idle time

The 830 has been idle - will let you know when I am back in the saddle.

Could a manual be more poorly written?

I doubt it! The Bernina 830 manual is confusing, not helpful, and cryptic. For example this evening I am attempting to use the dual feed feature of the machine. There is no reference to dual feed in the index. The help built into the machine is useless. I attached the 4d presser foot and tried to sew. Big red X. Nothing in the manual references this. I am now paging through the manual and making my own index. The sad thing about this is remembering asking the Bernina representative about the manual and she raved about the abundance of documentation. What a fool I was.

bernina dealer does not return calls

For the record..... the dealer who was going to return the call by Wednesday never returned the call. No surprise here. Need to either be enrolling in a class or ordering more accessories for the return call.

Oh well. My machine is letting me sew a straight seam of stitching without fighting so I am a happy camper. Only concern is that I am going out of town and it may cool off and not want to sew when I return. Will report in later.

Success!

Yes, I changed a bobbin and had an evening of sewing without a problem.

Another note. The dealer said I would hear from them by Wednesday of this week. It is now Thursday afternoon and no call. This is the way they operate. I may hear from them in a week if I call back. Ug.

Have I heard from the dealer?

Yesterday I was told I would hear from the dealer today or tomorrow. Guess it will be tomorrow. If you buy a Bernina 830 machine be prepared for lost of waiting and very little service.

830 bernina - thought it was going to be an easy sew day.

I was perking along doing a standard straight stitch. Today I thought I would hook up the BSR and do some free motion quilting..... Well - needle hit more than 3 layers of fabric and broke. This lead to having to change the needle and adjust the bobbin. 20 plus minutes later I am back to fmq. This machine is certainly temperamental. The bobbin is especially difficult to load. It is hard to see unless you remove the cover plate. For some reason my machine tangles and nests with every adjustment.

The dealer called

So I was able to vent a bit when someone from the dealer called. They did not have any answers but did have a sympathetic ear. I am sitting in front of the machine wondering if I am really up to the challenge of sewing a straight line with a 1d foot tonight. How many times will the thread break? At least the machine turned on without a fatal error.....

Frustrated Bernina 830 sewer

This is a place to share your frustrations with your sewing machine if you have purchased a Bernina 830. I bought my machine while attending the Chicago quilt show in April 2009 and must say it has been nothing but an embarrassment. To have spent the amount of money on the machine. Threads break and tangle, fatal errors pop up, dealers are slow to return calls if they return calls, Bernina - never returns calls.

Yesterday I was so tickled that I was able to machine quilt 3 rows of stitching without a thread break. Then the bobbin ran out of thread, a piece of lint caused the gear jam image to appear and 25 minutes later I was straight stitching again. Later in the evening a Fatal error occurred.

Today I am going to reapproach the project. Can't wait to see what happens.