LOL, I just started an appliqué class Tuesday. Many of your hints were in the class. So far, I LOVE it! I did find I had to go out and buy a magnifying lamp so I could see the stitches I wanted to make. Glad to say my stitches are tiny. LOL I had requested suggestions from the Board and I ended up getting one from Micheal's that was $99 with a 40% off coupon so it wasn't soooo bad. I didn'y know you could even buy 3.5 reader glasses. I'll have to look into those for class work!!