Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Why yes, I DO know better. But that, my friends, doesn't mean diddly.

So yeah. My machine hates me. Which, by "my machine hates me," I actually mean I totally screwed it up myself. User error.

I know better than to sew over pins, which is why I always take them out before my needle goes over them. who am I kidding? I don't. I leave them there...like most imperfect quilters (is there such a thing as a perfect quilter? Ooh, quilting existentialism). But in the back of my brain I know that there is a risk of breaking a needle or the pin if the the needle actually hitis the pin. apparently it's way back there in the back.

To the untrained eye, it looks like I'm being a diligent machine owner and cleaning my machine after using it. Yeah, that beast gets duuuuusty. I wish I could say that this is why I have got everything dismantled. Alas, I ran over a pin and the unexpected happened....

See that? Yeah, the pin didn't break like one would expect it to, and nor did the needle....The damn thing sucked itself into the feed dogs and got itself crimped and stuck therein. You should have heard the noise. It was ugly. I think my roomate dang near jumped out of her skin, because there she was minding her own business, watching Futurama, and KA-CHING-CRUNCH - pin, meet feed dogs, they want to devour you.

So what is the moral of this story? You probably shouldn't run over your pins. Will I run over my pins again/still? You betcha. But I will change my needle and watch things a little more closely.

Somewhere out in the wild and weird world of the interwebs, there's a Quilt Police Officer taking down my number so they can smack me upside the head with a ruler. 


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2 comments:

  1. MichelleMay 10, 2011 at 11:28 AM

    Oh, no! Did you get it out okay? I'm good about not sewing over pins when I go in a straight line, it's those darn safety pins I keep nailing when I'm meandering, even when I'm sure I know exactly where they all are and I'm watching for them.

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  2. LaurenMay 11, 2011 at 11:35 AM

    I got it out all right, after taking off the throatplate and all that wonderful, fun stuff. Normally i just go zipping right over them, no muss, no fuss, no problem! It's so rare that the needle comes down on the pin - usually it comes in the middle fo the stitch, which is fine.

    I haven't nailed a safety pin yet, but I think thatr's just be default since I don't use them. I'm a HUGE fan of the ol' spray adhesive, sure it gets your needle a little gunky but it holds the quilt sandwich all together like a dream. Well...I don't think it would work well with anything larger than a very modest lap quilt, but if I ever make anything huge (rare) I send it out for the quilter to do. Let them worry about the saftely pins (that they don't have to use since they have a long arm....lucky ladies!)

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I welcome all comments and constructive criticism! All I ask is that you keep it clean and keep it kind.

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