Sunday, September 28, 2014

Up and Running!

Mama Bernina is back in her usual spot and has been running steadily since I got her back and got home from the quilt show. At first, she was clattering a bit, but I threw oil at her and she quieted down. Project comments later.

While Mama was in the shop, I went through my embroidery designs, both in digital and physical form. In digital form, I have a master directory that contains ALL of my digital versions. The key is that there is only ONE master directory. I copy only the version of the designs that I will use into my master directory, into a folder with a descriptive name. "Collection #12513" tells me nothing. "Halloween Couture" tells me a lot more. Into that folder, I also copy the digital version of the directions, if there were any included. 

When I buy a CD of designs, I put the printed directions and the CD together into a plastic organizer sheet that goes into a 3 ring notebook. I don't keep the bulky plastic cases that the CDs come in.

My stuff is easy for me to find, and the system isn't complicated and time consuming to use. Win!

Friday, September 12, 2014

Repair Woes for my Bernina 830LE

I was having trouble with multiple false alarms for my top thread sensor. I turned it off, but then, my touchscreen would lock up. The problem got bad enough that I dropped the machine off for service. That was on Sunday, the 31st of August. The owner of the shop wrote up the service ticket and she understands that I only get to sew on the weekends. Wonderful Hubby picked up my machine on Friday, September 5th.

FAIL!!! Not only was I still getting false alarms, There was a serious top thread tension issue. I got the worst thread 'nests' I've ever seen. Not only did the knotted clump of thread manage to pull the project out of the hoop, the thread nest also pulled the throat plate off the free arm. The bobbin stopped moving entirely, as well. In short, the thread clump pulled my machine apart.

So, on Saturday, September 6, before 10:00 in the morning, my machine was back in the shop for the second time in a single week. I'm not usually prone to italics, but I am that upset about it.

When I dropped off the machine the second time, the owner of the shop was again present. She passed me off to her employees. I didn't get to speak to her about paying for four hours of labor, only to discover that the problem had not been fixed and new issues had been created that were worse.  There is a chance that not only is the top tension off, the timing of the machine is wrong. Bad timing is often a death knell for a machine.

The mechanic has been on vacation this week and has not touched my machine. I was expecting it to be finished by today. Heck, I really had expected it to be finished last week!

OTOH, if the mechanic has screwed up the timing, the worst case scenario means the machine will have to be shipped to Chicago to be repaired. If Chicago can't repair it, I'm going to demand that the shop owner buy me a replacement. My 830 is a Limited Edition of a numbered series. I'd accept a used machine as a replacement because I got mine used. But I'm not paying for the shipping or the additional repairs, no matter what. I didn't break it, the mechanic did.