Viking Sewing Machines sale

-
As you all know, I've had issues with Vera forever. I drafted this letter to Viking Corporate and sent it off on Sunday. This is information many of you have asked for and I want to be open with you about my struggles. I will keep you all apprised to what happens from here. Thank you all so much for sticking with me even though I've been inconstant in my makes.

To Whom It May Concern:

I purchased a Husqvarna Viking Sapphire 835 in May 2011 from the Viking dealer #2075 inside the Jo-Ann Crafts store in Gilbert, AZ, USA. When I purchased the machine, I was seven months pregnant and still working full-time. I knew I would not be sewing much until after the baby was born, but was up-front with Clarrisa, the manager and person who sold me the machine, that I would be an everyday sewer once the baby arrived. I needed a machine that could handle piecing and quilting and possibly garment sewing on a regular basis. I would not be someone to only take out the machine for the occasional hem or mend. She told me the Sapphire 835 would be my best choice. I tried a few machines out on the sales floor, settling on the Sapphire she recommended, and purchased it that day.

I was working with a local group of quilters here called Comfort Quilters, making quilts for people undergoing treatment for cancer. Our goal is to bring people hope and love with our quilts, and if nothing else, keep them warm as they receive their freezing chemo treatments. As you might imagine, time is of the essence when making for people who are dying, and since my old machine’s foot pedal had broken, I was very excited to get started with my new Sapphire! A few days after my purchase, I pulled it out to work on one of the quilts but I noticed some major tension problems. I remembered Clarrisa telling me there were classes on how to use the machine, so I packed it up, had someone else take my quilts to finish, and signed up for the in-store class. I wanted to learn my machine before I dove in.

A month or so later, I attended the introductory class. I learned quite a lot from that experience and greatly appreciate that Viking offers these classes for sewists! Clarrisa is truly a whiz with these machines!

A couple weeks later, I delivered my first baby. My sewing machine, which up to this point had only been used in the introductory class, remained boxed up until my daughter turned three months old and I found time to sew. In short, for six months, my machine sat all but unused.

The machine worked miserably, having tension problems, forcing me to unpick many-a-seam. Numerous times I drove up to the store to have my machine looked at, every time being told the issue was “Operator Error”. I believed the Viking employees for a while. I would come home in puzzlement, wondering what I could be doing wrong since the employees could never actually tell me what it was this operator was doing to cause all those tension errors. I knew I wasn’t stupid. I am a sewing blogger. I sew constantly, whether for online bees, swaps, series, blog features, or for family and myself. What could I be doing wrong? I also sew with the manual close at hand, something I picked up from my grandmother when she taught me to sew. If ever in doubt, I refer to my manual. But the tension problems persisted leading to many more trips up to the store.

Looking back, I wish I would have documented every time I went to have my machine looked at. In my machine’s first year, I can modestly say I took it to the store a dozen times, not including the numerous phone calls. I was told I needed to buy different thread two separate times, leaving me “unable” to use Coats and Clark or Gutermann. Even Mettler was causing issues. I am currently trying Aurifil, a beautiful thread that should make any machine sing. I was also told I couldn’t buy large spools because my machine clearly couldn’t handle them. I was told I needed to purchase a tabletop thread holder because the thread holder on my machine was too close to the thread intake and THAT was the culprit of all these tension issues. You can imagine my frustration. Why should I need to purchase auxiliary tools so my $1, 000 machine can perform the most basic of functions? I purchased the tabletop thread holder. My machine still had tension issues. I was also unable to use the spring action free-motion quilt foot and, as Clarrisa put it, I should just use the “R” foot instead. I purchased the spring action free motion foot separately from my machine specifically so I could free motion quilt. How frustrating that when I WANT to purchase an ancillary, it too will not work with the machine.

I got to the point of being very firm with the employees at this store: I sew every day. I sew long hours. I need a reliable machine and this clearly is not it. I wanted my machine sent out to be serviced while it was still within the first year warranty time frame. Clarrisa assured me that since I have had continued problems with this machine, warranty or not, she would make sure my machine was properly fixed. They finally sent it out, kindly giving me a loaner in the interim, and my machine was returned to me a couple days later. Now, the clunking noise it had been making and the garbled top thread underneath the fabric had been replaced by a high pitched but soft squealing noise toward the top of the machine. I mentioned it to the employee on duty and she told me it was because it had just been serviced and the noise would subside. It didn’t, but the machine seemed to be working, so I took it home. I had project deadlines that I needed to meet.

A couple days into using my newly fixed machine, it began having tension problems again. Frustrated, I called the store to speak with Clarrisa. I left a message for her to return my call and borrowed a friend’s machine to complete my pending projects. I even went so far as to purchase a new foot pedal off Ebay for my old machine so I could use it while my Viking sat on a shelf, waiting to be worked on yet again.