Derailed!

Note to self: you are not a sewing machine technician.   I tried to fix my Janome, but just made things worse!   I think I understand what the problem is: the machine thinks the bobbin winder is engaged, even when it is not.  A little online searching told me there is a sensor pin that can get bent, resulting in this problem.  All I need to do is get the top off to get to the pin.  Easy enough ... or not.   I took out a couple of screws, but still the top would not come loose.  So I took out two more screws.  Now it was looser, but still wouldn't come off.  Then a couple of nuts (and I don't mean the edible kind!) fell out of the innards of the machine.  And wow, what depressing feeling that was.  I think I know where they go, but putting them back will require getting the top off somehow.   So it's off to the certified Janome service location, which turns out to be a million miles from my house.  Sigh.

And my backup plan, the Rocketeer?  Turns out it's not making stitches properly.  Sometimes the top thread gets looped up on the bottom, and others the machine doesn't make a stitch at all, and the thread just pulls out of the fabric.  I'm not sure how to fix this, so the Rocketeer needs a repair shop too.

OK, enough venting!  Here's something more positive:  I finished my ugly, shortish, unplanned scarf, which is just the knit stitch a million times because I haven't learned anything else yet.  It started out as something I was just doing for practice.  It's a little hard on the eyes, but might be okay with my black winter coat.  Despite the fact that it's pushing 90 degrees out and he's wearing fur, my dog obligingly played the role of  scarf model.

Now, onward and upward!   I plan to finish my abandoned project from two years ago, now that I've got my knit groove back, and then the sky's the limit.  Because my dear friend schmeebot  hooked me up in the knitting supplies department.  Look at the bounty she sent for my b-day a few weeks ago!  There were also a few books in the package, but they are upstairs, where I tend to do my reading.

Let me tell you, I laughed and laughed as I unpacked all those DPNs.  Have you ever seen so many?   I want to make something with every single set!  I can't even imagine what you'd make with those tiny size 1s on the far left!