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!