Alright, here we go again!! I could consider this a totally stressful situation, or I could consider myself lucky to be able to unpack and experience two brand new machines in the space of 10 days. I'll choose the latter.....now that it's over. hehe :)
{the odd reflections and light spots on the right of the machine are
just from the window in my kitchen}
Meet Elizabeth. I hope that we have many happy years together. :)
I took the 1.5hr drive this morning to the shop where I bought the Pfaff. The shop wasn't busy and my saleslady (AWESOME!!) was expecting me. We started off by trying out my machine and showing her my samples with the puckered seams. It did the exact same thing there that it was doing for me here at home (phew...I had this fear of it working perfectly with her watching!). Next we tried it on the their floor model of the same machine. It did the same thing. So it wasn't just my machine. Another phew! The saleslady was really surprised, she said she'd never encountered that problem before, and no other customer had ever mentioned it despite them selling more than 60 machines like this. Are people just not straight line quilting??? Because I don't know how you wouldn't notice. Weird. Then she tried it on the Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.0 with the IDT engaged (waaay out of my price range, but just to see...) and it worked perfectly. Double weird. My saleslady went so far as to say that she will not be recommending the Ambition 1.0 anymore to anyone that wishes to do straight line machine quilting. Ouch. And it's a shame because otherwise it was a lovely machine.
I decided that I definitely wanted to exchange it, so next, she started showing me other machines in about the same price range for me to try out, and without any request from me she put walking feet on all of the machines I tried so we could test out the results. First I tried the Janome 4120. It was okay, I wasn't totally impressed. The machine itself was okay, but the work of the walking foot wasn't perfect. Next I went and looked at the Babylock machines. I wanted to try the Melody, but resisted because of the price. So I sat down at the Elizabeth, and the rest is history! It sewed beautifully, the walking foot worked totally perfectly, no puckers whatsoever. The other features of the machine that are awesome is the thread snipper, it has a knee lift for the presser foot, and comes with all of the quilting feet - walking, 1/4", and free motion. Also a super nifty needle threader. And the icing on the cake, even though it was a bit more expensive she gave it to me as a straight exchange, to "help you out a bit for the extra trouble of coming back into town". Awesome.
I've taken it out of the box, but haven't even wound a bobbin yet so that's about all I can for now, except that I'm cautiously optimistic!
just from the window in my kitchen}
Meet Elizabeth. I hope that we have many happy years together. :)
I took the 1.5hr drive this morning to the shop where I bought the Pfaff. The shop wasn't busy and my saleslady (AWESOME!!) was expecting me. We started off by trying out my machine and showing her my samples with the puckered seams. It did the exact same thing there that it was doing for me here at home (phew...I had this fear of it working perfectly with her watching!). Next we tried it on the their floor model of the same machine. It did the same thing. So it wasn't just my machine. Another phew! The saleslady was really surprised, she said she'd never encountered that problem before, and no other customer had ever mentioned it despite them selling more than 60 machines like this. Are people just not straight line quilting??? Because I don't know how you wouldn't notice. Weird. Then she tried it on the Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.0 with the IDT engaged (waaay out of my price range, but just to see...) and it worked perfectly. Double weird. My saleslady went so far as to say that she will not be recommending the Ambition 1.0 anymore to anyone that wishes to do straight line machine quilting. Ouch. And it's a shame because otherwise it was a lovely machine.
I decided that I definitely wanted to exchange it, so next, she started showing me other machines in about the same price range for me to try out, and without any request from me she put walking feet on all of the machines I tried so we could test out the results. First I tried the Janome 4120. It was okay, I wasn't totally impressed. The machine itself was okay, but the work of the walking foot wasn't perfect. Next I went and looked at the Babylock machines. I wanted to try the Melody, but resisted because of the price. So I sat down at the Elizabeth, and the rest is history! It sewed beautifully, the walking foot worked totally perfectly, no puckers whatsoever. The other features of the machine that are awesome is the thread snipper, it has a knee lift for the presser foot, and comes with all of the quilting feet - walking, 1/4", and free motion. Also a super nifty needle threader. And the icing on the cake, even though it was a bit more expensive she gave it to me as a straight exchange, to "help you out a bit for the extra trouble of coming back into town". Awesome.
I've taken it out of the box, but haven't even wound a bobbin yet so that's about all I can for now, except that I'm cautiously optimistic!
17 comments:
The new machine looks very fun! Crazy that the other machines were having such a hard time with the straight line quilting. I hope you and Elizabeth become great friends!
I sure hope it works well for you. My sister has a Pfaff and it's not working out so well for her either. Not sure what model she has....
Oh, good! I hope this one is a keeper.
oh wow - now THAT is service! Hoping this new machine works like a charm for you!!
Awesome new machine! ...again! :) I hope this one works out better!
Great review, Heather! Now if only 'my' price range would actually buy me something new, and not just more milk and bread ;o)
Eep! So cool....I love all of my baby locks!
Hey, I'm proud of you for persisting, making the trip back and getting what you need and want. Kudos to the saleslady for being so accommodating. Did you also get the extension table with this one?? Happy sewing... can't wait to get some reports and see samples of what you're creating.
~Mom
Congratulations on getting the new exchanged machine! :) We do not have baby lock here but it does sounds like a great machine. I can't wait to see all the projects you make with your new good friend "Elizabeth" :).
I am glad you were able to get another machine. I love playing with sewing machines. I hope you have fun with your new toy!!!
Hope this one works out better for you Heather! I love that she came with a name :)
~CJ
I am so glad that you got such good service from your saleslady - that is fantastic. I'm even more glad that you've found a machine that will work for you - huge big yay! Have fun!
yeah! what a nice lady you dealt with, that really makes all the difference when the store really wants to make you happy. I hope it works out too! I bet you'll be an even better seamstress now!
Fantastic!! Hello Elizabeth :)
Hope you're very happy together!
It seems so funny about that machine and I'm surprised no one else reported anything. I totally get about it working right in the shop and glad it was naughty!!
Wow! That's some great customer service!
Unsolicited tip: if you don't already, teach yourself to use the foot pedal with your left foot. That way, you can use the knee lift without accidentally pressing down on the foot pedal. I promise it only takes like 10 minutes of sewing to get used to using the "wrong" foot on the pedal.
What a great dealer! I'm so glad you found a great machine. :) Happy sewing!
In hindsight, it certainly helps to test drive sewing machines doing the things you want to do. It sounds so obvious, but we tend to sit there and ohh, and ahh over all the things the salespeople show us the machines can do, and totally forget to ask about the things we do want them to do. Maybe writing a list beforehand would help? Glad you and Elizabeth had a happy ending together.
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