I had a little Easter miracle. I fixed my sewing machine troubles all by myself. I had talked to the repair guy, who is out of town til April 4th, and we decided over the phone that the problem was my foot pedal. The machine I borrowed got returned and I was facing a week without a machine, right when my brain was in full quiltmaking mode. Hard to get it diverted into anything else when the steam is full on.First thing Saturday morning I decided to disassemble the foot pedal and see if I could figure out why it speeds up or sews by itself. Only two little screws to undo, and yet when they were out, the thing wouldn't come apart. Grrrr. I poked around inside it with my tiny screwdiver, banged the whole thing in my hand a few times, blew into the area I had pried open, and finally gave up. I rescrewed the thing together as best as I could, but a small gap remains. Then I plugged it into my machine for a test run.
Perfecto!
I don't know why, but it worked. Immediately I began to cut and sew and made 20 new blocks, and a length of strip pieced fabric for inserts to put between the blocks. The second recycled quilt is growing and I am CROWING with happiness.
The ears always get eaten first...Happy Easter to you and your family.
Another early morning laugh! I do love how that little quilt is changing....the yellows make it so happy!!
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ReplyDeleteHooray for your mechanical success!!!!! (big smile)
ReplyDeleteHello Melody, glad you are having a happy Easter Sunday. I love seeing your quilt designs unfold. Isn't it wonderful when mechanical objects work!
ReplyDeleteHi Melody,
ReplyDeleteI have the same Janome 6500 with the same problem and I finally resorted to getting a new foot pedal. Aaargh, didn't know that I could just do a little self help!
Noooo, not the ears..........
ReplyDeleteWell done on fixing the machine :-)
ReplyDeleteDH was in Chattanooga last week and it snowed on him. He was not impressed.
That bunny reminds me of the Easter card - two chocolate bunnies, one with its ears bitten off "I can't hear anything!" and the other with its butt bitten off... you can guess therest...
I think this is supposed to be a known fault with these foot pedals. I have heard that some shops replace them. I think it's something about dust/lint being able to enter the foot but not sure. I'm just crossing my fingers it doesn't happen to mine. I too have tried to open up the foot pedal and gave up! I think there is more screws under the black thing but didn't want to wreck it trying to get it off!
ReplyDeleteWell, good for you! I hope it stays fixed.
ReplyDeleteI love what you're doing with the quilt. Such a good idea!
On my first machine, the wire in the foot pedal had broken but was still touching. So when you stepped on the pedal, it was a different speed... The guy took it apart and soddered it back together, no charge. the wire wasn't in the right place, so every time you stepped on the pedal, it was bending the connection....so it broke. There could also be lint in the pedal section. Does need to be cleaned once in a while...and no one ever tells you that!
ReplyDeleteI had the same problem with a brand new machine. Took it to the dealer and she gave me a new pedal. So I'm not sure it's a lint thing because I didn't have the machine long enough for lint or dust to accummulate. I looked on line and it seems to be a common problem with the Janome. When I mentioned that to the dealer she blew a gasket. I took my new foot pedal and ran!
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter to you, too! Glad you have a "working" relationship with your machine, too. :-)
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