anyone using a newer Bernina to embroider?
 

I have been reading through the Bernina workbook for embroidery and am just so amazed at what can be done on the screen of my new Bernina 590. I was so excited by the color wheel function and also by being able to easily convert thread colors to my existing RA rayon embroidery threads. I have only done one simple design so far but am going to try out some of those in the machine functions. I also would like ot know if folks feel they need the separate embroidery program or do you find it enough just to use what is built into the machine?

I have not done much with the 820 I was given, it has some lovely stitches. My friend who gave me the Bernina has a different brand for embroidery, I think because she wanted the trademarked Disney characters and they were not available.

I did "monogram" the hubby's microfiber bowling ball cloths with his initials, programmed them in and just ran down along one edge. Nothing huge, but enough to tell one very similar cloth from another.

I have a brother machine with lots of features. According to the LQS owner, they are putting more features into the machines vs. separate software.

I suggest going through a manual and trying each feature until you get comfortable with the buttons, bells, and whistles. If I do something wrong, the machine simply gives me a “doink” sound. Nothing ventured equals nothing gained.

Good luck & have fun!

There are many wonderful already-in-the-machine designs, but it's an addiction and there are so many embroidery design programs it's scary (to the wallet I mean!) Have fun and enjoy.

umm...still playing with learning the functions of the built in embroidery program on the 590. Today I removed the eyes and smiley mouth from a flower embroidery, then found I completely forgot how I did it. grrr....repetition is necessary for me I think. I did however, learn more about how to convert the default isocord embroidery colors to RA rayon as that is what I have. wow....so much easier then when I had to find thread charts and look up the conversions. I have separated all my RA colors by groups of color....so it was very easy to find the specific green I was looking for as I also have the thread cards and another chart that tells me where to find the color on the thread cards. Once I see the color....I can look for it in the box of greens. Umm....I have always debated whether to arrange my embroidery threads by color or number. I think by color is now going to work best for me. My embroidery class from the dealer is again moved to September as problems were being had when using zoom. Really looks like I am going to have to learn the embroidery by self study. Wishing for an embroidery contact group at this point. I did find a workbook on embroidery on the Bernina website that I will be working through which will help

I re organized my thread into color groups. I have those fold-up thread charts and put a small dot by each color to designate colors in the stash.

I had a sheet of dry erase board cut to the drawer size. Then hot-glued golf tees onto the board. Each board holds 81 spools of thread. Embroidery threads and serger threads are stored this way.

years ago, I found a smaller plastic cabinet that had six small covered containers on the shelves. These were just high enough to hold my RA cones of thread and I can see the colors through the sides. It works well for me but I had to get two of them to hold all the colors plus some other threads I have. I can easily remove one of the containers and find the specific spool. Do you hang your threads or are they placed in the drawers on your holders?

Threads are in drawers on the dry erase boards.. I use the wire baskets that slide into the unit. The unit fits right under the cutting table.

Just wondering how many miles and miles and miles of thread I have in this house. Longarm threads are kept in a glass front bookcase in the living room by the fireplace, in the front bedroom I have another plastic cabinet which holds more seldom used long arm threads, in the dining room is where I have a number of piecing threads, sulky decorative threads, invisible threads, odd brand embroidery threads, bobbin threads in a cabinet that fits under the sewing cabinet, then I have those two plastic cabinets of RA rayon, poly, and cotton threads along with silk threads and cotton quilting thread on spools, then I have a couple of plastic totes with serger threads in them. Oh, and that is not all, up on the second floor lives my hand embroidery and crochet threads. Oh my....Maybe I could wrap the world up in my threads?