I have this beautiful fabric. It's a really luxurious damask in the loveliest shades of bronze and copper with some pale sage green. It was a birthday gift. I've had it for more than six months.
It's destined to be a drape for this window of the West Wing. See that bit of it hanging on the valence? The drape will draw to the left 'cause there's a heater on the right. To avoid having the drape cover any of the window when it's open, it will pull back to that section of log wall on the left. All this means that the finished drape will be twelve feet wide.
Did I mention I actually have more than ten yards of 
fabric? And nearly that much lining fabric? And that Magda's helping me?So here's where my thirty year old sewing machine puts its foot down, so to speak. I admit I don't take very good care of the poor old thing. So, today it just refused to go any further. In fairness, I should say the motor was running fine and the fabric was moving smoothly beneath the needle. It just wasn't stitching. So, although we were having a grand time, we weren't really getting anywhere.
Does everyone recognize this? Of course, you do. It's where the bobbin goes. There's a crescent shaped piece on the left that's supposed to catch the needle thread and loop it around the bobbin thread. This crescent piece is about 1/4 inch too far clockwise. So it gets to the spot where it's supposed to meet the loop of needle thread long before the needle gets there. The poor needle actually runs into it with every stroke and doesn't have a chance of getting its little thread looped around the bobbin thread. 
Anyone who was feeling smug at having recognized where the bobbin goes should try this one. Give up? If you turn the machine upside down and take off the bottom this is what you see. Smack dab in the middle is a set screw which controls the position of the worm gear (lower left) which, in turn, controls the position of the above mentioned crescent, now lying on its side upper left. Tighten that set screw and you're good to go.
2 comments:
Whew, good for you for following it through to find where the source of the problem was. I'm the same way--and actually get anal about a problem if I can't solve it.
By the way, your cat has that "cat heaven" look on its face. Going through a bit of kneading, right? I get that every night when I'm trying to fall asleep and my cat's up by my face, kneading the blanket. Kind of peaceful (albeit annoying at times), isn't it?
Magda certainly does look like she's in heaven.
And I love that you've named the West Wing.
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