ladydukes

I'm in the process of making a DWR Quilt for my youngest DD for a wedding gift (surprise) from the "Rings That Bind" QAYG method by Cheryl Phillips. I'm on a tight deadline because the wedding is in September, and I have a house full of company until mid-August.

Yesterday while sewing, my Janome MC 9000 died on me. The screen went dead as a doornail and would not come back on. I tried unplugging, moving it to another plug, etc. Nothing... I called the local dealer who said that he would look at it, but that my machine is obsolete and he can no longer get parts for it. I panicked! I'm thinking that he is more interested in selling me a new machine than repairing mine. So, I called another store that repairs machines and the repairman said that he would look at it, that it might just be a fuse. You can guess who I took my machine to - the latter of the two... Now the wait. He won't get to it for 4-5 days! I received an email message from one person who told me that parts ARE available for my machine, that she had hers worked on not too long ago and had the motherboard replaced. I'll be in a dilemma trying to decide how much I want to spend if it is a serious problem...

We just had heat and air conditioning along with the ductwork installed in the upper level of our house $$ and a new roof $$ and solar added to our hot water system $$ so you can see why I'm not anxious to jump out and buy a new machine unless I have to....

I have 2 FW machines, so I drug out the first one. When I tried to sew the top-stitching on the quilted arcs, the belt kept slipping so my husband lowered the motor. That didn't work either, the belt kept slipping. I then dragged out the other FW but have not tried it yet, but will this morning.

My question is: have you used your FW to make quilts, not just tops? I know that these machines should do the job because that's all the women in the 40's and 50's used. ANY recommendations are appreciated, please!

irishrose

The women in the 40s either hand quilted after machine piecing or tied the quilt after piecing. I personally don't think a FW is meant to FMQ a large quilt. I don't have one so I have no experience with trying. Does your repair place have a loaner or a used one you can rent?

mighty

Piecing it would be fine, but FMQ I would not be able to do it on a 221.

J Miller

For piecing the FW would be fine as those above have said. But for machine quilting the FW just does not have the motor power or torque to do it. That's why the motor slips even when the belt is tight.

Hunt up a Singer 66, 15, or 201 for the big stuff. They can do the job.

Hope your Janome can be fixed economically.

Joe

nanna-up-north

I FMQ baby quilts using my FW but the big quilts won't fit under the arm...... and I don't try the big ones because everyone says I shouldn't put the FW under that kind of stress.

Isn't there someone that you know nearby that could loan you a machine for the 4-5 days that your machine is in the shop? I had the same problem a couple of weeks ago when I was starting to FMQ a quilt on my Viking 1+. I had to wait a week but I didn't have a deadline when it HAD to be done.

It looks like it's another reason to collect all these vintage machines. If you have several machines around, you don't have to wait for the repair man to get you up and running once again.

irishrose

So true. When my 301 shorted out the cord connector, I couldn't fix it myself and was glad to have others to sew on. Only the Necchi wanted to FMQ but it was nice to have back ups.

chris_quilts

Amen to the backup machines. If i didn't have a plethora of backups, I'd be looking for a 15 or a 15 clone for the quilting and the piecing. That being said, I use my 301 almost exclusively for all piecing and quilting.

mom-6

I use my featherweight for everything, but have not attempted quilting on anything larger than a good sized throw. Maybe 60 x 72 at most. Larger ones I either tie or I've done by hand.

carolynjo

wouldnot try to quilt on my FW. I wouldn't want to burn out the motor.

Stitchnripper

For what it's worth, a few years ago I was in a quilt shop and the owner told me she "quilted" all her quilts on a Featherweight. She didn't say "pieced". I didn't think to ask if it was stitch in the ditch or FMQ.