Thanks, Rhonda!
My husband asked what I wanted for my upcoming birthday, and I convinced him a hoop for doing borders would be a treat.
I have not decided for sure about the design or the fabric. It is a casual space, so not sure about my best choices. This may sound crazy, but I have some light weight Sunbrella fabric on hand and planned to do a trial to see if it could be reasonably embroidered. (Given that I see denim embroidered, I am thinking it will work.) If not, most likely will go with something in cotton and cotton thread. If Sunbrella works, most likely would go with a polyester thread.
Do you have a favorite designer for patterns? After getting a new hoop, I had planned to play with some of the patterns located in my machine first to see how well they stitch out and how long they take.
Thanks for any other comments/advice. I am a relative newbie at machine embroidery.