i love that answer, unfortunately, we live in a 1738 cape style house...the quilting studio is upstairs on half of it....no walls or doors, so when my daughter goes to bed, i have to stop, because she is a very light sleeper...

going to the sewing expo in worcester saturday, hoping to find a good book on cathedral windows, cause i can do those by hand downstairs....good to have a plan on a hot flashy nite!!

When I got my Brother EX660 it was very quiet. As my needle dulled it got louder. It took several squares for me to realize my needle was now almost flat across the bottom. Yep. New needle quietened it down for a few yards of squares. Thennnnnnn, I removed the presserfoot holder to clean lint out of the machine. I set it back in place and let my presser foot down to get up and get my screw driver to tighten it. Something distracted me and I didn't tighten the presserfoot holder screw. I sewed about an inch before the presserfoot holder fell. It is now very noisy and breaks needles left and right. I have a scratch in the presserfoot and a hole through the bobbin case holder.. Oh well,,

yes, when the needle gets dull in either of my Pfaff's, they get noisy too; that's how I know for sure that it's time to change the needle. I never used to have to change them so often but then I do sew more now that I'm retired so it's probably about right.