Last week I told y'all how I was sitting in my living room going through 'delivery hell' while awaiting delivery of the new quilting sewing machine David talked me into ordering. After a day and a half of what seemed like an agonizing long wait it finally arrived.
David and I wrestled the giant box into the dining room and opened it up. Let me tell you, that sucker is heavy! I had to enlist his help just to lift it out of the box. We got everything unpacked on the dining room table and I started taking inventory, making sure everything listed on the contents page of the manual the size of a college textbook was accounted for. It came with 35 bobbins, two dozen feet for any sewing project I might get the idea I can tackle, six needles, a screwdriver, a stylus, a bobbin brush, a nice little organizer box to keep it all in, and three (count 'em THREE!) of those plates that fit over the bobbin holder and under the needle. Who the heck needs three? There are a few of the feet that need their own special plate. That's two too many for me.
I spent a few hours perusing the 200 page manual, decided I'm a visual learner, and grabbed my laptop. It's amazing how many videos one can find for any given subject when one puts in the effort. I managed to find one that demonstrated how to use the self-threader. I've never had any success with one since I assumed it'd find the needle regardless of where it was positioned. Apparently, it doesn't work that way.
I started playing around with my new 'toy' and almost broke it right out of the box. Somehow, I got the needle in the wrong position for the foot I had attached. The needle embedded the plastic foot, and I almost had a panic attack. I thought I'd broken it already. I hadn't but it scared me a little.
Next, I watched a video on using the bobbin winder on the top of the machine. I don't usually bother with them because I have a portable bobbin winder that works like a charm, but I gave it a go anyway. It worked great–the first time. Later I needed a new bobbin, so I threaded one, placed it on the machine, hit the start button, and had a tangled mess on my hands. I'd forgotten to pass the thread through the guide first. If there's a way to mess up, I'll find it.
I took out one of my quilt tops and placed it under the needle. Right now, I'm sticking to straight stitching since I haven't practiced making any kind of free hand designs, but I will. I'm still experimenting with all the features which I figure will take me until next year to learn but I'm going to have a lot of fun in the meantime. I'm in Quilter's Heaven!