A New Sewing Machine

After six months of research (Sew Mama Sew, Pattern Review and other websites), testing machines and giving it a lot of consideration I finally found the sewing machine that will last me a long time. I have been piecing my quilts on a Janome Heart Truth that I bought in the early 2000's. It is a terrific little machine but just didn't have enough power to sew over thick seams. I discovered this while piecing my pinwheel quilt.

I narrowed it down to two manufacturers; Janome and Bernina.  I did a test sew on the Janome MC 6600p and found it was a terrific machine. The Accufeed was certainly a plus. My Heart Truth has been very reliable and that was a big consideration for my choice. I also tested the Bernina B530 and B550qe and found them wonderful, but lacking some of the features that the Janome offered.

Two days before my birthday (yes, it was a birthday present from my parents and husband) I decided that the Janome 6600p was the machine for me. Just to double check my decision I decided to test drive the Bernina B530 one more time. I fell in LOVE! Something just felt right about it. I liked the narrower width feed dogs, loved the styling of the machine, and the sturdy Bernina presser feet. As my sewing tasks are mostly quilt piecing, I found that the narrower width of the feed dogs gave me a better 1/4" accuracy.

I got my new machine home unpacked it, settled it into my sewing table and began to experiment. I noticed the machine was loud and didn't sound as smooth as my Heart Truth. uh oh. Luckily my dealer has a 30 day return policy and is a Janome dealer as well. But before I returned the machine, I thought maybe a good oiling would do the trick and found this website which gives detailed instructions:  http://www.berninapfaff.com/helpfiles/oiling_cleaning_main/cb_hook/oiling_cb_bobbin.pdf
I followed the directions and voila no more noise.

Meet "Brenda" my new Bernina.  She sews like a dream!!!