case. It drives the lint and thread bits into the moving parts you can't see. It can cost you big bucks to have it repaired. Save that money to buy more fabric!

I regularly clean and oil my machine. The very first time I hear something that I don't like, I whip out that oil bottle.

It was breaking threads earlier today, I am going to change the needle and clean her up! I am kind of weird about the needles, too. I used to use one until it broke, but no more, the needle gets changed every project. My seams are better now.

Oh OH, I'd better go check mine! It's been awhile since I did any sewing and I cant remember the last time I cleaned it. Thanks for the reminder!

I clean mine after every project. Or if I am sewing with fleece or flannel then it gets cleans two or three times during the project.

I service my own machines, and if I can't. I take them outback and shoot them........j/k

About every quilt or so ever since my GF tore my machine apart and pulled out a dust bunny that was bigger than my little dog. Ok it just seemed that big was it was sure packed down in there. I was SO EMBARASSED that I clean my machine regularly now.

I clean mine each time I start a new quilt, along with new needle.

One other thing that I check when my Janome is acting funny, doing a gathering stitch or being noisy....I pull the top thread out and re-thread it. It's amazing how many times that is the problem!

I try to clean my machine after every project. Sometimes I will even clean it mid-stream, particularly if I am sewing with batting or sewing flannel. They create a lot of lint.
Glad you found out that cleaning was all you needed. :D

glad you figured it out! see your machine was trying to tell you, clean me, clean me clean me

one of the best tools I have used is a pair of long sorta twisers. Sort of like a hemistat. I can pop my plate off and the use those to find any and all pieces of lint or piecdes of thread. They also work very well when you take out the bobbin holder and then drop the "guts" out which I hate cause it takes me for ever to get that one piece to lay back in. I would imagine most of the quilters have these handi-danndi little problem solvers.. and maybe they could explain them a bit better then I can. I know they are also much used when threading a serger also.

I clean mine often and am always amazed at what I find.