DEATH OF MY SEWING MACHINE

As I had mentioned, after sewing together over 100 pieces in order to construct blocks for a Quilt of Valor, at the very end of sewing just three more square pieces together, my machine kept jamming up again.  I took apart the bobbin casing, cleaned and oiled it, but with no avail, those feed dogs just would not budge and come up into the sewing area under the needle so as to grip the material and push it forward.  So after many many tries to fix this area, I decided it was time for a new sewing machine. 

I had been researching sewing machines now for about three to six months.  I saw this Singer 9970 which I was really into how many useful feet and accessories and hundreds of beautiful stitches it can do.  It also has a needle up/down button, needle threader and thread cutter button.  It is not, however, an embroidery machine.  I just can't see paying thousands of dollars for a combo machine, so maybe after I master this new machine, which I did order from Amazon and am expecting it in a few days, and research embroidery machines only, I may find my happy combo, much cheaper but in two machines instead of one.

I've been reading reviews from different sites and all have four and three quarters stars on this machine, You Tube videos, instruction booklets on all the machines I've been interested in and this one seems to be "the one".

I am, once again, reading the instruction booklet on line for this machine.  Hoping I'll be a little more fluent in operating this great machine when it arrives.  Of course, I will still have the instruction manual by my side while I thread the machine and bobbin for the few first times because those are the most important things you need to get correct or else you can have broken threads and needles, just to name a few things that can go horribly wrong or even wreck the machine before you even start.  I'm looking forward to this new learning experience and believe it will be a lot of fun.  The first thing I have to do though is finish putting those last three pieces together.  Luckily, they are done with a straight stitch and the all purpose needle which are already installed on the machine when I get it delivered.

Today, I ironed all of the strips of squares I had sewn together, before my sewing machine broke down, with my new iron, a Black & Decker, which got great reviews for a budget priced iron.  It is very lightweight and the sole is so shinny and it glides so nicely.  The steam and spray features work very nicely and you can use plain tap water.  It even has a cleaning button on it to clean it. 

I have a 43 year old Proctor Silex iron which is really heavy and the sole has a place where something stuck to it and I've tried and tried to remove it, but nothing worked.  Plus, the spray nozzle has clogged over the years and the steam holes on the sole of the iron are kind of clogged and some dark small particles of dirt come out of and them (probably calcium deposits) and the iron itself drips and spurts.  At that time, you had to fill the water reservoir with distilled water.    So I believe I needed an upgrade and replacement of that. 

I can't wait to start putting the blocks together with my new sewing machine.