What do you do when your sole piecing machine, the Bernina 1260, stops working mid stitch? After a bit of an internal rant, making sure it wasn’t something straight forward, I brought the machine in for servicing. The dealer told me, depending on the problem, the repair would take 2 – 6 weeks. Turns out I won the 6 week repair. The good news is that it can be fixed. The hurdle to get over was what to do when I had no other machine, but my George. This is used exclusively for quilting, especially my larger work.
My local Bernina dealer does not provide loaners, nor does it rent machines. One of my yoga instructors volunteered to loan me her machine. It was a gift from her husband. She has never used it. She believes it is a Bernina, but doesn’t know the make. The transfer from her home to mine hasn’t happened yet.
Should I Buy a New Machine?
There is a part of me that actually feels let down knowing my Bernina can be repaired. While I was waiting for the news I was reading up on and test driving the Bernina 770 QE. I also looked at the equivalent made by Janome. A friend highly recommend a Pfaff. The price point was better. I had plans to check it out in person.
There is no reason why I can’t own the Bernina 1260 and buy my favorite of the three I’m looking at. This way I would have a back up. Plus I could finally get a ruler foot and try my hand at doing some ruler quilting. Twenty or even ten years ago this might have made more sense. I would have assumed I could get several decades of use out of anything I bought. At age sixty-six, a new machine becomes one more possession either I or my heirs must deal with when I can no longer use it, don’t have the space, or am dead.
Time to get Back to Handwork
What I can do now is handwork. This takes up minimal space. No surprise, I already have all the pearl cotton and floss I need on hand. I started the project showcased in this blog during October 2016. It is on cheater cloth designed and by Leah Day. When I began this project, I was trying my hand at stitches in The Left Handed Embroider’s Companion. This time I am taking a daily stitch course on CreativeBug.com.
If you were without your trusty sewing machine, what would you choose to do?
This is such a great project…..I love it!
I’m having fun revisiting embroidery stitches from the past and learning new ones. The journey continues. I think you will enjoy this weeks embroidery practice. I’ve decided to integrate some beads with the stitch. Not part of the lesson. I find I’m most engaged when I deviate from the expected. Brings out the child in me. The thrill of breaking the rules.