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Post by choney2 on Jul 2, 2020 11:10:15 GMT
Rene, I just went through that process of looking for a new machine. Phyl has good advice for you....try out what you can and see what works well for you. I too was a Singer owner, have a confidence quilter which performed admirably for almost 10 years. I still have it but it has some issues. Agree- stay away from Juki. Apparently their instruction manuals are very difficult to read- do not translate well to english. Another consideration is service. I ended up buying a Husqvarna sapphire which I am very happy with. I tried it out at Joanns (they have a Viking sewing center within the store) and purchased it as a local shop. So I have lots of support should my machine need servicing. What I have heard about Huskqarna is that they are work horses and it comes with a 20 year warrantee. I have friends who also use Janome and Bernina. My one friend has a Janome (she is a quilting wizard!!) which she loves. Good luck in your search.
Ginny
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Post by DotRen on Jul 2, 2020 11:57:24 GMT
Thanks phyl and choney2  I ordered a Janome JW8100 from amazon - no one locally sells machines (other than walmart and hobby lobby, and they've both been sold out for months). I went with amazon because this one is fulfilled through amazon, so if I don't like it or if there's a problem, it's an easy return. I read a bunch of blogs, articles and comparisons, and in the "under $600" rank (since I'm just a hobby sewer) it came in in the top 3, and had the fewest negative reviews on amazon (the Brother XR9550PRW looks neat but had a bunch of negatives, the SINGER Quantum Stylist 9960 was the same way). Editing: I'm trying to cancel the janome, there is no where locally that can do repairs lol -thanks for the tips on that! If they ship it, I'll just return it. Singer and Brother have local repairs, so I'll try to stick with them |
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Post by phyl on Jul 2, 2020 14:10:58 GMT
DOT, are there any quilts shops that sells machines and can service them?
we have a quilt shop here that sells the Berinas and babylocks they have a guy that come in.from what I hear he is young. so who know how long he will be at it.
my dealer decides to retire or has health issues have no idea where to take brother. Steve said I would have to go to the cities.
sorry to say machine repair people are becoming a lost art.
being a hobby sewer a small janome, eversewn,or a small Bernia might work for you course I do not know what you want on a machine
my friend Peggy bought a eversewn thorugh a quilt shop dealer. she was having problems. turned out the factory did not calbraite the machine before shipping.
if all you want to do is straight sewing the little featherweight machine might work for you.several quilters bring them to class.
here is a idea. my dear deceased sil viking's was 40 years old and having problems.she went to Walmart and bought one.
On Super bowl Sunday her and her dd would be in the back bedroom making cat beds. while the guys watched the game.
Mona said if something went wrong the machine was cheap enough she would buy another one.
all has to do with what you feel
give it some time and walmart and joann's will have machines comeback.
hints
STEVE has come to our guild and talked many times. one thing is do not let the machine sit in the closet for months machines like to be used.
when you are cleaning out the bobbin do not blow in it.has to do with the humidity in our breath.
this is funny the first time STEVE talked he said do not us cooking oil or any other kinds of oil in your machine. (just use what you are suppose to for your machine) we all laughed. steve said he has had a few use cooking oil really hard to clean the machine. also can do something to the parts.
ok I am getting dressed and going to my playpen to work on the table mat.
have a wonderful Thursday.Phyl
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Post by DotRen on Jul 2, 2020 16:38:19 GMT
I caught the Janome in time to cancel it. I ordered the Brother DE600 Sewing and Embroidery machine direct from Brother, and they pay shipping if there are any problems (which is nice!). Did you know they still make treadle sewing machines? My grandmother had one, and I grew up with a cast iron Singer lol -the cabinet it sat in had a spot so you could put the foot peddle on the side so you could use your knee instead of foot for it. I loved that thing  I wish I'd kept the cabinets, she had 3 machines at one time, those solid wood ones are expensive now! |
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Post by gramma14 on Jul 2, 2020 17:35:00 GMT
Rene, unlike the others here I'm not a quilter so when I went to buy a sewing machine all I needed was a simple one. I went to a sewing store which had been in business here for many years so I knew I had somewhere to go if I had problems. They also serviced the machines. Well after about 50 years or more in business they closed...so much for having a reliable service place. I got a Janome and it's worked great for me but I don't use it often at all. When I do use it it's fine. Previous to this I had a Kenmore. It didn't work well from the beginning. After many frustrating years I tookit to a service person here who charged me a lot and the machine had the same problems after he supposedly fixed it.I don't know who made Kenmores back then but I suspect it was Singer. Now Janome makes them.I actually have an extremely old singer(I think it's a Singer) out in my garage that I got at an estate auction. It has only one stitch.No zigzags or anything. It's a plain and simple machine and it works great. It weighs a ton and is supposed to be "portable". I tried to move it recently and could hardly pick it up. They were made very well back then but have none of the bells and whistles.
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Post by phyl on Jul 2, 2020 17:59:54 GMT
Dot congratulations on your new machine. hope everything works out for you and you really like it. brothers are good machines.
we had a treadle machine.never did see mom or grandma use it. mom always told me it did not work.
I wanted to have motor put in it. would have cost $50.00 way back when. mom said no.
when dsil got pregnant she borrowed the machine to make tops.
a few months ago I asked if she still had the machine. no she gave it back to mom.who then gave it to one of her beer drinking couples.who probably gave it o a dd.
Jan said if she knew that she would have kept it . I told her she should have.
that was mom get rid of it don't ask the kids if they want anything.GGGRRR!
another thing we had was a beautiful large buffet from the old country.
dad gave it to aunt Anna when they moved. because uncle DAN helped.another big GGGGGGRRRRR that was suppose to be mine.Grandma said I could have it when I was a teenager.she was dead when we moved.
things are not going good in my playpen. got down to my machine and there are water spots on it and my table.we got it all cleaned up.
the bathroom sits over the machine area.
found Don and he took of the ceiling tile. has something to do with how the set the pipe up when they put the new shower stall in. DON called the company and a guy will be out in a couple of hours.
so everything got wiped up and started sewing. broke a needle in less then 5 minutes. so cleaned out the racer etc. turned the machine up side down and out came the needle part I heard go clink.
I am going to stick with the wide boarder. I could have had the boarder on by now and and sandwich to quilt. have no idea how to quilt it.
hope all of have a better day then the way mine started out.  . phyl
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Post by cj59 on Jul 2, 2020 18:16:14 GMT
Hello Crafters - Hope you are all doing well today DotRen - I hope you enjoy your Brother machine. All of my sewing machines are Brother and I love them. I don't have any of the fancy machines, since I just needed something basic but I do have at least 2 Brother dealers within 40 miles of my house in case I ever did need service. Please let us know how you like the machine once you get it The two mystery quilts I was thinking about doing in July released information today. One of them did a release of the quilt layout and I really didn't like it at all. I'm so glad I didn't invest any money in it (they were selling fabric sets to make it). The other one (Jelly Snowflake) I really like and I'm going to do it using my own fabrics instead of a jelly roll. I have some nice traditional look Christmas fabrics and I found a pretty cream with gold stars fabric to use as my background. Here are a few links for you to look at if you'd like to see what it's about: blog.patsloan.com/ - Pat Sloan's first blocks. Her fabric is really cute. www.aquiltinglife.com/2020/07/jelly-snowflake-mystery-quilt-block-1.html/ - Block 1 pattern and some really nice pictures of her blocks. The all red is a pretty choice too. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ww55lZB2FGw&feature=youtu.be - video of how to make the first block I finished all the bowtie blocks last night and I decided not to do a tumbler block this month. I already have 2 blue blocks done and don't really need anymore. I'm also not doing the Broken Dishes small block I do each month with the leftover half square triangles. There isn't enough contrast in the blue fabrics to make the block work since you have to have some lights and some darks and all these blues are dark. It was really hard to draw the line on the back of the snowball pieces before sewing. I couldn't see the black marked line on the dark blue fabric. But I got it done It's hot and humid here, hope your weather is nicer. Take care everyone and have a great day! |
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Post by snowsaint on Jul 2, 2020 20:35:01 GMT
Rene, enjoy your new machine when it arrives! I think there are pluses and minuses for every machine. You can't go wrong if it meets your needs as well as other considerations like servicing, etc. If you outgrow the machine, you can deal with that down the road.
I've been reading this past week. I have two new little looms as well as a zillion ideas. Warp thread has arrived. Next step is going through yarn and fibers. This week's reading has been more about Andean textiles, particularly in the Peruvian highlands, not about what I'm going to do initially. I'm planning to look for more first hand accounts from people who have spent time in the villages, not necessarily weavers.
I haven't done any crochet this week. My wrist is developing a sore spot, so hopefully, the rest will be beneficial. I did buy a new computer. I've had Dell or HP desk tops, replaced or upgraded. My current Dell needs some serious problem solving work. I decided to get a MacBook. It's here and unpacked. I've opened the lid, and it talks to me. Now to get it up and running.
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Post by gramma14 on Jul 2, 2020 21:31:15 GMT
CJ, I meant to tell Rene that you had Brothers machines and liked them. I did have one years back but it also gave me problems so I gave it to ddil and she had problems too. I guess it was a lemon. And same with me on the sew alongs or crochet alongs....I don't like mystery ones. I want to know what I'm going to be making. A lot of what they end up making in those CALs are not my taste at all.Now I'm going to go look at those links
Rene, I may not be a quilter but I love quilts and love to look at the links that CJ posts for us
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Post by gramma14 on Jul 2, 2020 21:34:02 GMT
Oh my goodness, CJ, I love that first one on the Pat Sloan site! I could do that one I think and I could use my peanuts fabric and put one larger block in that bottom left corner so that the characters could be see. Ok, I'm going to look at the others.
Ok, I'm back. I love the snowflake one too. I have a lot of Christmas fabric but realistically I have so many crochet projects that I have to do that I know I'll never have time to sew.
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Post by cj59 on Jul 2, 2020 22:27:30 GMT
Ruth - I'm glad you enjoyed the links This is my kind of quilting - straight line sewing with no triangles I think you could easily do those blocks and use your Peanuts fabric. Maybe you could try just one block and see how you like it. The video is done by someone who is really dedicated to having a perfect block. That's not me but I appreciate her work, and it's nice she does the video to show exactly how to piece the block and cut the fabric. I've been "lost" on YouTube for the last couple of hours listening to different music. A nice way to spend time
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Post by DotRen on Jul 2, 2020 23:35:15 GMT
Thanks all I probably didn't "need" the embroidery part of it, but on the brother site, it was only about $50 more than the similar machine, so Ron said "get what you want" lol. |
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Post by choney2 on Jul 3, 2020 1:49:39 GMT
Rene, so glad you got your machine figured out! I wanted to mention that CJ really likes her Brother- and when I bought a machine 2 years ago as a bday gift for my dear friend, I got her a brother. She is very happy with it. The shop that I ordered my Huskie from also sells Brothers. Guess I would have gone with a Brother- but the Husqvarna caught my eye.... and I am very happy with it.
From the original WW site there was a woman who lived in Arizona who really loved her Brother embroidery machine. I hope that you enjoy that part of your machine- it does open up a whole new world of sewing for you. Enjoy! Phyl was right about not blowing into the bobbin area of the machine- you can purchase (for less than $10) a vacuum cleaner adapter kit which permits you to vacuum out the lint from the bobbin area. Its not so much the humidity of our breath but is more that you do not want to blow lint further into the machine but vacuum it out. Might be a good idea to invest in the adapter kit.
Yes Ruth, those blocks that CJ posted would be perfect for your Peanuts fabrics. Give it a try!!!
Sue- congrats on the new computer! Computer use can be rough on the wrist too.....glad you are reading a lot to rest up.
Started trimming up the BOM quilt to put the binding on it. Hard to believe that I am getting to that point. Oh, and yes I have an old black iron singer. It was my first machine and is probably 75 years old now (my parents got it for me used). they never break....
Have a good night all
Ginny
CJ- what a relief that you were able to check out that quilt before investing in the fabric. I do like the sound of the jelly snowflake fabrics and it sure sounds like it will be an adorable quilt.
Phyl-so sorry for the pipe leak over your sewing area! Hope it all gets fixed quickly- and then you broke a needle to boot! How frustrating. But if that is the worst thing that happens to you then consider yourself blessed. Yes, it seems like it was a real pain in the neck, but it could have been so much worse.
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Post by choney2 on Jul 3, 2020 11:36:39 GMT
Slept a little bit better last night- not a great nights sleep but an improved one. I am heading out to go shopping with Dd#2 this am. We are trying to get out and back before it gets to be too hot. When I get home I hope to get back to work on the quilt, trimming it down to put on the binding. It will be nice to have that project done.
Ruth, I know you have lots of fabric- also lots of yarn!!! You could adapt any of these quilt block patterns to be used as a pillow cover- make the quilt block add a border and an envelope back (VERY easy) and you are done! Just an idea and a way you could quilt but make a project that you could accomplish quickly.
Ginny
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Post by snowsaint on Jul 3, 2020 15:57:20 GMT
What a beautiful morning! For now it's cool and comfortable. The woofers and I went for a stroll in the backyard. I looked over the chain link fence into the back backyard, and there was a hummingbird visiting an iris and some other flowers! We don't have a lot of hummingbirds, but they're always a treat to see.
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. phyl
