New in May

The month of May has brought quite a few changes in my studio. Not only did I get my new machine early in the month. (Which as of yet I have used far too little these past weeks due to my 10-day-absence for teaching and as a vendor.)

The second big change that occurred was the new sewing table, which I had ordered along with the machine from the specialized company RMF (Rauschenberger – Möbel mit Funktion): they produce furniture for sewing utensils and I finally wanted a large expanse around the amchine’s free arm, putting an end to getting stuck on the edges of the quilting table with large or even smaller quilts.

Of course, this monster of a table got delivered on the day before my departure for Karlsruhe and Einbeck, without giving us even the slightest of chances to have it installed in my studio before I left. And when I say “monster”, it is not exactly an exaggeration. My husband had insisted that I get an oversized version to avoid frustration when working on larger quilts, so this one is 1,10m deep and 1,70m wide. Which makes it huge. And heavy. And it arrived fully mounted. Somehow I was able to convince the delivery guys to bring it into the house, but they disappeared so quickly that I was not able to give them a tip – and I really think they disappeared so quickly to prevent me from even attempting to persuade them to bring it in any further than they did.

Of course, there was absolutely no time to even think about how to get it upstairs before I left, and my husband was not exactly pleased to have this huge box sitting in the living room during my prolonged absence.

unpacked, and upside down

When I called from Karlsruhe he suggested I make plans where in the living room I was going to instal my sewing machine, he saw no way how we were ever going to get that thing upstairs or through the door of my studio. Fortunately RMF was present at the event in Karlsruhe and I managed to talk to the director who gave me a few hints about how to carry it, and he also promised he would be willing to give us support via the telephone in case we really had to take it apart. “Two strong men will definitely be able to carry it upstairs,” he assured me. My husband remained sceptical, but resigned himself to ten days in the company of a huge package.

After my return from Einbeck I immediately started clearing up and out of what was my former studio arrangement. My old sewing table was scheduled to be picked up by a used furniture store two days later.

The cutting table was to be relocated, and the new sewing table was supposed to take its place, facing the wall.

Then my husband started acquainting himself with the intricacies of screws, electrical wires and how it all connected. Thanks to the telephone-hotline, he managed to take out exactly those screws that were necessary to separate the table top from the lower part.

The two of us then slowly carried the very heavy parts upstairs, separately, one step at a time. 

There is absolutely no way even three strong men would have been able to carry it upstairs fully mounted! And I assume the movers are going to think us crazy when they have to bring it back down should we really have to move...

Upstairs, the separate parts had to be put back together again. 

And we now have only one little screw left over – which my husband claims he did not open.

I did have to endure a number of slightly cynical comments about how I would have done ony my own, and what a quilter’s husband had to go through these days. But he did not let me down, and finally everything was at its new place (here the old table’s glass top is still there, being stored until pickup time):

It was left to me to do the final adjustments of the lift with which the machine can be stored beneath the table top in case you want to. Now the plane is exactly even with the machine’s free arm and quilting should be unimpeded.

Now everything is in its place. Work can resume. And big thank you goes to my helpful and supportive husband who never lets me down in taxing situations!