Plan B or Life Teaches Me a Lesson

At the beginning of last week, I had just completed and sandwiched my Shirts and Slacks quilt. I was hopeful that if I worked very (very) hard, I might, I just might, get it done in time to enter to possibly hang with the Modern Quilts at this year's Quilt Festival. I was coming home from work, would quilt for an hour, eat dinner, watch a little television, then quilt some more. I was going to have all day Friday for quilting, so there was a chance I could get it done.

 

Then Life stepped in.

I was just using up my first spool of thread & changing it out for a new one (if you are doing detective work, this is a key bit of information). I threaded the machine, tapped the foot peddle to bring up the bobbin thread and -- nothing, nothing moved; I could feel a hum of the motor, but the needle didn't budge. I took out the hook, cleaned & oiled it, rethreaded the machine, turned it off, turned it on, tapped the peddle, and -- nothing. I was so disgusted, disappointed, depressed -- I even cried a little.

The next day I started doing research on sewing machine repair places & possible new sewing machines. I got out my cutting matt and began cutting. If I couldn't quilt, I might as well do something constructive & productive. I got out a bag of mixed reds that I brought home from the last HMQG work day. Do you remember me telling you of the mountain of fabric that Mabel St. Martin gave us? ("Mabel St. Martin" is how I've begun to refer to that nice woman who donated the 6 bags of fabric. If it sounds disrespectful, I don't at all mean it to be: "Mabel" was one of my Grandmother's name & "St. Martin" is the name of the church where the Guild meets.) Anyway, I had gathered about 30 different red fabrics to make a quilt (or quilts) for donation. One top is done now (pieced with the Featherweight) & I'm ready to lay out another.

 

I finally decided to take my machine to the closest place. I've taken it there before & I am not in love with this place, but they are an authorized dealership & if there was a computer problem then I thought they would be the best to handle it.

I set the machine on the counter & the woman was beginning to write up the work order when she noticed that the little lever you flip to fill a bobbin was flipped -- you know, the one that disengages the needle. It is right up there near the thread spindle &, well, I guess I flipped it when I replaced the spool of thread. I was now disgusted, relieved and felt really, really silly. No repair needed, no new machine needed (though I am thinking about getting a non-computerized, deep-throated industrial machine for quilting).

{sigh}

Shug said my lesson from all this is that "things aren't always as bad as they seem". I thought that my lesson was for me to "get my priorities straight" & to quit trying "get above myself". Anyway, I guess I learned something, though I am not sure what just yet. "All's well that ends well" or something like that, right?