The effect of lint on your sewing machine!

In these two photos, you see a sewing machine that has a lot of lint build up in it. The lint in the first pic, is not in a place that is easily reachable by the user. In the second pic, you can see the build up in the feed dogs. This is very easy to access by lifting off the needle plate and then cleaning. 

There was so much lint in the mechanism, that the plate was lifting up with each stitch that the machine made. Because of the impact on the underside of the needle plate, the feed dogs were pushed down and would not feed the fabric. As a result, they had to be adjusted to properly transport the fabric again.

If the customer had cleaned this area herself, the machine would still have had to be serviced to remove the rest of the lint and to be properly lubricated, but, her sewing would have been less frustrating to that point. 

              Innocent as it looks, lint can interfere with the proper functioning of a sewing machine and can create premature wear by wicking away oil where it is needed. Be kind to your machine and clean and lubricate where you can. Have it serviced regularly. You won't regret it. Cheers!                                                      

                                                                     

Machine quilting class

Shelley and I taught a machine quilting class today at Quilt Essential Fabrics in Abbotsford. I just want to thank the ladies for their attention and enthusiasm. It was a pleasure to work with you and I'm sure you will all be successful quilters!!

A little story

As I am sitting here getting more and more tired of the rain, I'm reminded of a time when I was anchored  on my sailboat in La Paz, at the bottom of the Baja peninsula. Endless beautiful sunny and warm days. Great food, fishing, snorkeling. Every morning there was a cruiser's net on the radio. You would introduce yourself to the rest of the fleet and tell everyone what your trade or skill was. I let everyone know that I repaired sewing machines. After the net, one of the boats radioed me and asked me if I could come over and repair his portable sailmaker machine. I got in the zodiac and motored over to his boat, enjoying the sun and the sounds of this beautiful town. After I had fixed the machine, the owner asked me how much he owed me. It gave me great pleasure to tell him " Nothing" When he asked me why, I told him that it was warranty. They had bought the machine from the shop that I had in Victoria about 8 months prior. That was the longest distance I'd ever traveled for a service call!! He was quite surprised and happy and we were invited for supper. We took him up on it. That's how things work when your cruising. It's a great way of life!!