WooPigChick

GRRRRR*#@!* Still happening. Broke 3 more needles! I'm starting to worry I'll have a shard of needle in my eye before this is figured out. I slowed down, put on some music, ate a snickers, and relaxed - especially around the turns. Broke one within a minute. I honestly felt like things were flowing very smooth, like I was moving the fabric at the right speed for the machine's speed, stitches were beautiful. Never felt as if I was pulling or struggling against the flow of things. Even made big slow curves and straight lines out of curiousity. But it still happened.

So I tried taking the feed dog cover/darning plate off. My machine will only go down to a .5 stitch length. (This is aggrivating on another front too, because I can't do a perfect satin stitch when I can't take my zig zag down to a zero setting either). BUT... even with the plastic cover off, and the stitch length set to .5, I still broke a needle hitting the metal plate that is part of the machine itself. It actually left a mark where it hit - dead center on the front edge of the hole.

Over the past two days I have had several different sizes of regular point needles in the machine. I'm using thread that is labeled for "machine quilting" and don't seem to have any issues with tension, etc.

I have even taken off the metal plate and put it back on twice wondering if it is somehow shifting out of position.

I can't think of a single thing I did between the two sewing sessions. The first day I only stopped because my eyes were getting tired. Came in the next day, turned on the machine to pick up where I left off and I've been stuck in this hole ever since.

I have a headache.

noveltyjunkie

That is so frustrating!
Question: have you tried sewing something straight and thin (like piecing). It would be interesting to know if the needle goes ok for that or if maybe something is actually misaligned?

WooPigChick

You read my mind. That's the next trick I'm pulling out of my hat.

debquilts2

try cleaning your machine of all the lint, then try and rethread top and botton thread, then try again see if that helps.

WooPigChick

Ok Ladies.... some progress! Straight stitching worked just fine with 2 layers of piecing. So... I took my free motion foot and modified it in a way that kept it raised just a bit higher above the fabric than it had been previously. So far... 30 minutes of quilting later... no flying needle fragments! (Although I have no doubt I have just jinxed myself.)

I had modified the foot from the beginning (as I had seen several do in tutorials in order to keep it from actually bouncing and riding too tightly against the fabric). I'm sorry I forgot to mention this earlier.

I'm wondering now that after quilting successfully for a while that first day, if maybe the height adjustment I had made settled/shifted a bit over night, losing the original placement I had set on it. Which caused me to wonder... if certain points of my sandwhich weren't quite flat enough as I quilted across them... and the extra bit of thickness caused a touch of hesitation under the foot... could I have accidentally pulled the fabric harder at that moment to keep it moving without realizing, and as a result bent the needle over the plate just a hair? I looked at my plastic darning plate again and all of the needle impacts were made just right at the edge of hole but never in the same spot.

Am I grasping at straws? I know 99% of people would just be grateful and move on, but I'm the type that wants to understand so I can hopefully avoid, or have a better chance at solving future issues. Especially since I'm new to quilting, I'll take all the information I can soak up from all of you.

PaperPrincess

Although I'm sure that there are 'naturals' out there, most folks need hours and hours and hours (and months) of practice to achieve consistent Free Motion Quilting (FMQ). It is normally advised to work on small practice pieces before attempting quilting a quilt. So having said this, you should consider yourself ahead of the curve. If you do a search on this board for FMQ and Free Motion Quilting, you will find lots of info. The one thing that you will quickly see is although there are lots of suggestions, it's really a matter of trial and error. Every machine and quilter are different and you need to find what works for you, and you will need lots of practice.
I would have 2 suggestions: first, if there's a place you can take a FMQ class near you, I would advise it. This is one technique that really benefits from hands on instruction.
And second, because you seem to be catching your needle in the fabric, i would see if there is a hopping foot available for your machine. This foot presses the fabric down when the stitch is made then hops up so you can move the fabric. Because there is pressure on the sandwich, the needle has a better chance to clear the fabric before the next step.

Jeanette Frantz

I love your avatar. I am an Arkansas Razorback (transplanted to Florida). My first large quilt was a wedding gift to my nephew. His bride graduated from U of A. I was born and raised in Arkansas and my family is all there! Hope you have a better day!

Jeanette Frantz