I sat down to piece the borders of my Lonestar-Gone-Wrong quilt, and thought: "mmm... what's that funny sound?" but I continued to sew and sew and sew, and about 25% of the way through the boarder piecing, the machine made a loud KA-THUNK sound as if some internal piece of metal came off and fell down went boom (inside), and the needle apparatus just stopped. No more sewy-sewy.

Guess it's time to find the nearest/best Singer service place. And once again, this quilt becomes a UFO...

Will it EVER be done?

Now I understand why so many of you have more than one sewing machine.

-- Jillaine
p.s. my fear is that the repair will cost more than the value of the machine! :-(

p.p.s. I guess I could HAND-piece...

So sorry, and it conks out just before the weekend!! Now, that is WRONG!! on so many levels. . . :thumbdown:

That's a bummer. I hope your machine can be repaired quickly and cheaply. :(

Oh NO! nothing worse than that WHONK! sound. Hope you get yours repaired and that you get a spare.

That's why I have more than one machine. Sorry this happened to you.

I think we have all been there at one time or another. Hope all goes well with repairs. So sorry this had to happen when you had your heart set on getting the ufo finally done.

Just like your pets. If something is to go wrong with them it always happens on the weekend when no Vets are open. :roll:

I am sorry to hear of this. I, too, do not have multiple machines so truly understand (smile). Use this time to pamper yourself in some way. All will be well soon.

Well, the sewing machine doc said it's terminal-- or rather: it would cost at least $200 to repair so I may as well get a new one.

Given that, I took her home and took her apart. The problem is a broken plastic gear that drives the feeder. See 2nd photo: broken bits.

I took as much apart as I could (easily), and saw that to replace this little plastic gear, I would have to take more of the machine apart than I'm probably capable of.

Dang!!!

Good news: I have a neighbor who is willing to give her like-new Montgomery Ward (!) sewing machine away. That should be able to hold me over for awhile.

-- Jillaine

I am sorry your machine went hay-wire on a Friday night. Will surely be a long weekend. Hope it's a minor repair and is up and running very soon.

Those plastic gears are one of the reasons I love vintage (pre 1960) sewing machines.
Someone once gave me an almost new Singer and it lasted less than a year-plastic gear broke.
I have Kenmore 8 stitch that will probably never break, and a little Singer Spartan that can sew anything and is my main quilt piecing machine as it sews straight stitches very well. Both of them only need a bit of cleaning and oiling to keep running well.
All-metal gears and parts make good sense on a sewing machine.

Sorry to hear your sewing machine bit the dust but am glad your neighbor was able to give you her sewing machine - whew! Now your quilting continues :)

Emma, my Singer was 20 years old; I'd *never* had it serviced. So I think I got a good run for my money on it. I'm just sorry about it because my mom gave it to me; it was the best (physical) gift I've received from her. See http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-112224-1.htm for her/our story.

Still don't have the Montgry Wards machine yet; playing phone tag. Guess I'll re-organize my fabric or something. Or do some cutting with my new blade.

Just missed a Bernina 1130 at an estate sale that went for $220. I know Bernina is a good name, but otherwise don't know diddly about sewing machines.

I really don't have any cash right now (and don't want to add to the credit card balance), so am going to have to wait for awhile. And in the meantime, start learning up on good types of machines to invest in at this point in life.

-- Jillaine

Just read your story about the pincushion and your mom. Very sweet. I wish I lived closer, I would give you a sewing machine. A friend of mine went to a yard sale and ended up bringing me four non working machines, as she knows I like to tinker with them. I have three of them up and running now, and have to figure out what's up with the fourth one. If your neighbor doesn't come thru with a machine, let me know..........

She came through; now I have to see if I can use it! It's a beast!!! (See my new post in Pictures)

THanks for your incredible generosity.

-- Jillaine