Machine Scare!!

So...the same night I cut my finger...see previous post...my machine started binding up. I have an Elna 7200 which I just love. However, a few months after I got it, it had a catastrophic bobbin case and hook/shuttle failure which required many $$ and specialized expertise to fix. Ever since then I've been really nervous when something binds up. So...I'm running transparent thread, and it's running just fine. For some reason, it's just starts binding up. When I pull the bobbin plate off, the entire case is shifted. Now I'm worried the timing is off again. Holy cow, what else can happen??? So...I pack it up and get it ready to take in.

However, do you remember me mentioning I have a show? So...out comes the old reliable Singer 301. Gotta love her...tried and true. My son asked me why I was using it and I told him I was going "old school" and he said "sometimes old school is the best school"...he's building a '55 chevy truck, so you can see why he would say that. This is my faithful machine that was given to me by my grandmother over 23 years ago. In fact, I picked up another one a few years ago as a second backup. I even learned how to service and oil this myself. So...off we go on the 301.

Now, here is my Public Service Announcement for quality thread. I took my machine in two days later expecting the worst, and it turns out the old Coats and Clark cotton thread I was using was causing me issues. Apparently according to the store staff, it's made in Mexico and is not high quality. It has high and low spots, leaves lots of lint in your machine, and ball up (that is when it's not breaking). If those balls get in your tension discs, they throw everything off and bind you up. Inez (the manager) put some high quality thread in from the store and she ran like a champ. I went straight to the fabric store and bought several large spools of the good stuff. How was I to know I was using the bad stuff? It looked good...come to find out that is because they put a coating of wax on it to make it look good. So...USE GOOD THREAD!! Your machine and your projects are worth it!!!

PS...in the maching is baby burp cloths for my holiday show. Aren't they just the cutest?