Monday, August 19, 2013

I Have a New Partner...In Work...That is...

Just one week ago, in the later evening hours, I was, as usual, sewing....
But it was not going all to well.
Matt walked into the room and I said, "do you hear this?"
My good machine was sounding very funky, and was not working all too well either.
And within a few moments...It fried--nothing at all was happening.
It is a computerized machine-so...lots of problems.

Well, I went to bed feeling a bit unsettled.
It is very difficult to work(sew) without a machine.
I do have 2 back-ups, but they do not have the ability to do free motion quilting that I use for most of my work.  And they are turtles, causing me to work way too late into the early morning hours to fill orders.  I knew a new machine was in the future, but I wasn't completely settled on which one yet.  I knew the "broken" machine could possibly be fixed, but it would take my repair man months.  (we seriously need some more sewing machine repair men out there-especially for those of us that depend on it for our income.)

So, Tuesday morning, I took the morning off of school and finished up the research I had been doing on a new machine that was better suited to my needs.  This time, it needed to fit a few very crucial requirements...it needed to be a long arm(with the possibility of adapting to a large frame somewhere down the road), it had to have drop feed dogs for free motion quilting, it needed to have a knee lift presser foot, and it had to be FAST!  After reading a crazy amount of reviews, I decided on the brother PQ1500S.  It is a long arm, high speed, straight stitch machine with all of those requirements and one extra that I am now convinced is amazing.  It also has a thread cutter for when I am finished with a seam.  PERFECT.  The machine retails between $1200-$1400(or they just like to say that so you feel better about what you actually pay) and I was able to find it through amazon for under $700.  I purchased my husqvarna 5 years ago and paid almost the same price.  However, they are worlds apart-not even comparable!!  I did not do a lot of research before I bought the husqvarna emerald.  It was kind of a similar situation-an old machine broke and I had orders to fill.  I ran into the store pretty much breathless and exclaimed "I need a machine-TODAY!"  Pretty silly and impulsive.  It was certainly a great machine, lots of features, it was the first time I had a machine to free motion quilt on, and I loved that, but I could have done better if I had researched a bit. And the husqvarna will be an awesome backup, if it is in fact repairable, when I need to have the brother in for maintenance.

So I ordered the Brother Tuesday morning, it was on my doorstep by Wed at noon!!  I love amazon-always ahead of schedule on shipping!  The machine was incredibly easy to learn.  It was well thought out for the free motion quilter!  It is simple, completely sturdy, quiet, and very very fast-sewing at 1500 stitches per minute!  I have been able to complete my work load in half the time.  I told my mom that I was struggling with the hours I had to put in to provide what we needed and that I didn't know how I could do more or even keep up.  This has been such a sweet answer to prayer.  This new machine has provided the rest I need, frustration-less work, and much more beautiful craftsmanship.  I am looking forward to a long partnership with this guy.

I have been sewing up a storm since then.  Probably a bit of overkill, but I have had piles waiting for someday....when my machine actually works or I get a new one.  So here they are, the quilts that have finally been quilted with my new machine.  Along with a few place mats and bibs.








 

This machine shall also be a blessing to the mittens I do every year!  Looking forward to making that happen soon as well.

1 comment:

  1. Oh, I love your work! And thank you for sharing about your new machine...I will keep that one in mind if I get to where I can upgrade :-)

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