Another not very productive day (I hope this isn't catching)

Today was the day when I was going to sit down and calmly try to woo my sewing machine into sewing free motion for me. Notice the word - was.  After procrastinating for an hour or so, looking at it out of the corner of my eye, and procrastinating a bit more, I finally worked up the courage to sit down and work through all the steps that lovely Moira had suggested to me to try and get it doing it's thing. Thanks for all the tips.  Although I didn't resort to the gin and tonic as it was still only 10am, if it was 11am I might have.(I do have some standards)!!!!!! 

 I don't know why I bothered, aaaargghhhhhh.  I was calm, composed, didn't throw it off the table in a fit of rage. 

I tried, I really tried. 

Every time I started, it would stitch a few stitches, I would start to feel confident and then.......it would jam.  I tried sewing straight stitch with feed dogs engaged and normal foot on, it was still sewing perfectly OK. Well sort of it, it is starting to make a slight groaning sound now, which it wasn't before, but otherwise the stitches were coming out fine, the tension was fine, BUT,

 I think it is coming to the end of it's life.

It has been a very trusty sewing machine, I have had it for, umm, err, if I tell you how long I have had it, you will be saying ....... oh my god are you THAT old.  Let's just say it's old, and I bought it brand new when I was in primary school, cough cough.  It is a Pfaff 1471, it was amazing at the time, it is electronic and does did lots of amazing things, like dual feed, a flashing warning light to let you know when the bobbin thread was running low, a thread cutter, all sorts of fancy things I did use, and fancy schmansy stitches which I never used. I am feeling very sad, I suppose I could try to get it fixed but considering it's age and it wasn't that long ago I last had it serviced, I think it has come to the end of it's life. The main reason I am feeling sad is that I just checked out a few machines and I thought it would be like TV's, you know when they first bring out new models they cost the earth but soon enough they drop in price.  As mine is so old I thought all the things that are on my machine would be all the basic stuff that is on every machine, but no, I was sadly mistaken. To have these features on a new machine I have to buy the top of the range. So now, I am asking anybody who knows anything about sewing machines, what they would recommend.  I will probably get terribly confused, but it might just help me in deciding what to do, and I know I will have to shell out a small fortune for a good machine.

So until I buy a new machine I will have to fold up my quilt that I have been working on, (the first quilt I have made in 5 years) as I really really want to applique with free motion, and start on another quilt, knowing I can still piece it together, just can't do anything fancy.  I know it is a real hardship, but I am sure I will survive.

*A gratuitous photo to cheer me up, not to brag about my holidays!

This is where I would rather be today, Plantation Island, Fiji lying on that hammock outside our bure. This is a photo from our holiday in Sept 08.

The weather is crappity crap, so far in the last 36 hours we have had 72mls (almost 3") of rain, and more to come.... it's the Sunshine Coast.....NOT!!!!!!!