Friday, May 29, 2009

The Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day!

(My apologies to Judith Viorst)

So there I was, happily stippling away on my latest wall hanging. The quiet hum of my sewing machine, lulling me into a sense of peace and near completion. I was hoping to get this quilt done for another May finish. I only had a very small portion left to quilt. When, all of a sudden...... nothing! No quiet hum. No more wonderful squiggles on my quilt. No peaceful feeling. Nothing! Not a sound, not a ripple, not even a little "meow" from Mimi, just a very tight knot in the pit of my stomach. My machine just stopped. The lights were on, but no one was home!

My quilt was still stuck, with the needle holding the fabric firmly in place. I could not move it. I turned my machine off and then on again. Nothing. I took the needle out. Still nothing. I opened the bobbin case. Nothing was tangled. With the needle out and the bobbin released, I was able to carefully slide my quilt out. Then I took everything apart. Everything that would come apart, that is. I could find nothing wrong, but as I tried to put everything back into place, I discovered that the pieces would not go back the way they were supposed to. Something was jammed. I think the problem is with the feed dogs. With no longer a place for everything and everything in its place, I packed all the loose pieces up into a ziplock bag and taped them to the side of my machine. Then I put my machine into its case and left it by the back door. Tonight we will have to take it to the quilt shop. I hope it isn't anything serious and I hope that whatever it is, can be fixed quickly. Can a quilter survive without her sewing machine? I'm just wondering.......
Guess I'm going to be making a lot of fish in the next few days.



8 comments:

Barb said...

I hope you get your machine fixed and cheaply...no fun wihout a machine but looks like you can still tap into the creative side of you.

Reddirt Woman said...

Hmmm... there must be something special going on at the quilt shop that your machine sensed.... and therefore stopped so you'd have to go.

Just a positive thought.

Helen

Vicki said...

I'm sending you positive thoughts that it's just something minor and you will have your sewing machine back really fast. Those fish look really neat. Are they knitted or crocheted?

Winny said...

Hope you get your machine back before your house is covered in fish. I know Mimi, Oscar and Felix would like that, but I also know you would like to get back to quilting. Keep a positive vibe going.

*karendianne. said...

Oh dammmmn! You and I both know how to go without quilting but having it forced upon us is not easy to do. Yes, we have other wonderful things we can create but this is a bit stressful.

Oh the freakin' timing of it all...

LizzieJane said...

It is a dreadful feeling isn't it? We are lost without our sewing machines. I hope it will be fixed in no time at all and it will be back to humming again.
x

*karendianne. said...

Thinking of you and your machine...

Nanette Merrill said...

Oh gosh I hope it isn't terminal? I think that machine is a metaphore for life. Ya know? We go along fine and then something happens to stop us dead in the tracks. I really hate that about life but it is mean to make us grow I guess.