Thursday, October 27, 2011

FMQ: Reunited and It Feels So Good!

OK- sorry for the cheesy song lyrics but FMQ and are are getting back together.

First off, THANK YOU for the TONS of great advice, suggestions, and help. I ♥ you and can't thank you enough for your patience and your help!

So, I changed threads- yes I loved, loved the look of the variegated Aurifil I was using (the 40 wt) but my machine obviously did not.

(BTW, I have a Pfaff Classic Style Fashion 2023. It's about 4 years old and was my mom's and she bought it for garment sewing, not quilting but it does have an integrated walking foot and the manual has a section on FMQ.)

So, I cleaned everything again and this time put in my Aurifil 50 wt and a new needle and am going a bit more slowly and so far, so good. I've spent some time on some practice quilt sandwiches and then jumped over to the big quilt.

While I need a lot of practice on maneuvering the quilt, at least at this point my thread is not breaking or getting those awful bird's nests on the back.

Soooooo, I'm cautiously optimistic.

Pictures soon- hubs has the camera with him so I don't have any to show you at the moment but I am going to jump back in during naptime and see if my luck will hold.

Seriously though y'all, thanks for all the love, the help, the comments and the support!
xo
Jennifer

26 comments:

Toni said...

Glad to hear the love affair is back on!

kristastitched said...

yay!

Annabella said...

Phew. Hubby - get back with the camera!

Impera_Magna said...

Yea! Glad to hear things are going better with your FMQ!

Lisa @ Sixmunchkin Stitching said...

Glad to hear it was a thread issue and not a machine issue!

**nicke... said...

sooo happy that you aren't fighting anymore! can't wait to see how it looks!

Flying Blind... said...

Knew it wasn't 'you'!!

Katy Cameron said...

Yay for the kiss and make up :oD

Kelly said...

YaY! Good luck! I can't wait to see pictures!

Patchwork and Play said...

Yes! I knew it wouldn't beat you! There's no looking back now!

If Toys Could Talk said...

Hooray! I can't wait to see photos. :)

Kritta22 said...

Oh yay! I'm so glad! Let us know

susan said...

Fab news. Glad you and your machine are friends again!

CJ said...

I'm happy to hear that you finally got it working out for you! Maybe they have the same color thread in the weight that you need? If not, hopefully you could find something you liked to go with your quilt.

Can't wait to see pictures!

Elizabeth D. said...

Oh yay, so glad to hear that you're trying again and that it's going well!! Good to know that it seems like it was a thread issue, I'll have to remember that when I get my hands on some Aurifil... :)

Lynne said...

Who would have thought the answer lay in a finer thread!

Danny said...

FMQ is SO frustrating sometimes! I'm glad you figured out the issues and are back on track!

Jean said...

Has anyone suggeseted to you to purchase some Little Genie Bobbin washers. You can google them, I purchased mine online. They are the greatest!!! Helps decrease the tension in the bobbin. Give them a try. By the way...love your blog!

Leila said...

I am so glad it is working!!

Candice said...

Yipee Skipee :) Happy day!

Sheila said...

I know this might seem a bit simplistic but it has happened in my classes - sometimes it's easy when fmq-ing to forget to put the presser foot lever down and this causes horrible nesting on the back.

Poppyprint said...

I quilt on a Pfaff, too. Are you dropping the feed dogs and disengaging the walking foot? You don't want the dual feed down when you are FMQ'ing. At any rate, great news that things have improved with the finer thread. Perhaps the heavier weight increased the bobbin tension too high and that's why the thread was snapping?

Jackie said...

I love quilting with Aurifil. Sounds like you're well on your way to finding your sweet spot.

Gene Black said...

Hooray! I knew you could do it. And I promise your stitches and quilt "manipulation" will get better. I also promise you will have other problems crop up....but you will also develop the ability to deal with them, laugh and go on.

Tammy said...

Ahhh, a sigh of relief, and happy dance that you are back in business!

felicity said...

I've heard that Pfaffs can be really temperamental with FMQ, precisely because of the walking foot issue. So so happy that things are going better with the finer thread!