Wednesday, May 26, 2010

My Creative Space: Fraught With Tension?




You may have noticed the edge of hysteria creeping into my recent sewing-related posts.  There's a navel-high stack of items to mend on the floor beside the sewing table, and a list of project ideas as long as your arm spewing out of the cover of my journal.  I spent the better part of an hour futzing with the tension last night, and I just couldn't get it to work.  According to the manual, the upper tension was too high, but no amount of adjusting improved my stitches.  Things had reached the point where I couldn't walk by the H o' C without wincing: a sad state of affairs. In the wee, small hours of the morning---needing to make something with neither needle nor thread---I hacked up a vintage kids' encyclopedia, and pulled together some very simple magnets.  
This morning, desperate to end the madness, I grabbed my machine, fired up the grocery-getter, and made tracks for the repair shop.  I was worried: how much would it cost to fix her up?  How long would I be machine-less?

Thankfully, the competent folks at Des Moines Sewing Machines were able to fix the problem in less than ten minutes, and didn't ask for a red cent.  Furthermore, they showed me how to oil the guts of the machine and keep her running smoothly.  Thirty minutes so very well spent---travel time included!

Hightail it over to Kirsty's and check out the other creative spaces this week...



21 comments:

  1. What a relief they could fix it so fast and for free! how good is that.

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  2. Oh how excellent! Nothing like being armed with info to keep it working by yourself too. Love the magnets too. Happy catching up!!

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  3. Oh yay! I hope you rae busy now and not wasting time reading blogs...like me. You've inspired me though, I'm going to take my machine and get her looked at too I think.

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  4. I simply can not get my head around my sewing machine tension! Good on your little sewing machine man...what a legend! Wishing you a wonderfully crafty and sew-ey weekend :)

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  5. I just took my machine in because the thread kept breaking and I couldn't sort the tension out either. Turns out there was a metal burr that had developed on some hook... Huh. Mine was not so cheap to fix :( Glad yours was!!

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  6. Thank goodness you are stitching happily again! The magnets look great, I would be interested to know the how-to!

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  7. Yay!! It's fixed! I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and go and get my overlocker fixed too. Especially as I popped it on the floor this morning while I did something and then went flying over the top of it. dislodging the thread guide. Doh! Looking forward to seeing all your creativity. There'll be no stopping you now!

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  8. Phew ! I really understand your panic but I'm so glad it's all sorted now .

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  9. I am so relieved for you. I destroyed a machine once and was feeling anxious as I read through the first lines...phew, all fixed. You must feel like you won lotto.
    happy sewing!

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  10. Glad to hear that the machine is oiled and working again. I really should take mine in for a service.

    What a lovely repair place.

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  11. so I'm going to try using anonymous, and see if that is any easier.

    If this works, I'll post my real reply.

    Anne

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  12. From me, Anne

    Whoa! i think it worked! Ha!
    So, I am so impressed with your get-up and do-it-ness. I learned how to sew from a my roommate in grad school. i bought a machine a couple of years ago. Tried threading the thing. Could not make it work. Never ended up using it. Donated it for the school auction. Bummer. Those machines scare me. Between the inability to thread them, and the thread gathering in a mess underneath the needle, I end up handsewing whatever I need to do. Or not doing it at all. So, 2 thumbs up for you!

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  13. So nice to have it all sorted so quickly with the machine. What a relief! All the best with the pile! Lou.

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  14. So lucky. My first machine, well there was no fixing her and there were several months of going crazy.

    Thanks for stopping by today.

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  15. Ah, very good news. I've found my machine very much likes when I actually clean it from time to time. Funny what a difference some small maintenance can make.

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  16. so nice to hear the solution was so simple ... it gives you faith there are still honest tradesman/mechanics out there and they deserve your plug. I was also excited to hear you're in des moines. a guy i used to work with's daughter now lives in des moines (all the way from australia) and i love knowing a little bit about where she lives.

    My Creative Space

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  17. Ahh, 'tis a pain indeed when our beloved machines won't play anymore. It's usually human error in my house! I often forget to check the needle stocks and then break the last one at the eleventh hour...! Glad you've got her back and in tip top condition! x

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Thanks for taking the time to comment...it makes me feel a little less like I'm talking to myself again.