Lock Blocked

For years, I coveted my friend Callie's "Baby Lock Ellure Plus" sewing/embroidery machine, because I love to sew personalized projects.  She was always making such cute things, and I had friends with cute kids for whom I wanted to make cute things, and then I was going to have my own cute baby for whom I wanted to make cute things, so every year at Christmas it was what I hoped for under the tree.

The problem was not that the husband wasn't hearing my requests or wanting to fulfill my dream, but this machine is about a million and five dollars, give or take, and it just was never financially feasible for him to run right out and make my dream come true.

Until this last Christmas.

On Christmas morning - the first for our daughter - I opened up all my lovely gifts and was happy with all I had given and received.  But my husband had a surprise for me...one more present was still upstairs, and would I just run up there and get it?

It was the biggest box I had ever seen and I knew right away what it was!!!  I was *so* excited I could hardly stand it.  And when I opened it, I was the most overwhelmed and excited that I had been since our daughter was born.  Because this thing has bajillions of stitches and accessories and how would I ever learn to use it?!

But slowly and surely, I started using it for my new year's projects and I was in heaven.  Until one day when it started making a "kachunk" noise as I stitched.   Oh no - I have BROKEN IT!  IT IS BROKEN!!!  I thought as I took it down to be worked on.  First time it was simply a matter of having the bobbin casing slip out of place and it was fixed with a little dab of oil and knowledgeable hand to replace the casing.

Then, while sewing on a hem, I ran over a pin.

And this is where it all goes downhill.

Because apparently, running over that pin messed up the timing.  And when I took it in and had the timing fixed, they didn't QUITE get it right enough so that even though it was sewing ok, it wouldn't work during the embroidery function.  So when I took it back AGAIN, and that was fixed, I thought I was in business and wasn't expecting to make the 30 minute long trip back to the store again until it was time to get my machine serviced.

But a few days ago, I broke a needle while I was sewing.  It's ok.  It happens.  I just replaced the needle and went about my business and thought nothing of it.

Until two days ago.  I was creating a basting stitch along the bottom part of my green dress I'm working on and KACHUNK - all of a sudden, the needle started catching on top of the fabric and not descending into the bobbin chamber and all the alarms of the machine were going off and - you got it - it is now acting like the timing is off.  Again.  About 6 weeks after it got off track the first time.

Now, I don't know a lot about sewing machines.  But I know a  lot about expensive things, and the thing I know most about expensive things is that THEY SHOULD F'ING WORK!!!!!!!!!

I'm totally convinced at this point that there is something more fundamentally wrong with this machine than meets the eye, because having the timing go out, and even having needles unexplicably break, just isn't what happens in the course of normal usage.  And believe me - I am way within the realm of normal usage.  I don't sew crazy things.  I'm sewing run of the mill items on run of the mill fabrics here.  BUT for a squillion dollars, if I wanted to sew sharkskin onto diamond-embedded velvet, the machine should run like the luxury item that it is.

I need help.  Certainly, at less than a year old, there is some warranty on the thing that will allow me to trade it in for a non-lemon.  Because I can't afford a $25 repair every 6 weeks.  Not when I'm going to need to up my usage of said machine in order to help me make a living.  It is not just a hobby machine for me, I need it to be reliable so that I can make ends meet.

So.  I guess tomorrow, I get to go BACK to the store and ask what my options are. I do not want to do this, but by god, I've got a flower girl dress that I have *GOT* to finish in the next week (was hoping to get it done this week while I had my husband around and not out of town.  Oh well) and I can't do it without a machine.

Wish me luck!