O Where, O Where are the Sewing Machine Elves....

As I was practicing, practicing and practicing.... my top thread kept breaking.  (I will confess right now that I was not a very good girl and bad words were flying out of my mouth faster than I could ask for forgiveness!)

So I went to Missouri Star Quilt Company and watched a video on machine quilting.  I lowered the feed dogs, raised the tension and tried again.... well that did not work AT ALL! 

So I raised my feed dogs back up, put the tension back, re-threaded my machine for the 100th time and went back at it.  

Again.... the not so nice words were flying and I was re-threading. 

I changed the needle.  

Did not help. In fact, it got worse.  Now all the top thread was staying down in the bobbin area.  So I changed bobbins. 

(Yes, by this time I was using practice material - not John's Quilt!)

Soooooo I decided to do something I have never done and that is clean the machine.  Got the manual out, took all the necessary parts off and you would not believe the lint I found!  Oh my gosh - I probably could have knitted a small sweater!  HA!   

Without looking at my paperwork - I think I have had my Janome for a year... so it was probably wanting a good cleaning for some time.  

Put my machine back together according to the manual.......  

and........

still doing the same thing.  Yes, I am crying now. It is Thursday night.  We have a three-day weekend coming up... I was going to sew, sew, quilt, sew and sew....  

I did what any good sewist would do....  I went to bed hoping the Sewing Machine Elves would magically appear, fix my poor Janome and I could carry on my merry way.

And I woke up to........ 

.... not a Sewing Machine Elf footprint to be found.

So I guess it means a visit to my sewing machine dealer on Saturday..... hmmmm.....  

Is this a good argument for having two sewing machines on hand?  

Oh wait... I do... my old Singer.... 

Okay so this is a good argument to have two Janomes on hand.....