I am anxious to get started on Tawnya's quilt (planning to start next Saturday)! But I just cleaned and oiled my sewing machine in preparation (I've done this before with no problems), and it is sewing SOOO much more slowly than it used to - sounds like "high revs" but not going any faster. If anyone has ideas on why this may be, please please email or PM me! I'm hoping it's just that I oiled it too much or that oil got in the wrong place, and it will work itself out with a little time.

I don't know the answer, and I did a Google search to see if I could find the answer. I found a few troubleshooting websites, but they don't seem to have that info on them. :(

If it comes down to it, you could always borrow my mother's Singer Touch & Sew. I don't know how well it sews as it hasn't been used for a while, but the offer is there if you want to try it out. :)

Take the whole bobbin case apart - and vacuum it out real well. And do the underside of the machine as well, and if yours has a "door" that opens for the bulb, make sure all the rods and stuff there are lint free. My old one did the same thing, just fuzz and junk stopping it up, making the motor work harder to get it to move at all.

Anne, I had just done all that - it was working pretty well *before* I cleaned it, but I knew it had been over a month, and wanted to have it in good working order for the quilt. The motor doesn't seem hot right after sewing, either. I'll check it again, though - perhaps while I was brushing the lint, I missed seeing it be brushed into someplace else besides *out*!

Michelle, thank you so much! I have another offer for borrowing a machine, and think I am going to borrow that one. It is very sweet of you!

and I've been using my machine some more today - thinking that if I keep working it, the oil will work through etc. I think it's getting a bit better/faster, but it's hard to tell for sure. I'm going to test it on a double layer of corduroy again - it wasn't powerful enough yesterday to go through that, even with a new needle. It's the extra layers of the quilt I'm most concerned about going through. Just piecing the top, I'm pretty sure I can get by with what I have, even if it's slower.

Margaret, it probably isn't something so obvious, but what the heck. I'll mention it even though I'm sure you've alredy checked this. When my machine does this, I find that the handwheel has come loose a little. I'm talking about an older machine that you have to physically loosen the handwheel in order to wind a bobbin. Sometime if I don't tighten it enough after winding a bobbin, it will sew fine for a while but eventually the handwheel will work itself looser and it will start to sew more slowly and sound more high-pitched (like the motor is running faster). Any chance that could be your problem?

Hey Anne, that is an excellent idea. My machine has a "click-over" which disengages the handwheel from the needle when winding a bobbin, and that's one of the things I checked. I also checked the screw fastening the handwheel the other day, and took the screwdriver to it just in case it was loose - but the screwdriver didn't turn at all - it was tight.

I didn't have the opportunity to try it again last night (late day, lots going on), but Tammey has offered me the loan of one of her machines (seems a nice one, from what I can tell!), and I'm supposed to meet her today, so whatever happens, I'll have the ability to work on Tawnya's quilt come Saturday!!

and Allison - I apologize profusely for calling you Anne! I am just rotten with remembering names, and I have signatures turned off so I don't always see them before replying. Please forgive me!

My sewing machine is working again!!! I just kept sewing my DD's quilt top with it, and it started out slowly at first (which was its problem), but by the end of today I think I can say that it's back in top form! I still am VERY grateful to Tammey for lending me her Singer, and maybe I'll have the opportunity to use it yet - you just never know what might happen. I also wonder if I could have hurt my machine when I cleaned and oiled it. My aunt tells me that I could well have done, since I didn't use the right kind of oil - I never knew! So let me share with you... if you didn't know already, which you probably did... do NOT use 3-in-1 oil. Even if you've used your mother's old 50-yr-old can of it until it was gone and never had a lick of trouble with it before - because the new stuff probably has more additives than the old stuff did. and it can gum up your machine. I have sewing machine oil on my list for the next time I go to Joann Fabrics.

I did know that...about the 3 in 1 oil. Nowadays, all the sewing machine gurus recommend Tri Flow oil. I've been using it for a while in my vintage Singers. Great stuff! It has a little Teflon in it. But you can't go wrong with pure sewing machine oil.

I"m happy your machine is working again!!

Tri Flow, eh? Good tip! where do you buy yours from? I know it's not available at my Joanns.