Thanks Karen, it's good to know that I haven't missed something I should have been doing for the past year or so. I guess we will just have to get our oiling fix on one of the other machines we all own.

Reetzbobeetz wrote: Rita I wondered about that too when I got my Horizon and couldn't find anything in the manual about oiling it. I called the dealer and they said not to oil it.
I always liked oiling and taking apart and cleaning my older machines. Made we feel so virtuous and efficient!

At this stage Norma I don't think they would let me! The Horizon does have a horizontal bobbin though. Maybe I should ring my dealer and ask?

Hi Mother Mystify! My former Janome MC 9700 did not need oil anywhere. I think it has to do with the horizontal bobbin.
Well you can oil your children instead

Lorchen wrote:
Maybe that's what's wrong with me....I didn't get oiled enough when I was young!

Seriously though, I have a Janome Horizon and it doesn't say anything about oiling it anywhere in the manual that I can see. Where do you oil? Is it underneath the bobbin? Fellow Janome-ites do you oil and if so where? (Mystified mother of 3 Ireland!)

Love this thread!!! :shock: ~no pun intended~ :shock: Very informative and oh so much fun. Thank you all for the great information.

Keith and Lorchen, you just made my day
I'm very relieved to hear that occasionally means every time you change a bobbin. Phew!

Yohooo, Keith Darling!! I'm intrigued.... You say: "as opposed to my mother who oils everything she can get at that moves". I now can't get the picture out of my mind of you being chased around the kitchen table by your Mum because you need oiling somewhere.

Sewing machines and threads are another whole new topic. My two Berninas (220 and 630) are well-behaved with most threads, but I often have to adjust the tension a little when changing threads. My very first machine (still much loved and used) is a little Frister and Rossman Cub4 from the early 1970s. That one copes with anything I throw at it - unusual threads, unusual fabrics.... no problem, and the quality of the straight stitch is superb. It also weighs more than the 630 even though it's so small. Everything on that baby is solid metal. If I would be forced to have only one machine, I think I'd go for my little heavy metal friend. Also, because it's not computerised I can totally service it myself and there is much less to go wrong than with most of todays machines.

Aauuugh, shucks...

I was really trying to be helpful for the Lady from Glouchestershire about what threads she should stock in her store - but then I did editorialize a bit about lint-free thread, huh? (I sometimes like a little bit of fuzz.) And I didn't define what I meant by periodically clean my machine.

I think I have more fun sometimes shopping for thread than I do shopping for fabric. I think it's important to stock them too - I like to buy thread in a store where I can touch it and see it all in front of me. Thread cards and the internet are not the same for thread shopping. Opps! having said that, I do think I buy a lot of my thread at quilt shows where it all is right in front of me... And actually fabric shopping almost always wins too...

By periodically , I mean almost every time I change the bobbin. Whether it looks like it needs it or not, I wisk my little brush around inside. It came with my machine - I think the manufacturer wants me to use it... : And now I feel like I'm sassy sermonizing again... :shock: And I try to oil every 8 to 10 hours - way more often than the little indicator light shows up on my machine. I do only oil where the manual says to - as opposed to my mother who oils everything she can get at that moves.

You know, it's a both a blessing and a curse. Because of the way I was raised, I wipe my feet before I enter a building, I face forward and don't speak in elevators, I don't cut paper with fabric scissors, and I keep my bobbin area clean. This uneasy chill goes up my back when I don't do these things... :shock:

Hi Norma! - When I sewed some garments as a pre-teen it was on a Singer or Kenmore and I didn't pay attention to threads much. Maybe I should have made ball gowns instead of Hang Ten styled tank tops. When I started quilting, I almost immediately got a hand-me-down Bernina 900, and then a 1000 series. And now I mostly piece, applique, and quilt on a Bernina 430. All three Berninas handle well almost every thread I throw at them. Like others said, if I'm not cleaning often enough, they let me know by how they sound.

Hi Lorchen - I love you! The laughter I share with you is good for my soul. Margo and Betty Jo too - it's so nice to feel like part of the crowd - similar in many ways!

Is using a lot of different threads out of the ordinary?

Keith, you are fun. My mother taught me to sew at such an early age I cannot remember for sure exactly when...maybe I was about 4 when she started. And yet, I clearly remember that one of the earliest lessons was how to clean and oil my machine. She said it was our responsibility as "seamstresses" to take proper care of our equipment and that way it would not have to be replaced or repaired very often so we can "have our ball gowns ready when they need to be".

I, too, will use whatever I have that works for what I'm trying to do, but I truly prefer Superior threads for the most part. I have an 830 LE among my machines and find that it will sew with most threads, but there are some it spits back out at me (what a prima donna it is). It really hates Sulky threads though it does work ok with them if I insist, especially with their 12 weight. Still, if the tension is right and I clean it and oil it frequently (I oil it with every bobbin change), it accepts nearly everything. It does have a particular need to have its tension set right for each type of thread. One of the funny things about it is that it wants the metallic threads to have a higher upper tension rather than a lower tension, while my other machines want a lower upper tension.

All my other machines aren't nearly as picky, but even they require proper tension settings and a good cleaning and oil every now and again. Also the needle I use needs to be right for the threads. I'm convinced that most problems anyone may have with threads are caused by the wrong needles or tension settings, so I keep a notebook as I find out things.

Lorchen I wonder what the dealer was doing every three months if they didn't even clean the lint out of her machine?!

Keith, I love that you use all threads possible. But I wonder what machine you sew on. My machines never accepted all the fluffy stuff in the bobbin area, so I'm used to clean. Now, when I have got a Bernina 830, I practise cleaning every time I use it. It does NOT accept anything foreign and it screams for oil more often than you would think. It's very easy to hear the purring turning into something different.
I have friends coming over to learn sewing and last time they were here, we started with what it takes to keep your machine in good condition. They were amazed: do we really have to clean and oil our machines? My answer is a loud YES! YOU HAVE TO! They were joking about it, but the fact was that they had never cleaned their machines before.
All that said, it can't be so dreadful on your machine or you would not be able to make the wonderful quilts, you do

Gosh!! :shock: Golly!! WoW!! :shock: Godness, Gracious!! :shock: .... Throwing arms in the air with a look of utter amazement on my face....... Keith IS periodically CLEANING his machine!!! Are you sure, Keith, you are not taking this too far???

I'm not joking, but I fairly recently came across a quilter (been doing that for over 30 years, she said) who had never cleaned her machine. She does takes it for a service to her local dealer every three months or so (where is the 'more money than sense' smilie when you need it?). This was at a workshop. Her machine was sounding dreadful and skipping stitches. I spent about 10 minutes cleaning it, popped in a new needle, and that baby positively purred. I hope this quilter has learned from it.

I have the feeling that Keith could be genetically related to me because I use whatever thread I think looks good on whatever project I'm doing. I just haven't got his skill and patience yet (I'm blaming lack of time and patience ).

Let me throw in another point into the thread discussion: I often just love an almost perfect match between thread colour and fabric so that the quilting (very basic in my case, or I would never get anything finished and also get very frustrated) does not distract from the fabrics if they are the stars of the show. I may find that I have to use several different makes on the same project because no brand has all the colour shades I want. I have no idea why, but I find it most difficult to get the perfect shades of red.

If at all possible, Superior Masterpiece goes into the bobbin.

About "Doing a Keith" (): I 'de-fluff' my machines very regularly. They tell me when it's time to sort out their insides because they start sounding just a little different. But I often do a little maintenance before I actually hear that it's necessary.

Great and interesting comments