Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Machine Woes, Again

I love my Featherweight, but she is suppose to be my travel machine and Lily is my regular machine.






Unfortunately, after only about 3 hours of sewing on Lily, she is making another "distressed motor" type noise. I was so frustrated yesterday that I just got the Featherweight back out and worked on something she could handle. I'm still considering my options for Lily. The shop where I take her guarantees their repair work for 30 days but I still have to get her there. Two trips there and back costs me two tanks of gas, about $100, 700 miles of driving and about 13 hours of my time. She has been a good machine (until recently) and I have no complaints with the shop, but I'm wondering if she is worth all this.

I'm going today to my local Bernina dealer to browse and explore my options. Initially it will cost me more to buy a different machine, but I know in the long run it will be cheaper to have a local repair and service shop. The other consideration is that I just spent a lot of money on my HQ Sweet 16. We do have a good savings account so we can afford for me to buy another new machine. However, I have a comfort zone I like to stay above with our savings account and I don't want to drop below that by purchasing a second machine in one month. My husband is being so sweet about this though. He told me to do whatever I need to so that I can have a working regular machine.

5 comments:

Deborah said...

I'd say because of the travel distance and time, I'd go for the local machine. I'd let the shop know Lily is having problems again. Would UPS be cheaper to send her there instead driving?
Good luck with whatever you decide. A girl just has to have a dependable machine. No two ways about it.
Deborah

Deanna said...

Ah, stay married to that man for sure!

Elaine said...

Do you have a Janome dealer locally? I have an HQ16 (we had a conversation about this a while back) and I used to have a Lily that I killed slowly by overusing it... and our Viking dealer had retired and the closest one (that I was willing to do business with) was 2 hours away.

SO. I went to a Janome dealer who was willing to service all machines, and he offered to fix my Viking and service it, which would have cost about $300 or more because of the problems it was having... OR. I could get a Janome 3160QDC for $350 plus tax, which would mean it would have a manufacturer's warranty for 2 years.

I'd love to have a fancier sewing machine, sure, but do I really NEED one now that I have the HQ? No, I really dont.

And that little Janome is SO VERY QUIET compared to the Lily. It's amazing how much better it sounds. Truly. And it's only 12 pounds, so it's really easy to take with me, too, when I want to go to classes/retreats/whatever.

Anyway. Feel free to write back to me and we can have more of a conversation, but I had to jump ship from Viking... Broke my heart because I had a small fortune in feet and bobbins, but I have been SO happy with that decision. Love that little Janome.

Mama Pea said...

Your hubby is a good guy. I'll second the Janome suggestion. :-) I love mine! Good luck shopping. Hope you figure out something soon.

pegcollins said...

I love love LOVE my Bernina! you won't regret it!