Thank you to everybody for all your input.
It certainly looks like I have just been unlucky. My oil may be a bit old - it came with my machine when I bought it 4 years ago. When I get an opportunity to go to a dealer I will buy a new can. I will also get a new can of 505 when I go to my LQS this coming week. Maybe they have had an old lot delivered last time. Sadly there is no sell-by date on the 505 can.
I will give this one more go before giving up on spray basting once I have found a way of cleaning up the bobbin case.
Thank you again for getting in touch
Marianne

Good point about the oil. I use spray baste and have never had a problem with the bobbin case.

I'm sure you saw Patsy Thompson's video posted today on the subject of spray basting.

She agrees with me that spray basting does not cause your machine to get sticky.

Maybe your can of oil is old?

BethMI

Boy, I can't help you either. I have never had any trouble with 505 and I use it on all of my quilts. Please let us know what you find out.

kquilts1 wrote: I used YLI Machine Quilting for part of the quilting and Superior Thread Perfect quilter for the rest so that should be OK?
Thank you for replying.

I know this may not be the case, but did you use hand quilting thread in your machine? If so, it is coated with wax and that will definitely gunk up your machine.

Thank you, Beth and Littleflower.
I cleaned the bobbin area before and after and, yes, there was lint like there is when using cotton fabric and cotton batting but it is as if the whole bobbin area is now sticky. I have a Bernina 730 and do a lot of dressmaking as well as some embroidery with it. Unlike my old mechanical Bernina the 730 cannot be taken apart and cleaned to the same degree as the old one can. I use Bernina oil for oiling and never oil the machine when cold but wait till it is warmed through.
I clean it every time I change the bobbin whether it is empty or not so my machine is very clean - I think? I use a hoover to suck out as much as possible before taking the brush to it. I have not had as sticky a bobbin case and bobbin area since I last tried spray basting which is why I wondered how people cleaned up after quilting like this. Maybe the can of 505 I have is old and more sticky than usual.
Have a nice week-end and thanks again
Marianne

I agree with Littleflower. I think it is just a coincidence that this happened after you spray basted. I have quilted dozens of quilts with spray basting and never experienced this issue even once.

Take your machine in and let your service person look at it. I'll bet you find out it is something else.

BethMI

Marianne,
Asking a question is always a good thing and being stuck sounds about right.

Using spray baste isn't a bad decision. From what you're describing I'm thinking this doesn't have anything to do with the spray as you sprayed quite lightly enough that there shouldn't have been a lot of adhesive on the quilt. I use 505 on nearly every quilt I make and I've never had this happen before. Gunking up the needle yes (usually from too much spray), gunking up the bobbin, no.

What machine do you have that you can't get into the bobbin area and clean it out?

My guess is that the machine probably needs a tune up and a good cleaning as there is probably quite a bit of lint build up in the bobbin area.

Teri

This is my first post in the forums so please excuse if this is not the place to ask this kind of question!
My machine is gunked up. I made a very bad decision yesterday and against my better judgment spray basted some blocks with 505 spray glue for a play day in free motion quilting. I did 2 18" blocks with the fairly open loop Patsy Thompson showed on her video clip recently.
The needle I can clean but how do you remove the gunk from bobbin area? I cannot take the bobbin area apart on my machine.
I only used a very light spray so light actually that the layers did not stick together very well because I was scared stiff that was has happened would happen. When I read blogs around cyberworld everybody seem to be using spray basting these days as well as fusible appliqué so how do you clean up after this sticky business?
TIA
Marianne