If you have a Bernina Jumbo Hoop for the 830 you are in excellent shape. The central diamond blocks will each stitch out in one hooping and the square blocks will each stitch out in two hoopings.

If you have a Mega Hoop (150mm x 400mm) or equivalent (Pfaff and Viking both have hoops that are 200mm x 360mm) you are also in great shape. The central diamond blocks will each stitch out in one hooping and the square blocks will each stitch out in 3 or 4 hoopings.

If you have a Large Oval Hoop (145mm x 255mm) or equivalent then you are in good shape – as long as you have a lot of patience. The central diamond blocks will each require two or three hoopings while some of the square blocks will require up to 9 hoopings.

Placement is super easy, with detailed instructions on the CD for how to mark the fabric for each block and align these marks with placement lines that should be stitched out directly onto the stabilizer in the hoop. Be sure to read the instructions before you start stitching!

Placement of applique shapes is also super easy! Once your background fabric has been put in place in the hoop, the next thing to stitch out is placement lines for each applique shape. Remove the hoop from your embroidery module while you fuse the prepared applique shapes in place. Some of the designs have layered appliques, so you will need to do 2 or 3 sets of placement lines each followed by fusing shapes in place.

Another question that came in today was about the thread colors used. Here’s the scoop on that!

Isacord thread was used for GO! Be Dazzled, in the following colors:

• 0811 Candlelight
• 2508 Hot Pink
• 2715 Pansy
• 4620 Jade
• 1010 Toast
• 2506 Cerise
• 2810 Orchid
• 4423 Marine Aqua
• 2550 Soft Pink
• 2510 Roseate
• 2830 Wild Iris
• 6011 Tamarack

If you want to do your own colors, here’s a formula I have been using with the students in my Block of the Month classes:

Choose 3 different fabrics – in the case of GO! Be Dazzled there are Regal Purple, Cerise and Daffodil from the Crystals collection by Benartex. For GO! Be Dazzled Too the fabrics used are Hunter, Sage and Cream from the Crystals collection by Benartex.

Now choose 2 or 3 threads to match each of the 3 fabrics, e.g. 2 or 3 different shades of yellow to match the Daffodil. This will give you 6-9 thread colors.

Now choose 2 or 3 threads that contrast with the fabrics. For GO! Be Dazzled, these were two shades of turquoise, and a bright lime green. If your 3 fabrics are different shades of the same color, then choose 2 or 3 threads of the complementary color. Check your color wheel if in doubt!

Hope this helps to answer some of the questions you may have. More coming on GO! Be Dazzled in the months to come. Feel free to drop me a line if you have more questions.

If you are a fan of stipple quilting, you may be very happy to know that you can now achieve perfect results with the new Stipple fill in Bernina Embroidery Software version 6!

Create a closed object, and from the Fill stitch dropdown list, select “Stipple Run”. In the diagrams below, I created two 6″x6″ squares. One has a single stitch outline to show the boundary of the stipple fill. The other contains the stipple fill!

The default settings are:

Stitch length = 2.5mm
Run Count = 1
Loop Spacing = 0.2 in
Inset Step = 1

Changing the Run Count does not make a visible difference in a screen print, but it does have a difference in the stitchout! Run Count can have values of 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9. A Run Count of 1 creates a single running stitch. A Run Count of 3 does “forward back forward” for each stitch. A Run Count of 5 does “forward back forward back forward” for each stitch. Etc!

In this example, the loop spacing has been set to 0.1 in. The stitch length has also been decreased to 2.0mm, to create a smoother line.

Setting loop spacing to 0.0 in creates a very tiny micro-stipple. The stitch length has also been decreased again, to 1mm. These stitches take a while to generate – so be patient after hitting Apply or OK!

This shows a 1″ square containing the tiny micto-stipple.

Inset Step defines the amount of space between the edge of the object and the stipple. In this example:
Stitch Length = 2mm
Loop Spacing = 0.2 in
Inset Step = 2.

Chances are you are not going to have a space that contains only Stipple fill! How about using it to quilt the area surrounding a design? In this example, I inserted a design from my Hearts CD over the top of the square containing the Stipple fill. Unfortunately, the Stipple fill is showing through the open spaces in the design.

What you really want to do is remove the stitches from underneath the heart. But the “Remove Overlaps” button is not active.

The easiest way to activate the “Remove Overlaps” button is to create an object containing a Step fill.

I ungrouped the Heart design (when you insert a design, all the elements of it will be grouped together), selected the Candlewicking stitch outline for the heart and changed it to a Step fill. Now if you select the Step filled heart the “Remove Overlaps” button is active – so click on it!

When you delete the Step filled heart you will fine that the Remove Overlaps has taken away all stitches underneath, including the rest of the heart. The easiest way to solve this problem is to re-insert the heart design.

 In this example:

Loop Spacing = 0.1 in
Inset Step = 3

As well as Stipple Run, you will also see Stipple Stemstitch and Stipple Backstitch on the fill stitch list. This example shows Stipple Stemstitch with the default settings, Loop Spacing = 0.2 in and Inset Step = 1.

Stipple Stemstitch has a much smoother line if you increase the Loop Count. In this example it has been increased to 0.4 in.

Stipple Backstitch looks very similar to Stipple Run, but when stitched out will give a nicely defined line – great if you want to give your quilting some more definition!

The good news this morning – the cabinet had arrived at Sew from the Heart. The not so good news – both Noel and Keith (SftH’s amazing tech team) are on vacation so it couldn’t be delivered until next week when they are back. Now that was a problem! And every problem has a solution, right? I can drive a van, and I’m pretty strong. So all I needed was someone else with some muscle and the willingness to put it to good use. And into the store walked John – an 830 owner with muscle and the willingness to help!

This thing comes in a REALLY big box! Weighing in at 180 lbs, it’s not an easy task to move it around.

Anyone paying attention would have noticed that one side of the box had written on it in pretty big letters: “Open Here”. It took us a while to figure this out – having already opened the box on the other side and removed all of the packaging materials, of which there was a lot!

Finally it’s out, and all the packaging has been removed. 60″ wide and 19.5″ deep at it’s smallest.

With the back flap up, it extends to 39″ deep.

With the front flap up as well, there is an extra 16″ of depth – just where you need it most for quilting the larger quilts. This is a neat design – open the draw and an extension table fits right on top.

If you’re going to do embroidery, the machine sits right on the top, with the airlift table in the top position.

Push down on the machine, and the table lowers to position number 2. Now everything is level for regular sewing and quilting. A cutout (that bit is still to come) fills in the gap around the machine so that a continuous surface is created. Changing the bobbin is going to be interesting – I’ll have to see how visibility is when my cutout arrives.

Push down again and the airlift table goes all the way to the bottom. The machine is now nicely stored – with a full sized insert to fill the hole.

Now I’m really ready for some serious sewing and embroidery!

It’s been a while since I’ve written about the new features in v6 of the Bernina Embroidery Software. Life got kind of crazy for a while there! Teaching a class on the new features today got me back into the swing of things, so here goes!

Outline Design is found as the 3rd button up from the bottom on the Digitize toolbar. It’s only active if you have an existing object selected!

Create a new design, or insert an existing design into a new embroidery file. I have chosen to use “Motif 1 Small” from my Heather Feather CD, rotated by 45 degrees clockwise, with the positioning square removed. I placed the design in a jumbo hoop so that there is plenty of space to play with around the design!

Ctrl+A to select all of the design. Outline Design is now active, so click on it.

Here are some examples showing the results of different settings:

On the left, Offset = 1mm, Outline Count = 2, Outline Type = Single
On the right, Offset = 2mm, Outline Count = 4, Outline Type = Single

On the left, Offset = 2mm, Outline Count = 8, Outline Type = Single
On the right, Offset = 5mm, Outline Count = 2, Outline Type = Satin

Some really fun things start to happen when you add an outer border and use the “Fill Holes” option!

A satin stitch border has been added, and then everything was selected before applying Outline Design with:

Offset = 4mm
Outline Count = 4
Outline Type = Single

Offset = -4mm
Outline Count = 4
Outline Type = Single

I think that the Bernina Embroidery Software is the only embroidery software that will allow you to use a negative offset for an outline design function!

Look what happens when you check Outline Holes!

Offset = 4mm
Outline Count = 4
Outline Holes
Outline Type = Single

To fill in the gaps, increase the Outline Count:

Offset = 4mm
Outline Count = 8
Outline Holes
Outline Type = Single

Below the outlines outside the border have been deleted.

In this example, I applied Outline Design twice to the original design. Make sure to group the whole design, including the border, to make it easy to select everything for the second application of Outline Design.

First application:
Offset = 4mm
Outline Count = 4
Outline Holes
Outline Type = Single

Second application:
Offset = 8mm
Outline Count = 2
Outline Holes
Outline Type = Satin

Some of the single stitch outlines from the first application are hidden underneath the satin stitch outlines from the second application. They could be removed if you really want to – each outline created is a separate object and so can be deleted if desired.

The fact that each outline created is a separate object can be put to good use when coloring – each outline can be selected independently and the color can be changed.

I hope that this has given you some ideas and enough insights to be able to go away and play. I would love to see what you create with the Outline Design tool!

The sewing machine box is about 30″ wide, 17″ deep and 24″ tall. No small task moving this baby around! First out is the removable table, then some manuals and other bits and pieces, and finally the machine itself is revealed.

I was going to put it on the portable cutting table, but common sense prevailed. The cutting mat was moved over to the portable cutting table so that the Bernina 830 could have pride of place – and a good deal of stability – on the main cutting table.

Accessories

The Bernina 830 comes with 5 (beautifully big) bobbins – one of which is already in the machine; 10 feet, all of which have an optical eye, 2 of which work with the dual feed system; and a whole bunch of other things!

The white cone has a really good purpose – I just can’t remember what it is right now! From the left, the mirror for use when threading the bobbin for embroidery; a pair of tweezers; needle housing “screw driver”; stylus for the beautiful big screen; multi-purpose tool; cleaning brush; seam ripper; and some oil!

Bernina 8 series jumbo bobbins are much bigger than the bobbins for the other Bernina machines. They hold 40% more thread – so you can do a lot more stitching!

Every sewing machine needs a slide-on table, and the Bernina 830 really delivers! Nothing can beat a set-in cabinet for the ultimate sewing experience, but this slide-on table offers and excellent workspace – as well as support for the hoop when doing embroidery.

There’s a pretty sophisticated dust cover included with the Bernina 830, with a hole for the handle to show through and a number of pockets. So far I haven’t figured out what might go in these pockets, but they are there if you need them!

Embroidery Module

The embroidery module comes in a separate box. Taking the lid off reveals a tray containing 3 embroidery hoops (small, medium and large oval hoops), a USB cable, the #26 foot for embroidery, hoop clips, a box of literature and a CD.

Finally out of the box, and the embroidery module is ready to be attached to the sewing machine. It’s a pretty easy connection – lift up the left hand side of the embroidery module and tuck the two extensions on the right hand side into the sewing machine. A good solid surface is required to hold the machine to make sure that all contacts are made.

The sliding table is designed to be used with the embroidery module. It slides underneath the embroidery arm – and when installed it provides support for the hoop, especially the jumbo hoop.

This machine is now ready for action!!!

The biggest issue now is what to do with the boxes! Maybe it would make a good coffee table… watch this space for more news on that!

When I brought the machine home it became very clear to me that I was going to have to do some rearranging in my quilting studio – which is also my living room!

Tuesday morning of this week – this is what my studio looked like:

My Bernina artista 200 is in the corner on a portable cabinet that has been extended on the left and behind by the addition of a couple of shelves. The cutting table is a free standing kitchen cabinet from IKEA – the perfect height for working at! It has been buried under “stuff” for a really long time. The portable cutting table gets moved around – and when it is open and in the middle of the room, there’s not a whole lot of space to do anything else.

Even the 830 box has “stuff” on top of it and is surrounded by bears, blankies and Jasmine’s new scooter.

On the other side of the room is the sofa – which hasn’t been sat on in months due to the fabric that is piled up on it – and in the corner are the wardrobes that contain my fabric stash. Heather’s scooter is propped up against the french doors. We’ve been getting out and about on the scooters since the weather cooled down – but you can probably tell that none of us (that would be Heather, Jasmine and myself) are very good at putting things away when we are finished using them!

After picking all the kid stuff up off the floor and transfering it to the playroom, the sofa was moved down a bit and the fabric stash wardrobes were moved to their new home – in the bedroom. That created enough space to move the portable cabinet minus shelf extensions for the 200.

Now there is enough space where the portable cabinet came from to move the cutting table into the corner.

This kitchen cabinet cutting table is one heavy piece of furniture, even when empty. It is, of course, full of stuff, and I was not about to empty it, so after a good deal of pushing and shoving, it finally found it’s new resting place.

I love open spaces – but they don’t usually stay open for very long! This is the space that the new cabinet that fits my 830 is going to fill. As of today, it has been shipped, so hopefully it will arrive on my doorstep of Monday or Tuesday next week.

I have found that if you contemplate a “problem” long enough, a solution will emerge. The “problem” in this case was what to do with all the fabric and other stuff that was burying my sofa.

The solution was to organize the contents of the cutting table cupboards which made plenty of room for the fabric which is now neatly folded, with all the small scraps saved in a zip-lock bag. The added bonus is that my stabilizer is now also organized and easily accessible!

Two mornings of work, and this is what my studio now looks like:

The cutting table is fully functional for cutting – not a thing on top of the 24″x36″ cutting mat. The storage underneath is organized (you’re going to have to take my word on that since I didn’t take a photo!), and underneath the whole thing are all the quilts that are waiting very patiently to be quilted.

The Bernina 830 has been moved into position – waiting for its’ cabinet to arrive before I unpack it. Although with the weekend coming up, that might not last!

The 200 is ready and waiting if I should need to use it. And it’s also ready for Heather to use if she should get the urge. All the accessories are neatly arranged on the shelf which was moved over from the other side of the room.

The sofa is finally back in action as a place to sit – and I did actually sit on it for a few minutes this afternoon! There is even a pillow that came out of the cutting table where it was taking up way too much space!

It’s good to know that my vacuum cleaner still works – not a scrap of fabric or a piece of thread to be seen on the carpet – and I can guarantee that will not last for very long!

To download the new thread chart for Aurifil Cotton Mako, please enter your name and email address here:

You will receive an email with a link to the download page for the file, along with instructions on where to put it.

Thanks to Alex Veronelli from Aurifil for helping to create this thread chart!

Samples of Embroidered Applique using Aurifil Cotton Mako

The last few weeks have been spent preparing for this major life event. I’ve never been on TV before, and despite watching shows from the previous series, I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting myself into!

My brief – to demonstrate how to do embroidered applique. The best bit – I got to do it on one of the new Bernina 830 embroidery machines using the ever so large Jumbo hoop.

My plane landed at Cleveland Hopkins airport on time at about 20 minutes past 2pm. Down to the baggage claim to see my suitcase full of quilts sitting waiting for me. What a relief!

Since it hadn’t occurred to me until about 9pm on Sunday that I would need to find a way to get myself from the airport to the studio, and the shuttle was fully booked, I found myself taking a taxi – which turned out to be cheaper!

4pm found me arriving at the Beachwood Studio, met at the front door by Katherine Lamancusa, assistant to the producer and person to turn to if you needed just about anything. Then into the Green Room – which really is very green!

Close to the end of the day, everyone there had already done their thing, so the atmosphere was cheerful and relaxed. Jeanie Sumrall-Ajero was a familiar face, and also rushing out the door so not much time to do anything other than say “Hi! Bye!”. It did mean that she freed up a table, so I got to empty all my stuff out and start to get organized. That’s my green suitcase in the center of the pic, with my table in the back right hand corner.

Jeanne Delpit from Bernina USA was also a familiar face and voice, and had a friendly hug to welcome me. Getting busy turned out to be a really good thing, so after unpacking I turned my attention to preparing fabric for the project I was going to demo on TV.

I had decided to use the designs from my newest embroidered applique collection, the Hearts CD, stitched out on Silk Dupioni with Aurifil Cotton Mako 50 weight thread.

I hadn’t decided what colors I was going to use, but finally chose  turquoise silk for the background, pink silk for the heart, with lime green, turquoise, orange and magenta for the thread.

Everything was finally cut, stabilized and ready! Time to stitch out a complete heart so that it would be “finished” and waiting in the jumbo hoop, for the end of my demonstration.

Pokey Bolton, the host of Quilting Arts TV was finally done with her part of filming for the day, and was also busy in the Green Room, working on a project. And borrowing my rotary cutter!

Everything finally finished and ready, time to go to the hotel. Teri Harris Lucas was also there a day early, and she had a car, and she was staying in the same hotel! So off we went together, enjoying a quiet dinner together at PF Chang’s across the street from the hotel.

Tuesday morning at 8am saw me in makeup getting ready to go on TV! I was the first guest of the day, but Pokey had been hard at work already, taping all the intros and exits for the series. She wears a different outfit for each show, so it seemed like she was back in the Green room every few minutes for a change of clothes.

And then it was my turn!

First to get the Bernina 830 onto the set. Jeanne took the sewing machine, Katherine was in charge of the embroidery module. It really is a big machine – especially when you have to move it!

Have you ever noticed that the people who are usually behind the camera don’t like to have their photo taken? Ray was the camera guy filming to the right of the set – at least from my perspective of being on the set! Billy is the floor director, equally shy when it came to having his photo taken!

Jeanne set up the 830 while Katherine helped me to bring all of my “stuff” onto the set. Where to put everything was the big question of the moment! I’m very glad that I had way too much stuff to show off. A lot of it didn’t appear – but Kathie Stull, the producer, helped us to choose the things that would show off best.

I was surprised how dark the rest of the studio is, and also how quiet! I think there were two camera guys, Ray off to the right of the set, and another guy straight in front doing all the closeups – from above! Billy, the floor director, was off to the left with a monitor to show what was being filmed. I think there was someone lurking at the back of the room, but have no idea what they were doing. A sound guy appeared a couple of times – first to get me hooked up with a mic, and then after we started filming to adjust the sound so that I could be heard!

Pokey was wonderful – very cool, calm and collected! Always there with the perfect question to move the demo along. All in all, this was about the fastest 10 minutes I have ever experienced – apart from the eternity it took for the machine to stitch out the placement line for the heart. Was it enough to give people a good view of what I do? Time will tell! Given that I have a lot to say about how to do embroidered applique, I don’t think I’ve ever been so tongue-tied before. Maybe there will be a next time – in which case now I know what to do – and it wasn’t quite so scary after all!

Above are the results of applying the Morphing Effect to a 2″ diameter circle filled with the lacework fill (default settings) and outlined with satin stitch, stitch width = 0.06″. Below see the results for a square with the same fill and outline.

Top row: Pinch, Ripple, Skew Horizontal, Wave Horizontal.

Bottom row: Punch, Twirl, Skew Vertical, Wave Vertical.

There are definitely possibilities to be explored!

Quick and easy.