Geneva, so sorry to hear about your machine - I too have a 730E that has become very, very temperamental and I've come to the conclusion that it is age. I'm lucky I have another machine to keep me going when it is throwing a tantrum. Sometimes it will correct itself with a complete shut-down and cooling down. I've decided not to repair if another board goes pop; they are all refurbished boards so something else on the board can go a couple of months later.
Love your fish, Wendy - great fun
More fantastic photos, Lotti - thanks for sharing
I managed to make 2 knit t-shirts over the week-end but can see that sewing knits is a subject that needs researching in depth if I'm to succeed. Having said that both the girls and I agreed that despite a bit of wonky-ness here and there they are much better quality than any we have bought recently and not more expensive. So here's to perseverance! Today I'll start WFQ the cover I think.
Marianne

PosyP wrote: Thank you, Rosemary! I too was taught to line up grain lines when doing appliqué. To be honest the few quilts and place mats I have made that has involved appliqué has proved the grain lines are important once you have washed the quilt which of course the great winning quilts will never suffer. I'm coming to the conclusion that for show you get away with almost anything where as for something that needs to stand up to use and abuse (like anything I make ) I need to be more careful. However the sewing machine cover will fade in no time so I will probably use that as an excuse to make a new one
Marianne

Geneva: those old bernie's are wonderful - i think i sew almost more on my old artista than i do on my 830 - much less finniky - especially when i want to torture the poor thing (mainly with impatience).
hope Sybil get's back to scratch soon. sending you all my M&Ms

JDeluca: enjoy you sewing vacation - never ever feel guilty about an extra hour or two - and happy massage - the perfect start to a day

love those fish, Wendy, so fun!

sorry - still no sewing pics - i've gotten started on that whiskey-tumbler-muggie but it needs some stuff to continue... and it's much too hot to spend at a sewing machine or ironing board when i'm back from work - so here a few of the pictures from last week's funtime:

Judeluca (I hope I spelled that correctly), you deserve a sewing vacation! Enjoy and be sure to show us your progress. And may I have some of your m&m s?

Thank you Lois. Wendy and Luann. It's nice to have someone besides my husband understand my frustrations with Sybil. I took her in and Mr. fix it says a new electronic board costs $450 and a new electrical board costs $250. It's a small Bernina shop so there aren't any 730's to trade for. He did say a 560 (at $3,500) would work with all my existing equipment. Ie: embroidery module, assorted feet and etc. I may not need both new boards. The boards come with a 90 day warranty.

I've taken Sybil into the Bernina shop I bought her from in Sacramento so many times. I'm hoping Mr. Fix it here will be able to do a better job. We will see. They are certainly nicer and quicker.

I dragged out my Bernina 1130 and fired her up after 8 years. I cleaned and oiled her, even changed her needle and she sewed like a charm. What a little sweetie. She uses all different bobbins,feet, and such, but it's all coming back to me. I spent a happy hour or so working on something "light" if you know what I mean and I think you do!

Mr fix it will be gone all this week to Bernina school so it will probably be next week until I hear anything.

Take care, geneva

Wendy!!!! Love your fish! How fun are they!?

Sorry to hear about Sybil !!! Good luck with a resolution ! I didn't know Bernina did trade-ins or trade-ups !

My vacation started today (technically it started July 3rd since the clinic was closed, but family kept me busy all weekend with various celebrations and activities!). I spent the morning cleaning house while my boys were at daycare - picked up and put away toys, vacuumed the house, cleaned bathrooms and showers, did laundry (only one more load left to go), washed dishes, and took out trash. My reward was 2 guilt free hours in my sewing room before the boys got home tonight. Looking forward to more fun tomorrow - a relaxing massage in the AM (haven't had one of those in almost a year) thanks to my sweet husband, and an afternoon dedicated to sewing! My goal this week is to finish piecing the last of the curved seams on my wedding star before I have to go back to reality!

I copied them from a post on FB they looked such fun and thought they'd add some colour to my craft stall.

Lois I agree with you the 730 should be fixed. I regret not following through previously with my old Bernina when it threw Wobblies and I was fobbed off by the shop and service engineer. They cost enough and should be working. Good luck Geneva.

The fish are so cute!

Wendy, I was so upset about Geneva's Sybil…. Is she the one with multiple personalities?…. Anyway I forgot to tell you that I love your fish. They are darn cute!

Geneva,
I agree 100% with Lois.
Judith

Yikes! Geneva. You can eat all my M&M's. Time for a pity party. Have you tried plugging her in and giving it another go. My niece, closest thing we have to a computer geek in our family always has us try this when things go crazy. "Turn the thing off and leave it off for a while. Let it get its molecules realigned. Give it a rest." And sometimes it works. In fact, it worked on my other niece's oven. That thing wouldn't work for anything. Then one day last week the electricity went off for 3 hrs and the darn thing has worked ever since. I have serious doubts about this remedy for your machine, but you never know. I think I'd attempt a trade-in but they better give you a seriously good deal. I mean seriously good, unheard of good. Ya' just don't buy these high-end machines and then be expected to be satisfied with a lemon.

Oh no I hope it can be fixed quick. Naughty Sybil has she heard you're considering a replacement. Hope looking over my shoulder doesn't make you hungry.

Today I have been making fish

I came to a screeching halt Saturday while finishing up the quilting on the niece's quilt. Sybil, my Bernina 730 just shut down. This time she didn't smoke or show me her "System Shutdown" screen. In mid stitch, she quit. That little witch!

So, I will take her in today and see what and how much the damage is. I'm trying to decide whether to trade her in on a newer 730, if the Bernina shop even has one available. Tri-cities is a small area.

So, I hope you won't mind ladies.... I'll be that sewist at the retreat looking over your shoulder, stealing your M&Ms and generally causing an annoyance. I'll try not to sneak up behind you and talk too loud!

geneva

Hello All
So great to read what you're all up to, beautiful projects all around and fabulous stories and memories
My first job this month is a little lighthouse muggie for a certain friend's whiskey tumbler
Today i'm also washing and starching the rest of my fabric haul from my visit to canada & shopping excursions to the states
If it wasn't so darned hot, a hefty amount of ironing is also called for so that i can cut triangles from all the new fabrics and then get started on my next quilt. One of my nieces is moving into her first own home later this summer and is therefore getting her quarter-century quilt a year early.
So - get out of this bed lotti, get yourself organized and make use of a beautiful summer day!
... And don't forget to download and backup the 36 GByte of fotos taken yesterday - hopefully have some time to start sorting and purging once it gets too hot for anything requiring the moving of more than the 'mousehand' this afternoon - what a heatwave we're having