Too good to be true

Kansas City, Kansas City here I come. Two newsletters in a month.  What is this world coming too?  A few newsworthy items to share with you:

Bernina Celebrate 8!

This is the latest promotion; All the specials and promotions from the Spring is in Bloom sale are continuing as Bernina Celebrate 8! These offers and promotions are only available to Dealers who are attending the launch of the new Bernina 830 at Bernina University in Kansas City.  Your Bernina Lady is really going to Bernina University this year (July 15 to 21).  I am so excited I am practically busting out of my skin. For those of you that have known me over the years you can just imagine how excited I am.  I have packed a lot of classes into the few days that I am there so be prepared to many new ideas.  The Bernina Celebrate 8! Promotion ends July 31, 2008.

You may sign up for the webcast of this new machine launch at the Bernina USA website.  This machine is touted to have 70 exclusive features and the longest extended arm of any home sewing machine.  I can’t wait.

Road Trips Coming Up

The Bernina Lady is New Brunswick bound on July 3 at River Gallery demonstrating the Bernina Products on July 5 and 6.

Sande Gunning, owner of River Gallery and I, are committed to bringing Bernina to New Brunswick.  Sande will now carry a 440 Quilter’s Edition so that you may pop in and see it.  Demo’s are also available.  The 440 Quilter’s Edition is by far the favourite machine for sewers and quilters.  It is nicely priced during the Bernina Celebrate 8 promotion.  The 440 QE is available as a machine only, or as a sewing embroidery machine.  Would you like to add embroidery later on?  This option is available for you.

Sande will also be carrying a small inventory of Bernina feet and accessories to tie you over until the next Bernina Lady visit. I will continue to visit on a routine, scheduled basis. Drop in on either of these two days.  Other machines will be available to view and try and you can see our latest creation: A sweatshirt created with wool and some fancy stitches.  I’ve called it “Bernina meets wool.”  Sande also has some yummy hand-dyed wools which I will attempt to make into a mini needle punched landscape.  It could be interesting to see the final creation.

Incase the next Newsletter is delayed for any reason, I’ll let you know now that I will be at Harbour Quilt Company on July 26 with machines.  Drop by and check out what the new 830 is all about.  Demonstrations will also be available this day.  This is Kim’s annual Christmas in July Event.

Bernina Club Classes are almost over for this semester.  They will resume in September.  These classes are available to all Bernina owners and they are free if you purchase your machine from The Bernina Lady.  A small charge applies if you purchased your machine elsewhere.

Work’s in Progress will continue at Avonport Discount Fabrics on the last Wednesday of each month over the summer.  This is a day for all sewers (not just Bernina owners) to drop in and sit and stitch on any project they are currently working on.  If you need a little extra help or inspiration I will be there to guide you.  It’s a drop-in kind of day so you can stay for the full day (9:30-3:30) or come by for the morning or afternoon.  What a wonderful way to spend a day with fellow quilters, sewers and our machines.  If you would like to borrow a machine for the day, please contact me ahead of time.

The next Newsletter will be all about Bernina University.  Until then, have a marvelous June.  If it’s raining outside, sit with your Bernina. This is right up there with reading a good book and having a cup of tea. And remember: If I am on the road, Carol is always available by phone or email (she checks my emails while I am away).  My husband also listens to voicemail and contacts me should the need arise.  I’m thinking he’s liking being a “Bernina Man.”

Hoop it All With Bernina Lady

The Bernina Lady is please to announce that we are now a Hoop It All Dealer. Why did The Bernina Lady become a Hoop It All Dealer? The hoop it all takes all the work out of hooping. One hooping will do a large design. Less hooping time means more sewing time.
Hoop It All Products were developed in Phoenix, Arizona and there are products and hoops made to fit all major brand name machines.

What are they? Hoop It Alls are specialty hoops, brackets and tables that will fit on our sewing machines and allow us to embroider all sorts of different sizes of designs and shapes.

Probably the best known Hoop it All is made for embroidering on baseball caps. There are hoops available for sewing on special materials such as velvets. These hoops allow us hoop particularly large pieces of fabrics.

In most instances, you would hoop your fabric only once on the hoop it all and then rotate the hoop as you sew your design on your block. Multiple hoping is not necessary in many cases, depending on the size of your design.

The hoops and deluxe tables are ordered for your particular model of machine. That is, an Aurora deluxe table and hoop will not fit an Artista machine. Similarly an Artista machine needs an Artista table and hoops.

How do you know which one to Order?

Start with the model of your machine (Artista, Aurora, Deco), then your model number (Artista 730/200, 640, 185/180, 170, 630, 165, Aurora 430/440, Deco 650/600/500).

Decide what you most want to embroider: large designs, hats, quilt squares.

The best way to order your first Hoop It Alls is in a “combo pack”. A “combo pack” includes the deluxe 3 part table (your machine and module sit on a base included in the 3 parts and then there is a “front” and “back” table that attaches to the base. This allows for support for these large hoops. You would also order the hoop you wished in this “combo”. As an example, the most popular hoop that I can see the most of us using is a Quilter’s Square Double Wide. This is a square hoop measuring 14.25 x 14.25” (it has an embroidery field of 11 7/8” square – perfect for a quilt block 12 1/2”. The Quilter’s Square Double wide will also come with a mounting bracket to attach to the hoop that attaches to your machine module.

As you may want to embroider larger designs for a quilt block as in the Latte Quilt, Aquamarine Ambience, Pictogram Quilt by Judy Nowak you will probably want a mega bracket as well as this will allow us to work with mega hoop designs.

Once you have your deluxe 3 part table then you only need to order additional frames. Additional frames might include a super double wide (14.25 x 23) or a Big hat frame or a Super Giant Long (8.5 x 23). Your deluxe 3 part table allows you to use all of these additional frames. You only need to order the new frame sizes as you need them.

The Bernina Lady is also able to order hoops for other brands of machines, not just Bernina.

Do I really need a Hoop It All? No, as you have available to you 4 different sizes Bernina hoops. But the beauty of Hoop It All is it allows you to sew large designs on larger pieces of fabric without multiple hoopings.

The Bernina Lady is also able to order rolls of stabilizer for the hoop it alls. Much of the stabilizer is pressure sensitive so you simply hoop the stabilizer and then press your fabric onto the pressure sensitive material. There are water soluble stabilizers, tear away stabilizers and others available. You order the stabilizer by the size of your hoop.

Please contact Jeanne if you would like to order a Hoop It All for yourself. For more info, you can check out their website at www.hoopitall.com or see photos of work done with this product here.

Understanding Maximum Stitch Widths

What is a stitch width? Simply put, it is the side-to-side width of your decorative and utility stitches. The wider the stitch width and the longer the stitch length, the bigger your stitches.

You have had a look at the new Limited Edition Aurora 450 and it tells you that it has a maximum stitch width of 9 mm. You’ve noticed that the Aurora 440 Quilter’s Edition has a maximum stitch width of 5.5 mm. Sew, what does that mean?

In the photo below you can visually tell the difference between a 9 mm stitch width and a 5.5 mm stitch width. The 9 mm stitches are significantly bigger. The 9 mm stitches are in the top half of the square. The 5.5 mm stitches are in the bottom half of the square.

Which machines give a 9 mm stitch width? The Artista 730, Artista 640 and the Aurora 450 Limited Edition all have a 9 mm stitch width. Older 9 mm stitch width machines would include the Artista 180 and the 1630.

Which machines give a 5.5 mm stitch width? The Activa machines (models 210-240), The Aurora 430 and 440 and the Artista 640.

The Bernette machines and the 1008 will give you different stitch widths.

For those of you with 9 mm stitch machines (especially those of us that are quilter’s), you will notice that if you put your walking foot on a 9 mm machine that your maximum stitch width is now 5.5 mm.

How can this happen? Take note of your pressure feet. If the foot has a number, e.g., 20C then this foot will give you 9 mm stitches. If you put a 20 foot, (no C) on your machine then you will receive 5.5 mm stitches. The little eyeballs on the 20C and the firmware of the machine work together to give you that maximum stitch width. A 5.5 mm machine will not give you a 9 mm stitch width ever. But a 9 mm machine can give you a 5.5 mm stitch width by using a non-coded foot (no C). Each machine comes packaged with the feet to use on your machine.

If you have a 9 mm machine and you wish to do decorative stitching or satin stitching, you will achieve the look you are wishing by using a gold latch bobbin case. This bobbin case has a little “pigtail” at the top of the bobbin case. Simply thread your thread through this “tail” and it will automatically tighten your bobbin tension. You want your satin stitch to look like a smooth ribbon. This extra bobbin case will allow you to achieve this result. Similarly, if you are embroidering you want a little more bobbin tension use the “pigtail” bobbin case as well.

If you have a 5.5 mm machine and you want to do decorative stitching or satin stitching there is a little hole in your bobbin case. Thread your thread through this little hole and it will give you a little more bobbin tension.

Hopefully this clears up the mystery of 9 mm stitches vs. 5.5 mm stitches. The choice is yours according to the machine that you have.

Jeff’s Tech Tips for Bernina Owners

This is the first of many support articles that I will be making on Bernina Lady’s blog. The idea of these is to assist you to enjoy your sewing rather than getting annoyed at your machine. If you have any particular questions, please feel free to email Jeanne. I will not be going into minute detail but will be giving you the assistance that you require.

Today I will talk about needles. There are many different types, sizes and configurations. In spite of the fact I have been repairing machines for many years, I still find there are new ones being produced each year. When will it stop?

So which one do I use?

This can be broken down into a few general areas.
1. The point.
2. Size.
3. Specialty.

The point:
This is directly related to the type of fabric that you are working with. Cotton for example you would use a “Universal” or sharp point needle.

The knitted fabrics require a “Ball” point. Has nothing to do with your trusty Biro. However it has a rounded (ball) point that allows the point to separate the fibers rather that snagging and “pulling” your fabric. Helps to avoid skipping on these fabrics as well.
Leathers need a chisel point. These actually cut the hole as they pass through the material. This allows the needle and thread to withdraw from the material without excess “tenting”

Size:
Generally the heavier the material and thread the larger the needle. If in doubt go to a larger size. The lighter fabrics however only need a very small size #11. This reduces the final hole left in the seam.

As a general guide, a loose needle threaded on to a vertical length of thread should slide easily to the bottom.

Specialty:
Normally you will be guided by the point style, however there are other choices. Twin needles, spring. for example. The Spring needle is designed to assist with quilting, monogramming etc.

There you are folks. My first attempt. Next time I won’t be so long winded. I promise. If you have any suggestions that you would like addressed please ask. There are a few more points that I will make later on needles. In the mean time Happy Sewing.

From the work bench of Jeff, technical support for The Bernina Lady

How to Service Your Bernina Machine

The Bernina Lady has a local, Bernina-trained technican to service your machines. Jeff, our service tech, has many years experience on all makes and models of sewing machines. The Bernina Lady and her technician work together to make sure that any problems you might have are addressed in a timely matter.

Arrangements can be made for The Bernina Lady to pick up your machine when she is in your area, bring it for servicing and return it to you on her return trip.

If you purchased a machine from The Bernina Lady and your machine is going to be gone from you for longer than two weeks then a loaner will be left with you. It may not be the same model that you have been working with but your feet and accessories will fit the loaner machine.

Please note that I advise all my girls to keep their boxes in case they have to be shipped. Bernina packages your machines in such a way that they can drop from a height of 10 feet and still be fine.

Should you wish your machine serviced in a hurry, arrangements can be made for that as well. Please call or e-mail to make special arrangements.

If you have another type of machine, other than Bernina, please contact Jeanne directly. Jeff can service your machine for you, arrangements are just different.