Oh... NO! (the bobbin winder is dead...)

I can't believe it happened.

My usual sewing machine is finally back from the shop. Oh.. .so good to have it back. The cheap "Brother" I got to fill in was functional, but that's about all I can say for it. How I've missed "big Brother" NS50.

But now there's a new tale of woe.

My longarm uses huge "M" class bobbins. It came with a separate bobbin-winding machine. I've been having a bit of trouble with the bobbin winder. It's been running slower and slower, and jams up if I attempt to wind a 2nd bobbin immediately after the first (so I have to wind a bobbin and then let the machine sit for half an hour or more before doing the next one).

And finally, well, it's just plain broken.

I emailed the dealer who, as it happens, is on vacation. But he did get my email and promptly contacted a collegue (Kirsten) in NSW. Kirsten said she might be able to fix it, so I've posted it to her.

In the meantime, I tried to use the last bobbin I wound on it and... uh-oh... the tension in the bobbin appears to be off-kilter. I was happily quilting away when suddenly the stitches started kicking downward - as if the top tension (which has been perfect ever since the machine was delivered back in May) was too loose. Because you can't see the bottom of the quilt while you're working on it, I didn't know it had happened and now I've got about 20 feet of unsightly stitching to pick out. Ugh.

There's nothing I can do at this point, but unpick those stitches and wait to hear from Kristen.