A quiet day

Yesterday I decided not to go back to the fair. Since I had already planned for a day off; I decided maybe I should stay home to get some work done without interruptions. When I start organizing I first find what is not working, give it a ton of thought for a solution, then make the change.

I looked at my machine and decided it was high time I worked out the problem of shifting tops while quilting. When I load a backing onto the machine then tighten it up, one end is very tight while the other end is loose. As I progress through the quilting the end that was loose gradually becomes tight while the opposite happens on the other side; it becomes loose.

I’ve never been able to figure out a fix for this problem. I measured the distance between the belly bar and the take up bar. There was an inch or more difference. Logically a person could move the bars closer together to make them equal distance apart, right? Well, nothing about a Gammill is logical. I realized it’s not the belly bar that should be straight with the take up bar. It’s the bar down under the table that is the problem. One end of the backing gets attached to the take up bar leader and the other end of the backing gets attached to the backing bar and leader under the table. So how is it possible to measure the distance apart of those two bars? I never figured that one out.

I removed the leaders and put new ones on. I also cleaned dust from parts I normally don’t look at - like under the table where the batting is stored. The frame itself rarely gets any cleaning attention. I also cleaned and oiled the bobbin area, then tightened all the bolts of the table. The clean parts of my machine may not be visible – but – I know they are thoroughly clean.

I sure wish the rest of the house was just as clean. ;-}