I keep my magnetic pincushion on my harp all the time as I'm sewing. I have had no problems.

Yep - iPad covers have magnets in the cover as well; when the cover is closed the magnet flips a switch in the iPad to tell it to turn the screen off.

Floppy disks...oh, memories! The only floppy discs in my house are in the craft bin; I punch extra holes in them and use zip-ties to make little boxes and bins out of them, LOL. I never could figure out anything clever to do with old cassettes, though.

Hahhaa, I just read the article you linked to, this quote is giving me the giggles:
"A magnet powerful enough to disturb the electrons in flash would be powerful enough to suck the iron out of your blood cells," said Bill Frank, executive director of the CompactFlash Association.

Well, that sure does say something, doesn't it? Yeesh! I think all my blood-iron is still with me, so I guess I'm OK. LOL

I agree...especially at the $$$$for these babies....but I do miss that magnetic seam guide!

Magnets on sewing machines.
 

I contacted Viking a while back about sewing machines and magnets. They told me there is no harm at all with magnets and their sewing machines.

If a magnet can stick to any part of your machine it is perfectly safe.

If you are not sure about your particular machine, contact the manufacturer.

Phyllis

Hmmmm, this is news to me. Have kept my magnetic seam guide away from my computerized machine all this time, thinking it was a no-no. Kind of hard to re-arrange your thinking, when you have something ingrained in your brain for so long.

I know there were older Babylock and Brother machines that used floppies to transfer embroidery designs. Those would be affected. I think the older cards might have had a problem also. So if you use either system, I would watch the magnets. The newer cards might be OK.

I have a Janome 10000 and the dealer I purchased it from said, "Keep ANY magnets away from this machine" They can wipe out the computer system of your machine, so no way am I going to risk it, the machine cost me too much and I got a good deal on it too. Better safe than sorry.

We too had a Viking Rep in our store and that is also what she said, the Magnets are not a problem with Viking machines they would not harm them.

For peace of mind, why not call the manufacturer of your machines?

Phyllis

I asked on Janome's facebook page and they said to keep magnets away. I asked both on the page and in a message to them and they replied to both. I'll keep doing what I'm doing.

their PM to me:
We strongly recommend that you keep magnets away from computerized sewing machines. Over time magnets have been known to cause the machine to stop functioning.

the question on their fb page:
https://www.facebook.com/JanomeSewin...52467003673223