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My sewing machine is still not working properly and is on its way to the rubbish tip if it doesn't improve very very soon. It has one final chance this morning but if the engineer can't sort it out once and for all I am getting a new one before I also lose my sanity!

 

Someone posted a link a bit ago to sewing machine reviews but I can't find it again, if anyone has that link I'd be grateful.

 

The shop I am going to for a new machine has a special offer on Frister + Rossmann machines. The one I fancy looks good on the net but I have never heard of this company. Any thoughts?

 

Cxx

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No I haven't heard of them either. I know Colette blogged about buying a new machine and things to consider.

I'm a big advocate of getting what you really want. I hope to keep my machine until the end of time, how's that for devotion!
My mum used to have a Frister Rossmann I learnt on, It was a good solid machine but  a little harder to figure out and so I favoured my Grandma's Husquevarna and I now have my own Husquevarna E10. Its a great little machine. No super embroidery stuff but it was £110 in an offer. Jaycotts are a fantastic online company and I think they have a store in Chester. Thats where I got mine from! Good luck hunting! x

Hi Charolette,

  On the sew weekly front page, on the botton right of the screen.. there is a  topic,"things to remember when buying  a machine".I think it is from Sarai [Colette]. If I remember correctly ,she is telling you things to check before buying,etc.. Hope this helps.

 

   Sorry I cant help you with the  2 above companies..I am not familiar with them.

 

   Hope all goes well with your trip to the sewing machine Doctor...and the "oldie one".. works like a dream

and has just been having  a" hissy fit" [do you use this termnology in UK?]ha.

Thanks everyone - lots of food for thought. The engineer has made my machine work. However last time he did this it was ok for about 2 sewing hours.

 

He recommends Janome. But then he sells them too (out of his garage where he works)..... however he says if I am thinking of changing he can show me the machine he recommends and I can play on it for a bit and see if I like it. My mother rang this pm and she has offered to buy me a new machine for my birthday! I will read the Colette article again.

 

I am going to give it some serious thought and have a good go on my current machine to see whether it is fixed. I don't want to change for the sake of it, I think it is wasteful. On the other hand my machine is making me feel ill.....

 

Thanks again for your support and thoughts x

You know, Judy has a Janome…and I think she loves it!

Yes.. I love my Janome. I have had it for 5 or 6 yrs...and I use to sew for ebay and sewed everyday..So, it has really had the hours put on it. and it still runs as smooth as the first day I got it..

 

  Charolette, how sweet of your mom to offer  you a machine for your birthday..  I agree with you..if your old one is 'really' fixed.. then,  that is wonderful.. Try it out and give it a good run  and if it starts acting up..Just  let your mom ---love you and give you the  wonderful birthday present..It will be a wonderful memory for you and for her.. And no need of keeping one that is making you ill, [or feel like cussing a cat..ha]

  Good luck and cant wait to hear ,what your final decision will be..

Thanks Judy, you are thoughtful as ever, thanks for your good wishes. Thanks also for your comments about the Janome machine, the one I saw today did seem alot more robust than mine.... I had machine envy. Lots to think about x

 

Hi Charlotte... I've never heard of the above either. But thought I'd let you know that I've had my Janome (very basic model) for about 15 years. It's only been serviced maybe 3 times... still runs perfectly. It jumps from one fabric to another with no complaintsSince I started the sew weekly, I've used a bunch of different fabrics but I've only needed to alter the tension once! (I know tension is one of your pet peeves at the moment!) and I'm pretty lazy about changing needles.. so it's usually a pretty blunt universal... but still she never complains!

My husband offered me a new machine for my last birthday and I said 'no way'... I love this little beauty... we have a great working relationship. He thought I was crazy.

Thanks Casey, that's extremely helpful. I mess about with tension ALL the time, in fact I am becoming a bit of an expert and the engineer has even taught me to take my machine apart to tighten the bottom bobbin tension. I am amazed to find that other peo0ple don't touch their tension dial at all. I am also an obsessive needle changer as a resullt of this.

 

That's it. I'm getting a Janome. End of.

 

Can I ask a silly question though - do you mean you don't change the tension between straight running stitch and zigzag? I have to do this every time. What does everyone else do?

 

By the way my machine is a Brother and I don't mind saying I don't recommend them at all and I will NEVER buy another one.....

hahaha!!! you're so funny Charlotte... good to know you're picking up some engineering skills! I don't change the tension between running stitch and zigzag (though I don't zig zag alot because I have the overlocker.. but I zig zag knits without changing the tension).... or even for button holes.  It's usually only slippery satins or very lightweight fabrics that I might need to change the top tension just a little. I'm racking my brains for any 'funny' things my Janome does... and I can't think of much!! The only quirk I can think of -  it lets me know if there's any fluff building up under the bobbin by jamming up.. all I have to do is take out the bobbin and bobbin case thingy.. dust underneath and she's good to go again. I was lucky to 'borrow' this machine from my mum when I left home all those years ago...hee hee.. sorry mum. - she didn't do alot of sewing anyway so she went back to her very old singer, which has only recently been upgraded because the engineer was finding it too hard to get parts for the old singer. She got a Janome. (I didn't even realise how good they were until I started reading about other peoples temperamental machines)

anyway..I hope you find your perfect match dear Charlotte! Can't wait to see you in action again soon!

Casey,  I laughed when I read about you getting  the dust out from under the bobbin thing..Well. I too..just cant say anything about my machine..It has had the devil run out of it.. And the owner[ME] has not been real generous about maintenance..[Shame on me!!].Anyway,  a month or so ago.. I was telling hubby,that as bad as I hated to say it..my machine was beginning to not run smooth or sound smooth.He said, 'Well,it probably needs replacing..It has been used to death." And it really has..  My sewing machine repairman died, so I had no one.. Well.I was frustrated with the sound ..so.the mechanic in me.decided to work on it.??????????? [no..I have no skills!!]-- I am ashamed to admit this to you girls---but when  I took the bobbin thing out, there was a BIG wad of dust.. I took it out in disbelief.. Oiled it. And it sounds just like a brand new one...[just like it did 6-7 yrs ago].. 

  I too.. sew all kinds of fabrics.. and this machine sews whatever and never acts up...

Not to makes jokes about your poor dead repairman...but it struck me funny that your repairman died well before your machine. That seems like a really strong endorsement for Janome!

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