I'm Back In Business!!!!

I've been waiting patiently to get my longarm set up so I can get back to quilting.  First it was the back thing, then the carpet thing, then the DMV thing .... always with the THINGS.  At long last the doorbell rang and as I opened the door, I got a big smile from August.  He's the guy who is going to put it back together.

I truly hate to admit this, but I DID pay the ridiculous $800 to get it set up.  Come to find out, the shop is making a fortune because ... you know ... they can.  NOT my favorite shop, I might add.  There's no one else within a couple hundred miles that sets these monsters up.  That's why I bought it in Arizona where they have hundreds of machines to service and lots of stores to do so.

August got right to work.  He said I did a great job setting up the table.  He didn't get it when I said I was a rancher.  You have to have skills of SOME kind after living on a ranch. 

It took two hours to get everything back in place.  By the way, he gets a very small fraction of the proceeds since he gets paid by the hour.  We had a little trouble with the leveling and the new carpet, but were finally ready to throw on a test piece.  It was only a couple feet wide and right in the middle.  I had a huge smile on my face when it quilted perfectly.  

It's interesting to note that they don't do it here like in Arizona.  They set up the bars and the leaders (the white fabric things) completely different.  August was very nice when I insisted it be set up my way.  It's what I'm used to!

Okay then ... it's ready to go ... and August left.  I loaded this quilt and got ready to run.  But wait ... when I moved the machine to the left, it made a bumping noise.  The carriage was rocking on the table, not allowing the wheels to make contact.  Well that's not good!!!!  I tried to call him, but no answer.

I know that isn't going to work at all.  So this is me, crawling under the table on my back ... my not happy back ... to see if I can figure out what's wrong.  I remembered the other repairman Toby (from Arizona) telling me one rail needed to be loose when the machine was put on.  As you move the machine down the rails, it will straighten them.  THEN you tighten the bolts.  I thought about that when August was setting it up because I didn't see him do it.

So here we are ... upside down with my back crying ... looking at the bolt that is 1" up inside the arm.  I loosened four along the back rail, move the machine along the track and tightened them as I went.  Wasn't I shocked to crawl back OUT from under the table and find that now the carriage moved perfectly along the rail.  WOOHOO!!!  I can't believe I fixed it.  Maybe I'll go into the longarm repair business.

I very tentatively set the computer up and hit the GO button, holding my breath and praying a lot.  She ran perfectly!!  Not one single glitch the entire quilt!!

Put on your dark sunglasses!  This is another one of those "what was I thinking" quilts.  It's all Australian fabrics.  Maybe I could donate it at the Elks Lodge Veterans Dinner coming up.  

Nancy is a happy camper NOW!!  To add to that ... by the time I was done quilting, my back was screaming.  I laid down on the floor and tried to do my normal back popping.  So far it hasn't worked.  That's when I felt a CRACK!!  YES!!!!  After two long months, it worked!!!  I could finally lay flat on my back with no real pain.

I couldn't believe it when I got up ... HALF the pain was gone.  Maybe ... just maybe ... I got it all back in place.  We shall see if it sticks.  I'm thinking couch potato will be my words of wisdom today.

Tomorrow we'll discuss the hotspot.  That was an interesting development.