Here I was, just admiring the people on the thread who had all the sewing machines, and I just had one, and now I have none. It broke. Long story, but the gist is I've already spent more on it in repairs than I bought it for 10 months ago, and I'm not getting it fixed again. In fact, I'm trying to get my money back from the company that made it (wish me luck on that!). Now I am getting a brand new Janome 6500P (P is for Professional) in a month. The month didn't seem long to wait, until I was without any sewing machine at all. Sigh! I am bummed. Guess the house will at least get properly cleaned, but I feel those quilting withdrawal pains coming on fast!

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

Hope your new machine comes in sooner than you think it will!

Good things come to those who wait! (Think Janome!) :thumbup:

I'm sorry your machine is broken. What model? So other can avoid a troublesome one...

How frustrating. I hope time goes fast til you get your new machine.

So....while you wait for your new machine, get lotsa quilts cut out so you can jump in and start sewing right away!

I'm sorry you're machine-less now tho... :(

Wish i lived closer you could use one of mine! while you are waiting , organize your quilting stash, look threw your patterns and start planning our next project.

hey..now is the perfect time to A- clean and prep/decorate for the holidays...B- organize your stash..and C- cut up some kits to sew when the NEW baby arrives!

Hang in there the month will be over before you know itl. Get that space ready for her. Have you thought of a name for her yet?

I just got my Jamone 6600P yesterday and it's just wonderful. well worth the wait. You will love it

Get some projects cut and ready to sew!

Hi everyone! Thanks for the encouragement. I have to say I spent the day tearing my stash apart, and found things I'd forgotten I had. Isn't that always the way? But just playing with the fabrics made me feel so much better, and now I have all the fabrics I need picked out to finish a log cabin quilt I was working on when the machine broke. I had finished the blocks in the other colors, and knew I had enough related colors so they'd blend but look different, which is what I was trying to achieve, because this is the border. But I'd never pulled them out of my stash. So now I have some washing and pressing to do. I partly dry my fabrics outside, and adore the smelling of pressing fresh cloth with that outdoor smell. Makes the pressing go so much faster, and if the fabric never goes in the dryer, it still has "body" to it. Which means lighter starch when I get around to cutting it.

And I have my stash to reorganize. I just bought a shelving unit off Craig's list, beautiful and cheap. and I can finally get things out of boxes and out where I can see them! I can see I'm going to enjoy this part!

And I can get the house cleaned. I have guests coming for Thanksgiving. We just moved here in April. I still have boxes in there that either need to be unpacked or stored.

The machine that broke is a Brother Sewing Machine. It was one of the cheap models. Less than $200. I hadn't even looked at sewing machines in over 30 years. Didn't know what I was doing. Didn't realize anything this cheap was mostly plastic and made in a 3rd world nation. I just knew money was tight because we were moving, and I desperately wanted a sewing machine. The sales man had the gall to tell me it was an "industrial strength" model, sewed through anything. Heck, it wouldn't even stitch through a thin quilt! Every time I tried to quilt something, I broke needles and jammed up the bobbin. So the word is, if the price sounds too good to be true, it is. There are some great Brother Sewing machines out there, but if you buy one, make sure it's made out of metal, the face plate is metal, the bobbin cover is metal, the inner workings are metal, and it costs more than $200! The repair fellow told me that I overheated the machine when I was quilting because it was working so hard, and warped some of the plastic innards. That wouldn't have happened if they'd been made of metal, or if the motor had been up to the task.

All I've heard about Janome has been awesome, and in fact, I went out and sewed on 4 different models before I made my choice, and I mean I was there for 2 hours, putting them through their paces. It was awesome! Love that machine!

So I will play with and organize my stash, get the fabrics ready for the log cabin blocks, make plans for my next project, and I can start pulling from my stash for that, and even start some cutting. And of course, I can get the house ready for guests and Thanksgiving. Sounds like I'm going to be a busy lady!

I knew I would find understanding here. Thanks ever so much!

You will LOOOOOVE your 6500P....It is a charm:)

I am a single machiner too and I have always wondered what I would do if my workhorse of a Viking took a dive... I guess now we know why all these quilters have more than one machine eh? Good job staying busy while you wait for your new Janome and I will look forward to seeing what you make with it!

Pick up a vintage Singer 66 or 99 to keep as a backup. You can find them for less than $50 at yard sales or thrift shops, and they require just a little oiling and cleaning to keep them going forever.

I have the sister to your 6500, the 6600p, you are going to love this machine. I have had several machine over the years and my 6600p is my all time favourite. Join the yahoo group now and you will get some really good tips on you machine. Time will go by very quickly and just think you will have it in time to sew for xmas.

Emmah, your exactly correct!
My 99K cost my daughter less than $15.00. My hubby cleaned and oiled her and away she went without any effort at all:)
Love the little booger......and my daughter:):)

Hey, that's a GREAT idea! Thanks!

I love my Janomes, one for classes and retreats and one for home. The 760 will also act as my backup. But my 6600P only needs annual cleaning and that's it. You're going to love your new Janome!

I agree with Emmah. Pick up a vintage machine at a thrift store, estate sale, Kijiji or Craig's List as your back up machine. My Singer 201 is a powerhouse and was free to a good home. My Featherweight was at a garage sale for $45 and my newest Husqvarna #1+ bought on Kijiji (orginally sold for $3600) was $200. All of these machines stitch better than my Janome 6500 which I have had a love/hate relationship with and cost me $2000 Canadian. I'm sure that they made my Janome at 10 to 5 on a Friday before the long weekend. It has had its problems but I now have it's issues straightened out. The biggest one was finding out (not in the manuel) that there is an oil wick under the bobbin case that may dry out and make a huge racket and cause the bobbin case to rattle and growl and jump out of place. I had to find out about that one on the Janome 6500/6600 forum on line because my dealer kept telling me that it was "operator error" that was causing all of my bobbin case troubles. I'd advise you to join that forum and read up about your Janome 6500. I hope you get a wonderful machine.

I'm sorry that you're without a machine. Maybe you can try embroidery or some kind of hand work? Also sort your fabric? Also lots of cool website to check:

What quilt bloggers are blogging today. It changes daily:

http://quilterblogs.com/updates/

Thanks for the advice on the oil and the forum. I will look up the forum. And I have already decided that while I'm running around these estate sales and garage sales, I'm going to be looking for a vintage sewing machine, preferably Singer, but one never knows what one will find! Anything to keep me stitching along in case one or the other is in the shop is what I'm looking for. Can't afford it now -- have to get that Janome sorted first. But now that I know what it's like to be without . . . Well! I just won't let it happen again!

Thanks again!

Sorry you had problems with your 6500P, not a good experience at all!!! I have noticed that the owners manual does not addess oiling or any real upkeep...
I have to say my 6500 has worked as well as my vintage machinesand I'm glad for that since the 6500 cost a whole lot of money compared to my vintage machines !!

Oh, No! I had problems with a cheap Brother machine! I'm replacing it with a brand new Janome 6500P, which I haven't received yet (have to finish paying for it first!). I've heard that the Janome is a terrific, reliable machine, and am looking forward to using it. I spent over two hours sewing on it and similar models in a show room, and I was sold. Awesome machine! I do realize it has to be serviced, depending on usage, about once a year. I've been told (by a repair man) that it can take a year of heavy use, which it will likely get from me, without needing service. Service just means they clean it, check it over, and clean out and replace the oil and oil wick. If it keeps me humming along, sounds like a fair deal to me!

The bottom line is, if you buy a cheap machine, you can't expect it to perform like a high grade model. And that's what happened. The Brother would piece nicely, but when I started quilting, it overloaded and overheated the motor, and it was never right after that. Kept needing service, and the "fixes" were always temporary.