Good for you well done i will go now and check mine :)Thank you for sharing and you are not an idiot you are a Mechanic :)Women have so many talents!!

I save all my selvage ends and use them for scrapes. Comes in handy in chain piecing.

All of us are in there together! There's a lot of room for learning!

....and now you 'appreciate' the need to clean them all the time. Been there, done that! :)

Isn't it amazing how much stuff collects under those feed dogs and plate? I have a Brother Innovis 1500D. It's been a great machine for me since it sews beautifully and also does terrific machine embroidery. I learned early on how to really clean it out
and I do it every other time I use it. I also use moisture free air gently on it. I found out the hard way. I took it in for a cleaning
"wellness check" and was charged $210! Never again.

That's why I didn't want to take it in for "wellness check" because I didn't even pay that much for it. It isn't a brother but none-the-less.

I have a Pfaff that has done a wonderful job for me. We (my daughter and I) were at a quilting class and it started acting up. I couldn't get it straightened out to save my life. Finally she said, why don't you change the needle?? I had already rethreaded both top and bottom, oiled the bobbin hook, changed thread, etc. I figured I didn't have anything to lose so I changed the needle. Guess what...it worked like a charm. Must have bent it a little or maybe it was just dull. What an easy fix. Sometimes they can be really irritating.

Oh I learned that the hard way too. So I've been changing my needle quite often.

I will remove the throat plate, clean under and around it to everything I can reach with a Q-tip then clean around and behind the bobbin area. Never thought to clean the feed dogs but have recently been having problems with fabric not feeding properly or jumping when going over seams. When I get back home the feed dogs will be the first thing I check. THANKS TO THIS WONDERFUL BOARD for all that I learn.

It is amazing what a good cleaning will do--I was ready to start looking for another machine, but I was in the middle of a project so I did the next best thing--thoroughly clean my machine. I even oiled it a bit--and voila, it works like a charm now.