Cari-in-Oly

Mermaid I am first and foremost a Brother gal, I own around 25 Brother machines including an ancient Brother PE200 embroidery machine that runs as well now(after I repaired the damage caused by previous owner using the wrong bobbin in it) as it did when it was new. I bought my first embroidery machine(MC200e) from the Janome dealer because I didn't like the way I was treated at the Brother dealer. I was then sold on Janomes because of the machines themselves. I do know that the Brothers are every bit the work horses that the Janomes are. The PE770(and its' twin the Designio 820) are very good machines.

Cari

sewvicki

As long as you can convert the designs you create in your software to the format that your machine uses, I think you can use almost any digitizing software. It doesn't have to be machine specific. Now, having said that, please know that I am not an expert, by any means. I love machine embroidery and have been doing it since 1996. I currently have a Babylock Destiny embroidery machine with Upgrade 1. I use Brother PE Deisgn software (Brother and Babylock use the same format). Another great digitizing software that is non machine specific is Embrid. It is less expensive than most other software and people rave about it. There are several Yahoo groups you can join to learn about this if you like.

donna13350

I have 2 Singer embroidery machines and love them ! The advantages in getting a Singer(to me) are that they are very user friendly, the machines can stitch out any other machine format, as well as their own, and my new one can stitch a huge design..at least 15" x 20"...it can also do a design continuously, (think border)...I love the software that comes with them, you can convert any drawing or picture ***easily** into an embroidery design..I am not a computer whiz so it has to be easy!
My 2 machines that I use for sewing are Brother machines, and I do love them, too...the reason I went with Singer over Brother for embroidery was that Brother limits you to Brother (PES format) designs, and the Singer stitches them as well as Juki, Husquvarna, I think they stitch over 20 formats from other manufacturers, where if you buy another brand, you're limited to things in their format only, and the Brother hoop was a lot smaller,
There is a learning curve with any embroidery machine, and I do believe that's why some Singer reviews are not good, if you read between the lines on them, their complaints are due to inexperience, not machine breakdown.
My old embroidery machine is a Singer CE 100...the first one they made !! It is still working well, but it has a much smaller embroidery hoop, so I use it for smaller designs only.
I did seriously look at the new Brothers when they came out, but I just couldn't justify the cost.
Whatever machine you choose, you'll love it! Embroidery opens up a whole new world for quilting! Good Luck!!!

Sophie2

Donna13350, very well stated about your machine. Machine embroidery is a learning curve and I think once we master our machines we love them. I think most of us go with a machine that we are comfortable with. I recently took a class at a shop that sells a different brand of machines than I have. I have a Viking and love it. The owner of the store could do nothing but bad mouth my machine. I have had Vikings since the 80's and have loved each and every one of them.

MaggieLou

I have a PE770 and really like it. You are limited in hoop size but you can do most designs with the 5x7 hoop. You can also get a 5x12 hoop for larger designs but the machine doesn't read anything larger than 5x7. The 5x12 hoop is good if you're doing a continous design like a border. You don't have to rehoop as many times. Like the others have said, it's a learning curve. If you can, buy from a dealer that offers classes. You'll get a lot more out of your machine that way.

ania755

Donna13350.... Its the second time here that I hear good things about the singer machine embroidery.....Its a huge plus that it can read any embroidery formats....and it has big hoops.....it seems like you do know a lot about the singers machine I will be happy if you can tell me more about your machine....or why is it that so many people are not too happy about them.....which model would you recomend for embroidery only ???..... And sure, its nice to know that they are cheaper....what are the common problems with them that could be evoided ???

donna13350

The most important thing(to me), to keep in mind is the software that is or is not included..it can come in a bundle, for a price very close to what you'd pay for a bare bones machine, and if you want it later, it is hundreds for each DVD.
My new machine is the Futura Quartet..(2 years old now!)I bought it on HSN because it had the best software bundle with it..but they have a great refund policy, so you have till after x-mas to try it out and if you don't like it you can send it back...I'd call and talk to a rep, though, and see how many days and who pays return shipping if you want to go that way..but it might be a great way to try it out.
Just as a caution...I have seen some software for sale on ebay, but when you ask the seller if they have a serial number, they say no..so they can't be registered with Singer and you won't have any phone help if you need it! As for the phone help..they are here, in TN., I believe, but are great people and will walk you through any problem you ever have.
The only time I ever had to call was once when I turned the machine on and it made a bad noise and the needle vibrated like crazy..it was me..I left the needle in the down position when I turned it off...evidentally it didn't like that!
http://www.hsn.com/search?query=futura
As for complaints...it's the usual stuff you hear when people get a new sewing machine, thread breaks, tension is wrong, needle breaks..stuff like that. It's not just a sewing machine, it has it's own way of doing things, but any new embroidery machine will..I know that I told you I have 2 Brothers that I sew on..the Singer sews beautifully, I just don't want to use it for simple sewing, I have quilted with it, though, when doing extra large quilts because it does have a larger throat area than my Brothers do.
The Quintet has more features than mine, but I have never used it..if you click on the Quintet and scroll down to reviews...the majority of bad reviews are for threading issues...people get error messages or birdsnests. It is very important with my machine that the presser foot is up and the needle is in highest position when you thread it..I suspect that is the issue most people have that are complaining.

ania755

Thank you Donna for the usefull information.....

donna13350

You're quite welcome. All embroidery machines stitch out very nice projects from what I've seen on this board. I guess it's just a matter of narrowing it down to the features you want, and price.

ania755

Yes...price is a very important issue usually....and a realable dealer....I am reading now some more about the singer machine.....I am not to thrill about having the computer connected to it.....but with this price one shouldn,t complain........ ...happy quilting and happy embroidery to all.....