Yesterday I went out and bought the Sapphire 875. It sure is going to take some getting use to, but will be a great machine I think. It has a lot more options than my Huskystar224 has, so am really excited about learning it. Hope it is a good machine.

Congratulations! A new machine in the house is exciting!

congrats.

I bought the 870 about two years ago; didn't know that another model had come out. Congratulations!

This machine can be intimidating to those of us who sort of "leapt" up to such a fancy machine. I need to go back and take the starter classes again!

Did you notice that the machine doesn't have a lever (behind the needle) to raise and lower the foot? For me, it's been really hard to get used to. I find it difficult to accurately line up the fabric the first time; i.e., I'm used to raising the foot a bit and squigging the fabric to where I want it. For that reason, I use my Baby Lock for piecing and the Sapphire for FMQ. It's great for that!!

A couple of people suggested buying the throat plate (is that what it's called?) marked in inches (the machine comes with metric marking). Unfortunately that didn't help. What did help, after some fussing with the problem, is to use the needle and hand wheel to place the fabric before hitting the pedal to lower the foot.

If I didn't have my Baby Lock as an alternative, I might be better at using the Sapphire by now. As they say, practice makes perfect.

Hope you enjoy your machine. It really is a nice one and has lots of coooool features!

Congrats! I bought the Sapphire 830 about 6 months ago and love it. One thing to pay attention to is that the presser foot can come up to a couple of positions. Be sure you have it all the way up when you are trying to pull the thread thru or it won't go anywhere! Oh, and I'm still reaching for the presser foot lever! :)

I'm afraid I'm just one broken knuckle away from pulling my hair out! :lol:

Just joking. Nothing broken, yet. I may get more practice this weekend. -- my Baby Lock is busted. Boo hoo! That's my "go to" machine.

I just spent the last hour working with it and I love, love, love it.
I love the needle up-needle down option, I love the fix at the start option, I love the thread cutting option. I haven't found anything yet that I don't like.
I too have reached for the lever to put the foot down. That might take a little bit of getting use to, especially going back and forth to a conventional machine, but that's okay.

Congratulations!! I hope you have a great time with your new machine!

I tried to do some fmq and had a devil of a time with my bobbin thread. I even broke a needle. It would just bunch up on the bottom. I phoned to the place that sold me the machine and he told me to rethread the top and voila, end of problem. Who would have known that rethreading the top would fix the bobbin. He said that the thread likely popped out of the take up arm and I guess he knew what he was talking about. If it ever happens again, at least I will know how to fix it.

Congratulations on the new machine!!!! :) :) :)

CONGRATS!!!! and welcome to the really FUN WORLD of Viking sewing and embroidery machine owners! You will really enjoy your machine. May I suggest that you avail yourself of all of the classes that your local Viking dealer has? Great way to meet new people, make new friends who share common interests, and learn A LOT about your machine.....

Wow. Congrats and have fun with your new baby.

WooHoo!!!! :D:D:D

It is a great machine. My sister and I have been sewing on the Sapphire for several years now and we both think they are great. She has fits with her needle threader, but mine works fine.

Have FUN!!

Have fun!!!
Gale

Did you also do a search on this site for some more of our postings?
Glad to hear you're having fun with your new machine.

Well, I tried FMQ on the Sapphire again, over the weekend, using invisible thread in the top. Went really well for about 290 mins then broke a needle. I think I went too fast for the walking foot.

Replaced the needle, thought it was going well, until I discovered that the invisible thread had broken, fell out, went on vacation, whatever, and I wasn't sewing anything!

Rethreaded it. THIS TIME, I pulled the bobbin thread to the top before starting to sew. Went well again. Left on a high note, stopping for dinner. May go back to it tonight. Still have a few curses I haven't used yet. Will post finished product if not flung out window. :-)

I have found that if I go too fast, I break needles. I did better on the last quilt because I slowed the speed down (speed button is above the reverse on my Sapphire 835 - and I was looking for it in the menu!). I think the combination of the speed and moving the fabric in a direction other than forward/backward is when I have needle problems.

I just re-read your post. You mention FMQ and also the walking foot. You should not be using the walking foot for FMQ. Mine came with a clear foot, "R" I think. I didn't like that one, I prefer the spring clear foot 4125417 is the number on the foot. The dealer gave it to me. I think it runs about $30 +/- a couple.

Ditto on the speed factor & direction! It's a lesson I keep re-learning over & over again. As for FMQ combined with a walking foot, that was a mind cramp! I should have said sewing in the ditch with the walking foot, then going on to FMQ.

You're also right about using something other than the "R" foot. I'm not at home right now so I can't check but I'm pretty sure I bought an open toe spring/hopping foot when I bought the machine. I'd had success with using the same type of foot with my BabyLock so I knew what to look for.

I hope to get back to sewing tonight. Been working toooo late, lately! That, plus getting stuck in the parking lot because they haven't plowed the lot yet! :-( Guess the weekend storms took some outfits by surprise.