A Series of Unfortunate Events

     We move last summer.  We now live in a different house in a different state, but what I mean by "moved" is that WE literally transported everything we own.  My husband is a do-it-yourself kind of guy.  He is also considered crazy by many.  That doesn't bother him, nor stop him from doing things the way he sees fit.  Today his can-do attitude came in very handy.

     The story begins with the moving of my sewing room.  Because the move was made over several months, almost everything was transported in our mini van.  Including my BERNINA 880.  The top of the line BERNINA machine with a retail price of $14,999.  THAT machine.  I placed my mega machine on the garage floor, without a case, ready to be packed in the van. (It has a soft cover, but I have never actually put the machine away, so I have never even opened the cover.)  I sew every single day if possible.  My thought was, who needs a cover?

     That's when "it" happened.  I won't mention who was carrying the ladder through the garage and turned to tell me something when WHAM.  Right into the screen.  See those cracks?  That's bad, very, very bad.  I loaded the machine for moving and wasn't overly concerned because I know enough about BERNINA to know it could be fixed.  I would just take it to the nearest dealer.  Except I no longer live anywhere near a BERNINA dealer.

     No problem. When we had The Quilt Company, I was a dealer.  Our son was our Machine Tech.  I just needed to order the part.  

    Our son came to visit and left - without fixing the machine because I kept forgetting to ask my dealer friend, several states away, to order the part for me. I finally remembered and the new screen arrived in February.  Just in time for the stay at home order.  Our son lives in Pennsylvania.  We live in Florida.

     I thought I could wait.  What's a few more weeks?  No problem..... really..... I don't mind..... except that I really do.  I miss my embroidery machine.  Especially now that this shelter in place order is lingering on, and on, and on.  So today, my husband decided to fix it for me.  

This is important:

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!

     Have you ever seen the inside of your sewing machine?  It's a scary place in there!

That photo isn't even as complicated as the 880!

     Armed with the new screen, assorted screw drivers (actual BERNINA tools) and our son on a video chat.  We carefully removed the case..... It was like one of those movies where a doctor talks someone through a complex operation so that the patient can live.  I know I was holding MY breath!

     Brandon, who has the patients of a saint, carefully explained the step-by-step process while watching his Dad's fingers do the work via my phone.  (Full disclosure: My husband did attend a BERNINA Tech training when we became dealers, but that pre-dates the 880).  I feel it is important to repeat:

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!

     It was touch and go for a few minutes, but

She is BACK!  

The operation was a success! I am a happy, happy girl.

The moral of this story is:  Respect both your machine and your dealer.  Treat them both with care.  You might not have a can-do husband with enough professional training to understand the instructions provided by a certified technician.  You might not be lucky enough to have given birth to a certified technician that is willing to stay on the phone for 2+ hours for free, because he wants his Mom to be happy. If that isn't your situation, rest assured that not protecting your machine will cost you a pretty penny and the tech doing your work, will earn every bit of that fee.