It started two weekends ago, a Saturday evening in fact. Having cut out some skirts and tops, I thought that I would 'treat' my sewing machine and serger to a clean. Yes, I know that some people would not call this a 'treat' but more a necessity, but I am trying. I defuzzed my sewing machine and gave it a new needle and a touch of oil. Perfect!
Next up the serger. I cleaned and oiled all the 'insidy' bits, then following the guidelines in my instruction manual I took off the needle plate and cleaned underneath. Feeling very pleased with myself I was just about to put the needle plate back in position when I noticed two needles jammed in the grooves of needle plate. Horror of horrors, how can that have occurred? I am sure that there are a number of you reading this, shaking your head saying 'oh no, she didn't did she?' Yep, you bet I did! This is how my needle plate looked before I attacked it with a screwdriver to get those nasty, offending needles out:
Nasty, nasty needles. I was a little confused as to how they could have made the jump from my sewing to the needle plate, but I really didn't question it too much until after 'jemmying' one of the needles out I realised that there was no eye in the needle. I could feel the panic slowly crawling up the back of my spine and I frantically searched online for photos of new needle plates. Guess what they look like? Yep, the picture above. :: sigh :: The needles are actually pretty important and used by the looper threads . . . . . . Guess how many sewing shops that stock Janome needle plates are open before Monday morning in the largest city in Alberta? Less than one. . . . . .
Grrrrr!
So there is my tale. DO NOT pry those needles out. Seriously - who knew? Of course, looking at it now, I cannot believe how stupid I was . . . . . certainly won't be doing that again :)
The good news is that I have a shiny new needle plate (with needles) and lots of (pent up) mojo to keep me rolling along!!
Oops! We all make mistakes from time to time...
ReplyDeleteohhh nooo, OOPS!!! now i'm going to go take a closer look at my serger…
ReplyDeleteOh, I totally knew those were part of the plate and not wayward needles. UGH. Glad you found a replacement. :) g
ReplyDeleteThe one good thing is at least you could replace the plate... and your machines are now both super clean and shiny on the inside and out. Shame about the lesson learned but I'm sure you're not the only one who has done this before.
ReplyDeleteThat moment right after you do something and think, now wait a minute...yay, that one. I know it well.
ReplyDeleteNoooooo!! Oh dear. Well, I'm sure your machines appreciated the treat of being cleaned out. And a shiny new anything never hurt anybody, right?
ReplyDeleteOops! that actually sounds like something i might do............lesson learned.........carry on.
ReplyDeleteYes, I have also learnt many lessons the hard way! Many more to learn, I daresay. I see you are also in the sew your own wardrobe for a year challenge - look forward to getting to know you.
ReplyDelete