Favorite machines

Bernina 430, and Janome 1600p

Jinny Beyer has a wonderful book out called "Quiltmaking by Hand". Even if you never try to do it, it is worth the price because of the lush photos and layout. Highly recommended.

John

Hi John, my very first quilt was made entirely by hand. Not one stitch was done by machine. It was a sampler quilt but I don't know the name of the book or author's name anymore. I learned with a friend. It was her book. We couldn't find anyplace that gave quilting lessons so she bought a book. I never could being the backing around to the front correctly so all mine have a border that goes to the back. I lap quilt with a huge hoop.

Thanks so much for all your replies. It looks like Berninas and Janomes are the favorites. :-)

Janome was known in the USA as New Home until about ten (???) years ago. Now they are all called Janome- no more New Home.

Leslie, Missy & The Furbabies in MO.

If the price is a factor for you, you'll find a Janome is 1/2 to 1/3 the price of a comparable Bernina... at least the last time I was comparing them. My local dealer no longer sells Berninas, so I don't have current price info, but I know Berninas are still considerably more expensive.

Leslie- with a beer budget (Janome), Missy & The Furbabies in MO.

Marie, I don't know how we will do it but some day some how, we need to get you to where you can try out some other machines. Leslie loves to tease me about my 'one night stand' with a New Home/Janome but the truth is - that brief affair was more than 20 years ago. We will trust that they are much improved by now. The one I brought home sounded like a chain saw on a bad day and only had one speed: Full Speed Ahead! Sewing quietly and gently makes me happy. I'm also right fond of perfectly. I don't know how they did it but Bernina is intuitive for me. That's today's word for 'I understand without struggle'. None of us can tell you what will be your best friend. You will find it. Polly

Then that's what I have. I think I bought it in 1990, possibly in 1991. When I don't understand is I was told it needed no cleaning or oiling by the man who owns the store. Is that true? I had to clean and oil the Singer every month or so under regular use. Are they somehow self lubricated?

Geeze! My New Home was bought around 1991. I has variable speeds via a foot pedal and a slow/fast switch.

Who sells Berninas? The only places I see selling sewing machines here is that high priced store in town, and Wal*Mart.

My mother in law, now deceased, did all her piecing by hand as she watched TV at night. She said it was relaxing and kept her from snacking too much. :-D

Thanks. I can always do a little Googling. I'll probably keep the New Home until or unless it starts giving me problems.

I've dug out some of my quilting "stuff" and still have some boxes to go through. I'm looking forward to choosing a design for a new quilt for my guestroom. So many quilt designs, so little time. I have loads of material to work with in all the colors I need.

I know what you mean. My deceased mother-in-law loved to hand piece in front of the TV at night. She had a fine Singer machine she seldom used. She said the same thing, it relaxed her and kept her hands busy. She always had a bag of stuff to work on when she visited, and quilted right up to the end. She was a quilter all her long healthy life and was always enthused about the latest quilt she was fashioning. I miss talking "quilts" with her. :*(

The way Beyer describes it, hand piecing doesn't take up much time because it is portable. She has a point. I do machine work, and I have to carve out time to be home in one spot where everything is set up to do it. Beyer preps the pieces at home, puts them in a portable bag, then does a few whenever she has a minute wherever that is. It could be waiting in a doctor's office, waiting for the check in a restaurant, waiting for the train to pass while in the car.

--Lia

Most newer machines do not need regular oiling and, if it is an electronic machine, can actually be damaged by too much oil. Lint will still accumulate, especially around the bobbin and should be cleaned out (brush, vacuum, canned air, etc.) regularly. How often that is needed may vary. Some people do it every time they change the bobbin. I don't find it necessary to do it that often. If you can see much lint around the bobbin, it's good to get it out.

Julia in MN

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Marie Dodge wrote:

The "self-oiling" machines have porous bearings that are saturated with some kind of lubricant. It might be oil or graphite, but the theory is that they get warm and exude oil. In spite of that, when (if) you take your machine in for a tune-up, the first thing the technician will do is oil it. There is a discussion going on at wefixit/yahoo about this very topic. The consensus is that the annual tuneup is a big profit-maker for the shops. If you didn't clean the machine, you'd have mats of oily lint, bits of thread, and dust buffaloes building up inside, and you'd have to take it in even more often for service. Who needs that?

I use old Singers, Necchis and Kenmores for my sewing. My newest machine is at least 50 years old, and I know how to do what is needed to keep them running nicely. I just finished quilting a scrappy double- size "Drunkard's Path" on a 1953 Singer 66 for the grid in the center and a 1949 Singer 15-91 for the FMQ borders. It took five and a half hours for the whole process. The 15-91 cost me $8.50 plus shipping from Chicago, and the 66 was part of an eBay win: three machines and two cabinets for $10, but I had a 100-mile round trip to pick them up.

I used the 66 last week to make a quilted purse for a friend, and there are places where four layers of quilted fabric and a double-fold binding come together, and the machine just sailed right on through it all, without even slowing down. And it has an eight-inch harp, that's a plus.

Maria in NE PA

I had a Viking 990 that I wore the head out on........finally went to get a new machine and was lucky enuf to find a dealer that carried ALL the different brands. Discovered that Pfaff had what I needed (front-loading bobbin as I can't manage a drop-in). don't have an extra fancy one with all the bells and whistles but a few extra stitches.It's the Quilt Expression

Butterfly (TRY as many as possible before you buy....don't be afraid to try-gently used- ones, also)

I think there are several in the group working on Quilted Diamonds. We should so a roll call. Oh...and I'm not one of them.

Marie, Can you think of an old machine that does a nice (really any) buttonhole type appliqué stitch? That was one of the reasons I got a new machine. Even my 80's Bernina didn't do that stitch.

I have a few older machines left around here but moved most on. A couple each of FW's, 301's, 201's and a few oddballs are all the collectibles that seem to be around here any more. I do have a Rocekteer I need a door for. Dh sold a Sewhandy the other day. The gal walked away so happy with it. I was glad to get it out of the shed and into good hands where it could be appreciated again. Taria

Maria O wrote:

Taria, I don't have one that'll do it AFAIK. I have a pair of 1950s Kenmores made in Germany by Gritzner-Kayser that use cams to make deco stitches. One of these makes a kind of blindhem stitch, but I think it goes to the right instead of the left. I haven't tried that one, but today's as good a day as any to give it a trial run.

I imagine there might be an Elna cam that makes the right kind of stitch for applique. Elna has been famous for making all kinds of great cams that work with the whole range of cam-based models, but Elnas are few and far between here.

I see a couple of names I recognize from vintage-machine groups here, and maybe one of them can advise you on finding a SM that makes a BH stitch. And I'll get out the Kennie and see if it does it.

Maria in NE PA

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My favorite machine is my old Bernina 1630. And yes, I love to piece by hand more than by machine! It is very relaxing.

Mary in Mesa

Marie Dodge wrote: