One thing for certain, my kind of fabric work requires a good quality sewing machine, and I need to be able to both embroider and free motion quilt on it a great deal (to a professional level). Working as I do, I put a lot of stress on my main machine.
On Thursday my wonderful Bernina 830 LE, whose name is Gibbs (after the Gibbs in Wilcox and Gibbs who were historically important in the development of sewing machinery) went berserk in the middle of a simple embroidery stitch-out. First it started sewing really really fast, which I managed to stop. Then it started back sewing ok for about 10 stitches, and suddenly there was a “clunk” and the needle stopped going up and down, but the bobbin was spinning at a steady pace. I tried to stop the embroidery, but the bobbin still spun. I turned the machine off and on again, and, after a few seconds, the bobbin spun. I had noticed one time before that it had stitched very fast for no apparent reason, but that was months ago and it stopped after one incident, and I cleaned and oiled it and it went back to sewing ok. I was in shock and actually cried a bit.
Gibbs at work machine appliqueing with very narrow zig zag. Note the Sashiko that I stitched out on Gibbs using the embroidery module.
Sew I don’t know whether it is prohibitively expensive to repair it (in other words, it is “dead”), or whether it is repairable. I have put about 9 million stitches on it over the course of the past four and a half years, and have used it on average probably more than 25 to 35 hours a week, with some weeks being about 50 or 60 hours. I’m taking it in to the shop on Monday. I am blessed with a very good Bernina dealership and a first rate tech (Lew) at G Street Fabrics. It is about an hour from here over heavy traffic, so I only go when I have to.
This comes at a really bad time…not that these things ever are good times…but I had just begun working on building my son Ken’s special quilt design project. This is something that requires some bits of machine embroidery. I wanted to complete this very challenging project by mid August so I could enter it into the Pennsylvania National Quilt Festival.
I took Gibbs in for his spa treatment and to fix a minor problem in March, and Lew told me then that I really used that machine hard and should buy a longarm to “share the burden” of all that stitching. I knew then that I could not even get a longarm in the house even if I could afford one. But I also started thinking about a sit down longarm.
Yesterday, my oldest son came along with my daughter in law to pick up Kevin, my grandson. While he was here we all talked about the possibilities. They know that I have been putting extra effort this year into moving my quilting up a level competitively, and am also working on a couple of books…one on applique for fabric art and one on surface design. And I have really been making a lot of good progress on all of this. Also, I have limited funds and can’t really afford to buy a new 8 series Bernina or similar machine every four years. Besides, it interrupts the flow of work when it is out of service.
Sew something needs to be done if I am to continue on this path, which I hope will eventually start making me a bit more money..in fact, it already has, but not enough to pay for a new machine. It’s a wonderful career for me as I move into my senior years. I am not the type to not have a career even if I were very wealthy. It’s the joy of creativity, and I must continue in some fashion.
Yesterday I packed up Gibbs with everything he came with to take it out on Monday, and realized my studio really needs a good cleaning. So I started that. I am setting up my Bernina B350 (Edith Claire Head…ECLAIR) and my Bernina 1230 (Betsy Ross…BETSY) and getting them all cleaned and oiled to help me through this crisis.
I know there are a lot of fabric artists out there who do not have a big advanced machine, and they make beautiful fabric art and quilts. My problem is that I am something of a techie and I have developed paths that take advantage of what these advanced machines can do. I know I could go back to not having an embroidery machine or a big harp space, but I don’t think that is the right path for me. So it is a crisis.
I am considering what to do. I can’t decide, of course, until I know whether or not Gibbs can be repaired, or if I have to replace it. But even if it can, I need to figure out what to do about the possibility of a sit down longarm to add to my store of machines. It would be a wonderful addition, and would allow me to use the main machine mostly for quilt top construction. I do like to use decorative stitching sometimes in my quilting, but it is a small percentage of my quilting and I could still use it for that. Mostly I do free motion with my Bernina Stitch Regulator. Besides, I think I could do ever better fmq on such a machine.
Sew happy everyone! I’ll let you know how this goes. Have a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend!
BJ, I sure hope things go well for Gibbs and that means well for you too. I think a high end machine ought to handle high end professional work. Good luck
Thanks Lois. I agree, it should. Maybe it’s fixable. Few machines are given the kind of work out I have given Gibbs and never needed repairs.
…. and I think it should do it for a very long, long, time!
Yes!
Fingers crossed that Gibbs just needed an update. He should be able to handle the workload for more years!!!!
I am very hopeful too. Thanks for any good thoughts (and yes prayers) that you can send my way right now.
LOL! I can so relate! I took my wonderful machine in for a review and hoped for repair (it ended up being within my budget) to be told by the repairman that the feed dogs were too far worn to be able to move fabric. He told me he had never seen such a thing before and wondered what, exactly, I was sewing… Just lots and lots of different types of quilts!
Thank you for that! There are soooo many stitches in quilting. I’m glad yours was within your budget.
I hope everything goes well for your beloved Gibbs. I lost my Bernina a couple of years ago and have since changed machines, expecting to use the smaller less expensive machine for only about 2-3 years. Somewhere in the past one of my good machine guys told me that the Home Sewing Machine was basically designed to work for about 40 hours between maintenance trips and expected to have about a 3-5 year life if used for 3-4 days a week. Whether this is true or not, I don’t know. But it has pretty much held true for everything except that one Bernina, my 1880’s Singer treadle and of course my trusty little 1937 Singer Featherweight.
On the Long Arm issue. There is a newer short frame, about 5′ long that may be perfect for your art quilts. Please check it out. I retired in 2013 at age 65, being forced to closed my business due to physical disability. However, when I checked out the quilting machines, I found that the machine designed to be used while standing and walking was healthier for circulation, my back and actually gave me a tiny bit of “exercise” that I would not get while sitting and quilting. The long frame also seems to give me more control.
Thanks Ruth. Well, I think that is not what Berninas are designed for as to the amount of use, but I have used mine nearly every day since I purchased it 4 and a half years ago, had it maintained only twice during that time, and it has worked wonderfully for me up until last week when it went kaput. The last three years, especially I have run it hard and fast and long. I probably put as much sewing on it as I did in 15 years on my older machine if not more. My old Bernina 1230 has been around since I purchased it in 1990, when it was the top of the line. I sewed heavily on it most weekends (I was working at that time), and some evenings and vacations, until I bought a 200E, at which time it became my backup machine. I have only had it maintained once (but I have kept it clean and oiled). It still runs well. I bought the B350 early in 2012, or maybe it was in December 2011, when I bought Gibbs, because I needed a light machine to carry to classes and the like. It has never had really hard use, and I love the way it sews, but it is little. Berninas are still the best, even though many people are frustrated with the more advanced pricey machines that are really computers with mechanics. I do hope it is repairable to run another few years because I really use the functions of the 8 series Berninas. If they can repair it for a reasonable amount, I can go ahead and purchase a longarm, but I think I will do the sit down, because that’s the way I have learned to quilt, and I think I would like it best. I am pleased to see them making smaller frames for people with smaller spaces now though. The full longarms are as big as a car. 😀