The Tale of the Broken Needle

Wow I have been crazy busy with the start of school and I am not a teacher nor do I have children in school any longer!  OK I am a substitute bus driver, and can you believe I have worked every day since the start of school? And to top it off I have had additional state classes to take?

It has been a couple of weeks since I even had a chance to sit down.  What else has been going on?  Trying to finish 2 quilts for the guild quilt show. I have many machines and I use only about 10 regularly.  My newest is a Husqvara Viking Sapphire.  Yep she is very temperamental which irritates the heck out of me. 

Even with a free motion quilt foot, and a supreme slider she breaks threads constantly. The humidity, and temperature must be perfect for her to be able to FMQ.  After fighting for a several days and it taking hours just to quilt crosswise a row about 2 inches wide I was done. 

So DH suggested I use this one.

It had been sitting in our shop.  Problem is no foot, but she has a lovely motion but how the foot attaches I could not use a FMQ/darning foot from any of the other machines I have.  This is a New Home Light Running machine.  Nix that idea.

The we pulled this old girl out.  She is a Singer 66-14 with a crinkle finish and she was made in 1940.  DH brought her home cause he thought she was cool, and he liked the weird little cabinet. 

DH dropped the feed dogs, I figured out how to wind her bobbin (she needs a new bobbin tire but it is a weird size).  It is an oscillating bobbin machine.  The bobbin does not spin it kind of twists back and forth.  Also this machine threads from left to right. 

I put on my generic short shank machine FMQ foot which had been modified, and oh it hummed along.  Until my needle broke.  Then nothing would work. Wouldn't pick up the bobbin thread, wouldn't sew.   I wasn't sure if I threw her out of time or what.  DH came home and tried everything.  There was a "school type manual" that we used to make sure we were threading correctly, the bobbin was installed correctly.  I found an adjuster's manual  online and DH worked on her more.  I kept trying different needles, even the ones that came with the machine.  DH moved me to the 15 which I bought at a barn sale.  He dropped the feed dogs. 

I have been using this one in the living room to piece my drunkard's path quilt.  This one I put the blocks together.  The 301 in the living room I use to piece the blocks with the special foot.  Anyway I did not want to put this one into service to FMQ but it is the next biggest machine with a nice size throat.  I moved my handy dandy generic FMQ foot and it wouldn't work either.  What the hay!

When my needle broke it had changed the adjustment on my modified FMQ foot which is where my problems started.  Nothing wrong with the Singer model 66-14 either!  I have got more quilted when I have time the last few days than I did in 2 weeks with my modern machine. 

This is the set up DH made me for using the model 15 and it is working great, except the light is not spectacular on the machine or in this room.  (Downside of an old farmhouse with windows which are barely 3 feet wide but 6 foot tall!  More like arrow slits on the Fortress of Solitude!) so he brought me home a Mac LED light to work with.

Anyone out there know where I can get a foot for the New home?  I would love to use it.  OK I really need to get something accomplished today I have 2 weeks to the guild show.  Eeek!