Saturday 7 February 2015

Lily Rose: Stitching Down the Bouquet

I don't usually sew or blog on Saturdays - its strictly family and off screen time, but this weekend is an exception for me as I am home alone...so I thought I'd make the most of it and keep myself busy. I've had a really productive morning. After 45 minutes of tinkering on my disaster Bernina 820 machine, it randomly started sewing OK, so I decided to get stuck in.

I've been in two minds about this since last week when I was deciding how to stitch down my applique. I have put a lot of time and work into Lily Rose and at every turn, my Bernina 820 has failed me. It reduces the quality of my work and I get so furious and upset when I see hours of work being damaged by poor stitching. So just sitting down on this machine is an emotional annoyance for me, I never know if I'm going to regret it, or if it will work just fine. Today it isn't behaving 'fine', but it is behaving OK, so I made a dash for it.
I had plans to meet a friend for a quick coffee and maybe even lunch
but I called her earlier and said, 'the 820's working all of a sudden, I can't leave the house'
 So here I am later that same afternoon, blogging about it. I can afford to do that now as light is fading and I can't sew any more today anyhow. I will try again tomorrow and hope the the 820 pixies return and get the Bernina back into a good mood for me. 
Ridiculous, isn't it?
They say a good workman never blames his tools. That's too convenient for badly manufactured machines. I say a good seamstress never has to wait for her tools to be good.

14 comments:

  1. This post really made me laugh! But I understand totally as I'm going thought exactly the same drama with my 820. One day she's a total "bi.." and the next she behaves like an angel. How on earth is that possible??? Love looking at your progress and it looks gorgeous!

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  2. Ooh! I can't wait to see Lily Rose finished. I have a feeling it is going to be a stunner!

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  3. amazing work Esther. love the colors, shapes, just everything about your bouquet!

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  4. I just love the flower cluster that you show. glad your machine is working today. I have always had a terrible time adjusting the tension on machines so often in years past that is why I only did hand work. I would get so fed up with the machine that I couldn't stand to use it. Now my machines behave most of the time - but at times I am still ready to pick them up and toss them in the trash LOL

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  5. I would have agreed with you about not blaming the tool until I traded my APQS Longarm for an Innova. My skill improved dramatically with the new machine. Plus I now love to quilt again.

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  6. Thanks for sharing your misery. I too have been victemized by a Bernina 820 and all this time just could not believe my 820 was actually having on and off days. How can a machine do that I wondered, it must be me. Some days we make a perfect straight stitch and the next the feeding will bebad and the stitches unusable. Leaving it on doesn't work either since it won't recover from the Eco mode and has to be turned off anyway.

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  7. Esther, any tool can be a lemon...trade it in on a Janome, you'll never be sorry and they will give you a good price on your machine. They don't care what shape it is in...

    I had a car, new off the showroom, that was in the shop 12 times for a total of 118 days the first year. Pure lemon...

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  8. Sometimes I can not tell if the comment went thru or no ...So will try again.
    I am so sorry to hear your having spotty problems with your machine. But glad to know that the action of on again off again performance is not just my machine. It must be doubly tripley bad for you given how much painstaking work you do even before you set down to the machine.

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  9. So happy for your that it is working for you, but it shouldn't be this 'hit and miss'.
    Enjoy it while you can!
    Hugs,
    Anne Marieke

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  10. I don't know if I would continue with that machine any longer. I have a Bernina 130 and it is great for straight stitching and working with the walking foot, but quilting and fancy stuff is out, but then it is a pretty basic machine. I finally had to buy a Juki for free motion quilting. Too bad there isn't another quilter near you that has the same machine which works for them and they could share what works for them or not. Your flowers are so beautiful! I invite you to link WIP to WIPs Be Gone to share your gorgeous work.

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  11. Oh Esther I do hope that machine stays working for you. Your Lily Rose is gorgeous.
    Bunny

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  12. Really life is too short, is the money you lose trading it in even worth the aggravation and unhappiness this machine gives you? Head for a Pfaff or Janome, Berninas made after the mid 1990's are not what they once were.

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  13. I'd get a new machine if it's possible. I couldn't work with a machine that is finicky. I love my Viking Ruby and have never had an issue with it even when in storage for a year. I ditched Bernina years ago for bad service and a crappy machine that never worked right and never looked back. Your quilt is lovely.

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  14. I have a 15 year old Bernina 180E that has never been in the shop! I use her all the time for any fancy stitching. My Featherweight is my piecing machine, but I sure do love my Bernie..sorry you got a lemon.

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