Happy learning in the New Year!
 

So I started my new year with a learning experience.
Did you know that a bit of lint can quite effectively block the opening for your bobbin thread to exit the bobbin case? Well not only that but it can be most definitely difficult to retrieve. It had apparently very firmly wedged itself into that spot and wasn't about to move! Between digging repeatedly with the point of my trusty seam ripper and "sawing" in the opening with a few inches of waxed dental floss it finally released all of it.
I was reluctant to take the bobbin case apart as I was not sure I would know how to determine proper tension setting upon reassembly. Very glad I didn't have to learn that part!

congrats on correcting the issue. i know what you mean about taking the case apart. i had that issue a couple months ago. nothing fixed the problem and it was my last resort... i took it apart [shudder]. turns out it didn't fix the issue and a visit tot he machine shop fixed it. but it took forever to get those minute screws back in their places! only do it if you have lots of time and patience.

Since lint is our enemy, why do we produce so much of it?

I don't know about anyone else but I love fleece, flannel, velvet and minky - all of which shed lint like crazy! So I just have to deal with it.

speaking about learning experience I had one with the quilt I am working on. I go to town and sew with the girls it is a different machine that I sew on at my home. Well short story my cornerstones would not work and I had them in every corner of every block so it was a bunch. It did take some time to figure it out but now I know to check the 1/4" seam on every machine.

Pipe cleaners are a great tool for cleaning our machines, too. My Juki doesn't tolerate lint well at all. The tension starts to mess up if I need to clean the bobbin area. It's kind of a pain, because I have to unscrew the plate to get to the feed dogs and clean them. But as a temporary fix I can shove a pipe cleaner in there and it will bring out a good bit of lint.

My Janome "jammed" today. I cleaned out all the lint, which I do anyway between projects. I have a feeling it has something to do with the feed dogs so to the shop it will go. Frustrated!

Another thing I learned is on your longarm to baste the end of the quilt take out every other pin and place it a bit higher on the quilt then you can get the basting done.