The Pin That Sent Sally to the Spa

My one day off this week and I had grand plans: sew all day long, cup of tea at my elbow, Sally Skyline humming happily, and Kaiy’s quilt blocks coming together like a dream.

As you know, plans can go awry.

To be fair, I did get to sew — a lot. Things were going beautifully… right up until I tapped a pin.

At first it was just the odd skipped stitch, here and there. Annoying, but manageable. Then, despite everything I tried, the problem got worse. I rethreaded top and bottom threads (twice), swapped threads and bobbins, changed the needle, cleaned the machine, and even tried sewing at a snail’s pace. Sally was having none of it.

Janice suggested I use a spare machine.

LOL. I have one or two.

Bluey, the baby Elna, was sitting on the shelf giving me the side‑eye, so I pulled her out and dusted her off.

That was fun for about five minutes — she’s noisy and slow — so back she went, and out came my trusty old Silver. The last time I used her must have been when I made Charmaine’s bridesmaid dress; she still had a spool and bobbin of dark green thread in place.

Once I swapped out the threads, she ran much smoother and faster than the Elna. I managed to finish the blocks I’d started this morning.

I wasn’t really paying attention to how many blocks I’d prepped. I just pinned rows until I ran out of pins, sewed until I ran out of pinned units, snipped them apart, and went back to pinning. Then sewed and sewed until… well, you get the picture. I was going great guns and was delighted to find that I have just under half of the blocks made up to this stage. Now they need black strips added to each long side.

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I booked Sally in for a service, but of course when I tried to reproduce the problem on scrap fabric, she behaved perfectly. Never mind — I explained everything at the shop and told them I suspected I’d tapped a pin. 

They agreed with my diagnosis, that needle is probably a little out of alignment. The threader no longer works, and the cutter will only snip the bobbin thread, two more indications of misalignment. She’s in for the full treatment. I should get her back in about two weeks, give or take.

In the meantime, I’ll be using the Silver to keep working on these blocks. Not the day I planned, but progress is progress. 

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I’m back to work tomorrow, but I’m hoping to sneak in a few moments of sewing before and after each shift. It’s going to be another busy weekend off, so every little bit helps. With luck, I’ll get a few more blocks made. I’d really like to finish this stage before I start cutting the black strips — it feels good to be moving forward. 

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