It finally happened, that moment I dreaded, but hoped would never happen. My prized Bernina 1260, the machine I’ve had for 23 years with nary a problem, stopped on its own mid stitch. One minute I was stitching. The next moment the lights went out and the machine simply stopped. After checking for the obvious, such as the power cord becoming disconnected, or a circuit blown, I asked my husband to take a look at it.
My husband completely disassembled the machine, checking for signs of an overheated circuit board or blown fuse. He couldn’t determine the problem. So, instead of spending a blissful day in my studio, we brought the machine in for repair. If it can be repaired, depending on whether it can be done in the shop or if parts need to go directly to Bernina headquarters, my machine could be gone for 2 – 6 weeks. If it can’t be repaired, I will be buying a new machine.
For those of you reading who understand the bond between a fiber artist and her machine, what machine would you recommend? What I love about the Bernina and must have in a new machine, are the knee operated presser foot, needle up or down setting that stays where you put it, and easy access for cleaning. What I don’t need is to do embroidery.
I finished attaching the hydrangea petals to the background last week. Instinct told me it needed a few leaves to finish off the piece.
Can you believe I had a fabric in my stash with the right contrast, image and scale to use as the template for my hydrangea leaves? It is a batik with petals going every which way and often overlapping. I created the leaves using the pillow case method: 3 layers, turned right side out through a narrow opening, and the opening whip stitched closed. Since my Bernina bit the dust, I actually machine quilted these leaves, approximately 3″ long, on my George.
I planned on making five leaves. I might still. What do you think?
I am linking up with Nina Marie’s Off the Wall Fridays.
