Wouldn't you know it

I got the pink quilt top finished and then layered and ready for quilting. I started the quilting, outline stitching around the appliques. Then on Friday, when I went to finish the outline quilting, the needle bent! So I changed it out and then tried sewing again and the thread kept getting caught in the bobbin area. So I took it apart to clean it out, there was lots of lint in there, and while doing that noticed that there was a little metal piece that seemed to be loose, it was what the thread was getting caught on. I tried to get it back into place, but it wouldn't go. I fit it back in as best as I could and tried sewing again. The thread was still catching on it. So I took it out and tried again. Well, now the thread wasn't getting caught but it was doing all kinds of loops on the bottom of the fabric! So I re-threaded the machine and tried one more time, still some loops but not as bad. I was done!! My new machine just wasn't working. When my husband got home that evening and I told him my problems, he asked if I had called the store. Well, no I hadn't, so I called them quick and described the problems and they said to bring it in on Saturday. I was afraid of that. I had a feeling that they would want to take it and then I wouldn't be able to finish the quilt. So Saturday, after I put that piece back in, we took it over to the store and the manager sat down at it and had the same thread catching problem I had had. She took the bobbin area apart, like I had done, and found that loose piece. She said that it was part of the cutting mechanism (when you push a button, the machine will automatically cut the top and bottom threads for you) and was obviously broken so it would have to be sent in to be repaired. Great. Well, she did give me the store floor model of the machine so that I could continue working on the quilt so I wasn't out of a machine. I think it won't cost me anything to get the machine fixed as it has only been 4 months since I bought it, I was too afraid to ask. She said that she put a rush on the repair order so instead of 10 days from Tuesday, it should be less than a week. We'll see. I guess it is better for it to happen now, while still under warranty, than later. Up until now, this sewing machine has worked great, so I hope once I get it back, it will still work great.

As for my classes, I took the final for that other class and am now waiting for the grade to be posted. But I went ahead and signed up for the next class, a poetry class, and will be starting that this week. I hope to get it done within 6 months. Wish me luck!